The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1912-06-04


make llu4llclcIy culFeIt4. me lr6t
WI soon decay. and the latter j. liable
70 break uni i s. very ca1efnlly laid
Stone 81 concrete e1lverts IRE tie best
and clieapet 81 lhe long run. The
main thin S To bear 81 mind IA b1ild.
ing cul7erts are that they should have
sufficient capacity 10 quickly dispose
Of the maximum low Of rainwater
and that they are given suflcient fall
. to keep themselves clean. Increased
fan also increases the capacity, but e
much fan s given spillWayg should
bepayed and the outlet and Intake pro.
tected with suitable wing walls.
AH material subject to decay, such
as aod, grass or weeds and vegetable
mold, musttbe carefully excluded. The
aim must always be to build road
way as solid and impervious to mois-
ture as possible Water from every
source, surface or underground, must
be'got rid of Except In sandy or very
aria regions, water Is the great enemy
Of earth roads.
The earth road can best be crown
ed ana ditched with a reversible road
machine or scraper and not with picks
and shoyels, scoops and plows. One
road scTaper with suitable power and
operator win do the work Of many men
with picks and shovels and do It bet
ter, The road scraper should be used
when the soil is damp, so that the soil
viii pack and bake. If 1t is worked
dry il takes more power TO operate the
machine, and, furthermore, dry earth
and dust retain moisture and quickly
rut after rains.
Shoulders are often formed on both
sides Of the road by constant travel in
one place, which prevents storm water
from flowing into side bitches, retain,
ing it In the ruts and softening the
roadway. These ruts and shoulders
can usually be entirely eliminated by.
a judiclous use Of the split log drag.
The price Of good roads is eternal
vigilance In maintenance. This Is per,
haps even more true Of earth roads
than any other. The rains and melt.
ing snow soften the surface more or
less, and passing trafic forms Futs
and depressions. These, II allowed to
remain, will retain more water at the
next rain, and more mud and deeper
ruts and larger depresslons will be
formed It is self evident, therefore.
that the main thing in maintaining
heavy soil roads must be to keep the
drainage good. For this purpose there
is nothing which equals the split log
drag or other similar devices.
The principle of the action Of the
drag is simply this: The clays and
most heavy soils will puddle and SET
very hard If worked when wet. The
drag is essentially pudding machine.
After each rain and while tho earth is
still plastic, but not sticky enough to
adhere to the drag, one or two trips
up and down the road are made with
the drag. Only a small amount Of
earth is moved, just enough to fill the
ruts and depressions and smooth over
the surface with a thin layer. Of plastic
clay, which packs very hard, so that the
next rain, instead of finding ruts and
depressions in which to collect, runs
of, leaving. the surface but little af-
fected. s5ssi~
The time and, labor involved In keep
ing an earth road properly dragged are
small. Five dollars per mile per year
seems to be about the average cost in
the middle states. The essential req.
uislte is that the work shall be done
at the time 1t is needed. This is the
point which seems hardest to Impress
on the average man. The little atten-
ton the earth road needs must be
given promptly and at the proper time
If the best results are to be obtained.
We have become so accustomed to
the old habit of doing our road work
at our convenience that we can hardly
force ourselves to realize that any.
thing else should be even suggested.
One thing is absolutely certain, and
that is that we will never have any.
thing like improved earth roads until