Omaha daily bee., 1911-01-29

the land is level or nearly so, and that
apparently drainage is impossible; set your
engineer to work and he will soon find &
way to get the water off. In the origina
construction OF many of our roads you
will find that sod and vegetable matter
of different kinds has been worked up In
the preparation OF the foundation or the
road bed, a grievous mistake that will
take years to remedy. No sod or veg
etable matter of any kind should be al
lowed in a road within three feet Of the
surface.
"In the construction of permanent road
through a prairie country the sod that
covers that part Of the right-of-way where
the bitches are to be should be taken off
and carried out of the way, and only the
solid earth used 10 raise the roadway. II
these sods could be laid smoothly and uni
formiy down on the surface between the
bitches at the bottom of the turnpike there
would be little objection to that use of it,
but It is generally cheaper to waste all
such material. The main objection to the
use of sod is in its uneven distribution.
and when it is thrown up Unfortunately
into a turnpike, as when road is built
with an elevating grader, it's use is fatal
too strongly condemned.
Get Good Drainage.
- Bear these two rules in mind Get good
drainage, and make your roadbed high,
round, smooth and Of solid earth These
are very simple rules. easily understood,
and there is not an intelligent road over
seer in your state that does not know
their value just as we'll as I do But hav-
ing been handicapped every year with lack
OF funds and many pieces Of bad road.
requiring some repairs it is hardly to be
wondered at that they have failed to put
in practice those simple principles OF con-
struction. But the time has come when
the people demand Of their road officials
something better than yearly patching and
temporary repairs.
MY advice TO your road inspectors is
to pick out some bad pieces OF road in
your district and apply the proper princi-
Piles Of road work to that single piece.
Do not be content with merely making II
passable for the present but rip out that
old rotten corduroy or brush or whatever
was used last spring to help teams over
the bad spots and fill up the holes with
something that will stay there See that
NAe wafer Btlb lulO lne ulLcu anu lntn
follow that ditch down and find out why
the water does not get out. Do not worry
II some fellow over in the other side OF
the township kicks because you are not
working on his road tell him to be patient
and YOU will reach him some day. Stick
to IL: what you do do well, and YOU will
find not only satisfaction in doing a good
piece Of work, but before long you and
your neighbors will realize the fact that
you are at last on the right track.
For Keeping Up the Roads.
Now as to keeping up your roads. You
have heard me talk OF road drsgs There
are several kinds OF them all illustrated
in the Minnesota Road Red Book. You
can make them easily and at only a
trifling expense. and there Is no known
appliance that Is so economical or con
venient or satisfactory when properly used
as any one Of the different kinds shown.
Use them right after a rain, when the
roads are soft, draw them up one side
and back on the other; all they do is to
keep the ruts out OF the road and restore
the crown and that Is the whole secret
OF earth road maintenance.
Keep the ruts out OF the road, let the