Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1913-06-17
The Repalr Of Earth Roads.

the national government. IL is the A b y
TO be worthy publication. Nevertheless. II ever,
body had the principles here enunciated clearl
in his mind, and acted upon them In the care
the roads, our road problem would Dc mucn ieS
acute.)
II you look at the ordinary countr
, road after q shower you will see sma
puddles along the wheel ruts and some
times larger pools. This water stays o.
the road surface because it cannot drail
away into the side bitches. II you lool
closely you see side bitches which hav
grown up with bushes and weeds Il
many cases, and which are 90 far from
the travelled part Of the road that th'
rain water does not drain into them
That part of the roadway where tn
wagons travel is called the travelled way
To prevent water from standing on tn
travelled way the road should be raiset
In the center and should slope GENT!
into broad shallow bitches. 1t 10 thel
said to have q crown. II it 10 10 lee
from the center of the road to the side
ditch, the surface at the side ditch
should be at least 10 inches lower than
it is at the center where the horses
travel. The road then has a 1O'inct
crown. The rain that falls on road
properly crowned will run quickly 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 oil
them into neighboring brooks or streams.
II 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 beneath the road and make
it SO soft that the wheels Of wagons will
cut through the road surface and soon
destroy it.
Sometimes water runs from land along
the road into the road and forms little
stream down the wheel tracks or in the
middle where the horses travel. When
driveways into farm yards are built
across the side bitches they frequently
form channels for water from the farm
yard to run into the road. The pipes
under driveways become filled with
leaves or rubbish and the water can no
longer run away. If the driveways that
stop the ditch water were rebuilt 80 that
no pipes were necessary and the ditch
could be left open, much trouble from
surface water would be stopped.
Sometimes a road runs across low
ground or through swamp where the
road cannot be drained by side bitches
alone. 1.-THE road were built higher like
railroad embankment across such low
land and made with 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 80 that the road can go over
hill without being loo steep. The water
which always flows quietly under the
ground on hill sides is known as ground
water. In road cuts such water some
times makes the road very muddy, and
the road then needs what road builders
call underdrainage. A good kind of
underdrainags Is trench to 60 along
under the side drain and about feet
deep and foot and half wide. In this
trench 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 crowned
the best method is to drag 1t with q road
drag. A road drag is made easily with
two halves of log which has been split.
The log should be about6 or inches In
thickness and about or feet long.
The two halves of the log are set feet
apart with the smooth faces forward
and upright. They are then fastened
together with braces set 10 holes bored
through the log. 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 drag should move
forward so that it slants across the road
10 such a way that q 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 begin at the side
ditch and go up on one side of the road,
and then down the other. In the next
trip the drag should be started a little
nearer the center and the last trip over
the road the drag may work close to the
center itself. Small ridges of earth will
be thrown in the horse track and smear
ed by the round side of the log smoothly
over the road. The smearing OF the
earth by the drag Is called "puddling"
and 1t tends to make the surface OF the
road smooth and water-tight after the
sun comes out. The road is always
dragged after it has rained and not when
1t ia dry. A good, strong pair OF horses
with well-built drag can drag about 3
or miles of road in a day, and 1t is the
best way to maintain good roads. In
every county some farmer along each 4
miles of road should own q drag and
drag the road when 1t rains, and he
would always find the road In good con-
dition when he goes to market.
Owing to the fact that many rural
schools were closed at the time when the
prize maintenance essay was announced
BY Director Logan Waller Page of the
Office of Public Roads, 1t has been de-
cided to extend the limit for receiving
the essays to October Is, 1918. In addi-
ton to the gold medal given rs first
prize, two silver medals will be given as
second and third prizes. If child who
has submitted one essay previous to the
issue of this notice should care to try
again, he is at liberty to do so, but be
must be pupil Of rural school. There
is some misunderstanding in regard to
the subject Of the essay. The idea is to
act the children thinking how to better
their earth roads with the material they
have at hand.