The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1908-03-28
HINTS ON ROAD WORK.
9. S. Office OF Public Roads Tolls How 70
MAKO and Maintain a Modal Earth Road

MAKO and Maintain Modal Earth Road
While American road builders are as
capable OF constructing good roads ~
those OF any country OF the old world.
they have not been AZ loyalty supported
~ the men OF those countries In mais-
tanning the highways after completion.
and the deplort ale state OF many hun-
dred thousabd miles OF road Is thus
accounted for. County and township
officials may at the outset stand the
expense OF having roaa built bus
they strenuously object when asked TO
provide funds TO rebuild the road that
has been allowed to 90 TO ruin
IL is important that farmers learn OF
the benefits to be deprived from good
earth roads that county boards be i'm
pressed with the need of proper
maintenance of the same, and that road
builders and oyerseers learn how best
10 care for the roads in their charge.
The persistent and powerful enemies
of earth roads are water and narrow
tires and the constant effort OF the
men i'm charge of the roads should be
10 guard against their destructive
effects and remedy all damage as
quickely as possible. The simple I'm
plements which.haye been found to be
OF greatest assistance in this work are
the pillow. the drag scraper. the wheel
scraper, the road grader and the split
log drag.
With the sandy soil and subsoil OF
clay. or clay and gravel, deep blowing
so as 10 raise and mix the clay with
the surface soil and sand will prove
beneficial. The combination forms
sand clay road at a trifiing expense
On the other hand. If the road be entir-
ely of sand mistake will be made II
it is plowed unless clay can be added.
Such blowing would merely deepen the
sand, and at the same time break up
the small amount Of hard surface mat
erial which may have formed. IL the
subsoil is clay and the surface scant In
sand or gravel, blowing should not be
resorted TO- as II would result in clay
surface rather than one OF sand or
gravel. A road foreman must know
not only what to pillow aud what not TO
pillow. but how and when to pillow. IL
the road is OF the kind which accord
ing To the above instructions should be
plowed over ITS whole width, the best
method is to run the first furrow in
the middle Of the road and work out to
the sides, thus forming crown. Re
suits from such blowing are greatest in
tho spring or early summer
In bitches pillow can be used TO good
advantage. but should be followed by a
scraper or grader To make wide, deep
bitches nothing better than the ordn-
airy drag scraper has yet been devised.
For hauls under 100 feet. or in making
fills It is especially serviceable. II
is a mistake. however, Go attempt 20
handle long haul material with this
scraper, as the wheel scraper is better
adapted 10 such work. For hauls OF
more than 500 feet. a wagon should be
used
The machine most generally used in
-road work is the grader. or road ma
chine This machine is especially
useful ia smoothing aud browning the
road and In opening ditches a clay
subsoil under a thin coating Of soil
shonld not be disturbed with a grader
II Is also a mistake to use grader IN
discrimina'elg and to pull material
from bitches upon sand clay road.
Not infrsquentIy turf. soil and silt
from ditch bottoms are piled IN the
middle % the road ia ridge making
mudhoes certainty Il 4 important
ia using grader % avoid building up
che road too much at one tune A
road gradually built up by frequent use
OF The grader VIII last better than If
completed 40 one operation The fore.
man frequently TANKS his road must
be high IA the first instance. He piles
up material from 10 inches TO foot ~
depth only TO learn. With the arrival OF
the FIRST rain, that he has furnished tht
material for as many inches Of mud
All material should be brought up il
layers, each layer well puddled and
firmly packed by roller or traffic befor,
the next is added A common mis-
take is to crown too high with the
road machine ON narrow road
The split log drag should be used 4
hll Ia ruts and smooth the road wher
not too badly washed. The drag pos
sesses great merit and is 80 simple II
construction and operation that ever,
farmer should have one. A specia
article will be published later telling
how 10 make and use the drag
s E.