The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-03-30

If natural drainage does not exist
artificial methods must be used. The
best natural drainage is usually
found upon loose gravel or a sandy
soil, especially when the grade OF
the road is somewhat above the sur
rounding country. If the land is dry
and the sand deep enough to absorb
quickly even the heaviest rains, no
special attention need be given to
drainage, other than to provide the
proper crown to the surface of the
finished road to divert the water
from 1t. Frequently the country is
so low and level that the surface of
| the road is likely to be kept con-
tinually wet. from seepage. Under
/ drainage without grading is better
than grading without drainage; and,
! in general, it may be said that there
] is no way in which road taxes can be
| spent to better advantage than in
subsurface drainage.
| The best and cheapest method of
securing under-drainage is to lay a
| line of 5-inch farm tile or 6-inch
terra Gotta pipe or feet deep on
one or both sides of the roadway.
The ordinary farm tile is satisfactory
for road drainage. Tiles are laid
simply with their ends in contact.
care being taken to turn them until
their ends are reasonably close, and
with slight fall to keep them clear.
There is no danger of the grade of
the tile being too great; the only
| difficulty is to secure sufficient fall.
If possible the fall should be three
inches in 100 feet, and care should
be taken that the tile is laid to a true
grade with free outlet.
A tile drain is a permanent i'm
provement with no expense for main
tenance, the benefit being immediate
and certain; and therefore it is
doubtful if money can be spent on
earth roads to better advantage than
in laying tile. The side bitches are
to receive the water from the sur
face of the travelled way, and should
carry it rapidly and entirely away
from the road. No good road can
be obtained with side bitches that
holds the water until it evaporates.
Public funds can often be more wise
ly used in making bitches in adjoin-
ing private lands than by making
ponds at the roadside in IAN attempt
to improving the road by raising the
surface. 1t is cheaper and better to
allow the water to run away from
the road, than to try to lift the road
out of the water If it can be pre-
vented, no attempt should be made
to carry water a long distance in
side bitches; for large bodies of wa
ter are hard to handle and are liable
to become very destructive. Side
bitches should discharge frequently
into the natural water courses, and in
order to accomplish this it may be
necessary to carry the water across
the road, which would necessitate
putting in pipe culvert. AS a rule
side bitches will not have too much
fall, but sometimes a ditch straight
down hill viii have so much as to
wash rapidly, in which case it is an
advantage to pave the bottom with
cobble stones.
The drainage of the surface of a
road is very important, and is pro-
vided for by making the surface
crowning and keeping 1t smooth
The slope from the center should be
enough to carry the water freely
and quickly to the side ditch. The
slope from the center to the side
should be about inch to a foot.
In crowning the road the material
should be dumped and spread in lay
ers as even as possible, before being
driven over.
In building a new road IL is very
important that no stumps, branches
of trees, or other matter subject to
decay should be overlooked and left
in the road bed, as at such points
weak places are sure to be developed
in the course of time. One way to
improve an old road advantageously
is to lessen the grades; by cutting
down the hills and filling up the
hollows.
Grade resistance is the force on a