Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1908-01-23
To Improve
The Roads


road building and maintenance,
which will be published from
time to time. Our subscribers are
urged to give this matter areful
confederation and are requested to
forward to this office for transmits
siob to the office of Public Roads
any practical question which they
desire answered relating to road
construction and maintenance. I
Questions and ADVISERS will be pub
lished by this paper at suitable in
tervals.
We may recognize the value OF
hard and durable roads in all parts
of the country, but still the fact
remains that for a long time to
come the majority of the roads will
be composed of earth. Further
more, in about nine months out
off the year, the earth road, if prop
crly cared for, is reasonably sat-
isfactory. For many agricultural
districts, it is the only road at
present available. Hence, these
seriously to work to learn the best
methods of maintaining earth roads
and getting the maximum SER
vice from them. Prosperity comes
to the country to a great exte mt
through the property of the farm
ers. This fact strongly suggests
the Importance of giving the earth
road every possible care and at
tcntion in location, drainage,
construction and maintenance.
An earth road composed of water
holding soil should be exposed to
the sun and air as freely as pos
sib1c, as comparison between the
shaded and sunny portions of such
road will easily indicate. This
should be accomplished by clearing
sufficient amount of trees and
underground away from the road.
1t must be remembered however,
that sandy and gravclly roads re-
quirc moisture, and in these cases
some shade should be retained.
Furthermore, trees are beneficial
grades subject to washing.
Drainage is one of the most inn
portant points to consider in con-
hcction with an earth road. The
majority of earth roads in all
mountainous and billy districts
havc too much drainage. Occasion
billy road Will be found with five
Witches, three in the middle made I
~ the horses hoofs and by wheels
q the vehicles, and two on the
81 cs. All well constructed earth
ROD IDS are supposed to have no more
thin two bitches, one on each side
81 Zoe travelled roadway. Keep the /
vgn<hr out of the middle Of the road
~ Rfving it crown or elevation in
he tcntcr of IL inches above the
tpp of the inner slope of the ditch
1Qr p 20 foot road, and where the
are little steep make the
n 10 inches. With crown
put inch to the foot from
center to the sides, the
s which are often built
acc&k the water will not be
ded. Instcad of carrying water
Fo4s the noad in open bitches, tile
copcretc dEsins should, If pos
bic, be proSidcd. They should
have sufficicnA capacity and fall to
csfry tho at ~ one time. The
capacity IL increased in proportion
to the grade or all; for instance,
II inch pipe laidkcnsa one per cent
grade will carry 1900 gallons per
minute, while the rarnc pipe laid
on 2 per cent graie will carry
1850 gallons per r4inute. Fur
thcrmorc, culvert ikjd fat will
soon fill up, while ono having a
good incline will keepjtsolf clear.
In the maintenance e an earth
road, avoid the mistake off changing
the natural order of things. Ma
tprally the soil is found ON top and
fhe clay on the bottom. If this order ,
reversed in constructing al road,
4AG result will be less satisfactory
than Il the soil be left at the top of |
tho road for soil makes better :
earfnco to : road than. clay. If tie
roa& bod II largely clay to start
with, Il Will b well to place sandy
~ or clean sand on top. A cover
ing Of s to 8: inct,es of sand upon
clay that persists in breaking up
into deep mudhul6e will usually be
satisfactory, and naand enough be
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