Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1913-06-18

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them and sooner or later will force
them out. s9
What great advantage it would
be if people could see stagnant air
as they can see stagnant water, with
its slime and disease obvious to
the naked eye. It they could, there
would be radical changes in many
sleeping rooms. ss !.
THE REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE
III .s35l s OF EARTH ROADS.
If you look at the ordinary count
~ road after shower you will see
small puddles along the wheel ruts
and sometimes larger pools. This
water stays on the road surface be-
cause it cannot drain away into the
side bitches If you look closely you
will see side bitches which have
grown up with bushes and weeds in
many cases, and which are so far
from the travelled part of the road
that the rain water does not drain in
to them. That part Of the roadway
where the wagons travel Is called
the Travelled way. To prevent water
from standing on the Travelled way
the road should be raised in the CEN
ter and should slope gently into
broad shallow bitches. 1t is then said
to have a crown. II it is 10 feet from
the center OF the road to the side
ditch, the surface at the side ditch
should he at least 10 inches lower
than it is at the center where the
horses travel. The road then has 10
inch crown. The rain that falls on
road properly crowned will run quick
" to the side and not soak into the
surface or form pools. The side
bitches for surface water should run
parallel to the right Of Way, and
should be open at every low point
so that the water can run out OF
them into neighboring brooks or
streams. It the bitches merely collect
the water from the road surface and
it can not run away, large pools will
be formed along the roadside, which
will gradually soak into the soil be-
meath the road and make it so soft
that the wheels Of wagons will cut
stroy it.
Sometimes water runs from land a.
long the road into the road and forms
a little stream down the wheel track
or in the middle where the horses
travel. When driveways into farm
yards are built across the side Of the
bitches they frequently form channels
for waters from the, farm yard to run
into the road. The pipes under drive
ways become filled with leaves OF
rubbish and the water can no longer
run away. # the. driveways that stop
the ditch water were rebuilt SO that
no pipes were necessary and the
ditch could be left open, much trouble
from surface water would be. stopped.
Sometimes road runs across low
ground or through a swamp where
the road can not be drained by side
bitches alone It the road were bull
higher like a railroad embankment a
cross such low land and made with 6
crown, it would be dry and hard
Sometimes road passes through
what is called a cut. This is place
where the earth has been dug Out
so that the road can go over a hill
without being too steep. The watel
which always flows quietly under the
ground on hill sides is known az
ground water. In road cuts such
water sometimes makes the road yer!
muddy, and the road then needles
what road builders call undertakings
"A good kind of underdrainage is q
trench to go along under. the side
n 70 oh n1 q
foot and a half wide. In this trench
a pipe is laid near the bottom and
covered with loose stones no bigger
than an egg. When the trench is
completely filled with loose stones
the ground water, instead of soaking
into the roadway, will stop among the
stones and flow down the hill through
the pipe.
To keep road smooth and crown
ed the best method is to drag 1t
with road drag. A road drag is made
easily with two halves OF log which
has been split. The log should be
about or 8 inches in thickness and
about 6 or 8 feet long. The two
halves of the log are set feet a.
part with the smooth, faces for
ward and upright They are then
fastened together with braces set
in holes bored through the log. A
pair of horses may be used to drag
the road and are hitched to chain
fastened to the front half Of the log.
The road should move forward so
that it slants across the road in such
a way that small amount of earth
will slide past the smooth face Of
the log toward the center of the
road, thus forming the crown. The
edges Of the logs will smooth out the
ruts. The best way to drag is to be-
gin at the side ditch and go up one
side of the road and then down the
other. In the next trip the drag should
be started little. nearer the center
and the last trip over the road the
drag may work close to the center it.
self. Small ridges of earth will be
thrown in the horse track and smear
ed by the round of the log smooth
ly over the road. The smearing of
the earth by the drag is called "pud-
ding and it tends to make the sur
face Of the road smooth and water
tight after the sun comes out. The
road is always dragged after it has
rained and not when it is dry. A
good, strong pair of horses with
well-built drag can drag about or 4
miles of road in day, and it is
the best way to maintain good roads.
In every county some farmer along
each miles Of road should own
drag and drag the road when it rains,
and he would always find the road
in good condition when he goes to
market. Department Of Agriculture,
Washington, D. C..
NORTH MANCHESTER.
Mr.. and Mrs. c. v. burlington and
son Charles, spent Sunday in Della
ware with c. CAROLS family. Mr..