The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1912-07-08

w nile IL WOulu DE uldulltSllJ inlJOS-
slbe to adopt this system throughout
the entire country on account Of limit
/ ed resources and sparse population,
still it is believed that there are many
places where it might be used with
great success. 1t would be difficult TO
find n county which is so poor that it
could not afford to employ continuously
eight or ten laborers and three or four
teams to maintain and repair its roads.
There are many counties, however,
which could we'll afford to employ ten
times such force. That such plan
would be more effective than the labor
tax system would appear to be self
evident
OF all our roads the earth roads are
probably the most neglected. Expert
ence has shown that by proper main
tenance earth roads may be transform
ed into something better than elongat-
ed mudholes. The first and last COM
mandment in the maintenance Of earth
roads is to keep the surface well drain
ed. Water is the great enemy to our
| clay or soil roads and must be removed
Immediately or much mud and very bad
roads are the result. To insure good
drainage the bitches must be attended
to and distractions removed and a
smooth. raised crown Of the road main
tanned. For this purpose the split log
drag or some similar device is very
useful and at the same time mex
pensive. The drag can be used on
sand-clay or gravel road Just as effec-
lively as on an earth road.
The following points should be borne
in mind in dragging an earth, gravel OF
sand-clay road: The drag should be
| light and should be hauled over the
road ut an angle of about forty-fve de
| grees in such way that only a small
amount of earth is pushed to the cen
ter Of the road The driver should ride
| on the drag and never drive faster than
n walk. The dragging should begin on
! the side of the road or wheel track.
returning on the opposite side. Unless
the road is already in good condition it
! should be dragged after every heavy
| rain, when The mud is in such condi-
| ton as to puddle well and still not adj
here too much TO the drag. y few trips
over the road will give the operator a
! clew as to the best time to drag. Drag
at all seasons of the year, but do not
| drag a dry road. II a road is dragged
Immediately before cold spell the
road will freeze smooth.
| Always drag a little toward the cen
ter with the aim of keeping the slope
| of the crown about an inch to the foot
II the drag cuts too much shorten the
hitch or change your position on the
drag. The best results from dragging
are obtained only 10y repeated applica-
tons A good system of dragging is
| that which is practiced in Kansas and
Iowa, where road authorities are au-
thorized to let contracts to farmers for
dragging the roads abutting on their
! lands
In the maintenance of hard roads,
such as gravel and macadam, different
methods must be pursued. The causes
| of wear on hard roads are the weather,
the wheels of vehicles and horses
| shoes The weather acts to some eX-
tent directly on the materials. but TO a
much greater degree indirectly. Frost
is one of the most active of the destruc-
tive agencies The expansion and con-
traction caused by frost sometimes
lead TO a general disintegration Of the
surface. This is especially true where
clay is used as a binder and where the
road surface is porous or the drainage
poor When such road thaws out
after hard frost the macadam will
! practically be a layer Of loose stones,
into which the traffic will cut, forming
ruts. Frost has but little if any effect
on a dry, well kept road.
Look after the drainage very careful
ly in the fall and be sure that the sur
face is as nearly waterproof as pos
sible, so that the road will 90 into the
winter dry and not fun of water. VIC
lent rains often wash out the binder
and sometimes the smaller stones as
well, leaving the 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 be found
useful I'm the maintenance and repair
of gravel and macadam roads
Never allow a rut or hole TO remain
on the road. but I'll It at once with
chips from the stone heap. When the
road is built the contractor should be
required to place at least 100 tons OF
surface material and screenings at a
convenient place for each mile of road
constructed Always use chips for
patching and for all repairs during the
| summer months.
Never put fresh stone on the road II
by cross picking and raking the sur
face can be kept in the proper condi-
ton and cross section. The rake is
the most useful tool used i'm road
maintenance. Large patches Of stone
should not be spread over the whole
width Of the road at one time. The
bulk Of all repairs should be made be
fore Christmas, so that the road will
90 through the winter in good condl-
/ tion.
In moderately dry weather always
pick up the old surface into ridges six
| inches apart and remove all large and
| projecting stones before applying new
I material Never apply stones more
l than one stone deep. but add a second
layer when the first Is worn in II one
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