La Junta tribune., 1912-07-13

returning Ou the Opposite side Unless
the road Is already Ia Eood condition R
should b. dragged after every heavy
rim when ih- mud L. In such coudj-
iivn ~ 10 puddle We'll and sri.i 40, ud-
here too much 10 Ii. drlg \ few trips
over The roId wil. give rhe operator a
clew as to the b~.si time to drag nrxe
nt all season> VI the year. but do not
drag dr.! rad. ~ road Is dragged
Immediately l~for, a Void spell the
road wi,i freeze smooth
Always drag little toward the cen
ter with the aim OF keeping th. x,ot,<.
u: the crown about an inch 10 tI,.. 100,
II fhc drag cuts lou niu-h s,or,en the
h.tch or chaLHr your position on the
Iias. The besi r~>uli> frum dragging
are obtainet only b. repeated uppiics-
tons. \ good >ystcEi OF dragging Is
that which is practiced In Kansas and
Iowa. where road authorities are nu-
ihoriz.d tn let contracts to farmers for
dragging the roads shutting ou their
lands
ln the maintenance Of bard roa ds,
such AZ gravel and macada M. different
methods must i-- pursued. The cnuss,s
Of wear ou hard roads are the weather.
the wheels OF vehicles 1lid hors<.s'
shoes The weather acts to some ex.
tent directly on the materials. but to q
much greater degree indirectly. Frost
Is one Of the most active Of the destruc-
tive agencies. The expansion aud con-
traction caussd by frost sometimes
lead to . general disintexrntion Of the
surface. This Is ESPECIALLY true where
clay II used ~ = binder aud y here the
toad surface Is porous or the drainage
poor When such Il road tha US out
after q hard frost the mxcsdam will
practically be = layer Of loose stones,
Into which the traffic will cut. forming
ruts. Frost has bu, little II any effect
on dry. well kept road.
Look after the drainage very careful
ly Ia the fall aud he sure that the sur
face Is ss nearly waterproof ms pos
sible. 10 that the road Will 20 into the
winter dry and not full of water. Vio-
lent rains often wash out tn. binder
and sometimes the smaller stones as
well. leaving III. surface both rough
and porous. The amount OF material
lost from the road by this means is
often larger than the toll exacted BY
traffic
The following hints may he found
useful In the maintenance aud repair
Of gravel and mnrudam roads.
Never allow "a rut or hole In remain
ON the road. bni an it at once with
chips from the stone heap When the
road Is huilt the contractor should he
required to place at least iOJ tous OF
surface material and screenings at
Convenient place for each mile uf road
constructed Always ". chips for
patching and for all repairs during the
summer months
Never put fresh stone on the road II
by cross picking and rasiug the sur
face can Lee kept In the proper condi-
tion and cross section. The rake Is
the most useful tool used In road
maintenance. Large patches Of stone
should not be spread over the whole
width Of the road az one time. The
bulk OF all repairs should be made b...
fore Christmas. ~ that the road will
go through tie winter In good condi.
tion
In moderately dry wenther always
pick up the old surface into ridges six
Inches apart aud remove all large and
projecting STONES before applying new
material. Never apply stones more
than one stone deep. but add n second
layer when the first is worn In II one
layer il no, sut'i icu, Never crack
stones on the road for IL you do =
smooth surface win be out OF the Qucs-
tion. Never leave the stones In ridges
All large stones. blocks of ~ood and
other obs'ruci!on> used for divcriinv
traffic should b. removed nj nightfnii.
or the consequences may H. serious
Never put ston" ON ID. road for re-
pairing purposes that will not pass
freely In every direction through n two
Inch ring. Smaller stones should be
used for patching Nscndsm's advice
was thst NO stone should be p,s~ed h
q mscadam road which the workman
could not R~t 10 bis mouth. Trsproek.
granite and other hard stone should
be broken nner for rvpair work ihaa
The lim-~tones apd other softer eorks.
Use scrr~nines " possible for bindtns
tosetber newly laid material itosS
swe~pinxs. hor.~ droppang-. sods sDd
other rubbish when used fos this pos-
pose Wtll ruin the l,ese rad ever COO.
structssl. Water woss ~ rosnded stoo~s