The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1913-07-18
THE REPAIR AND HAINTEN-
ANCE OF EARTH ROADS.
CAUSES OF THEIR DETERIORATION AND
THE REMEDY-.-ADHICE Of The U.
5. OFFICE OF PUBLIC ROADS,
MOTOR CAR REGULATIONS OF
NANTUCKET PROHIBITIvE.

road after a shower you VIII see
small puddles along the wheel ruts
and sometimes larger pools. This
water stays on the road surface be-
cause 1t 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
into them That part of the roadway
where the wagons travel Is called the
travelled way. To prevent water from
standing in the travelled way the road
should be raised in the center and
should slope gently Into broad, shall
low bitches. Ii is then said to have
q crown. II IL Is ten feet from the
centre of the road to the side ditch,
the surface at the side ditch should
be at least ten inches lower than 1t Is
at the centre where the horses travel.
The road then has ten=ineh crown.
The rain that falls on road proper
" crowned will run quickly to the
side and soak into the surface or
form pools. The side bitches for sur
face 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. II the bitches
merely collect the water from the
road surface, and 1t cannot run away,
large pools will be formed along the
roadside, which will gradually soak
into the soil beneath the road and
make II 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
a little stream down the wheel tracks
or in the middle where the horses
travel When driyeways into farm
yards are built across the side ditch
es they frequently form channels for
water from the farm yard To run into
the road. The pipes under driyeways
become filled with leaves or rubbish.
and the water can no longer run
away. II the drlyeways that stop the
ditch water were rebuilt 30 that no
pipes were necessary and the ditch
could be left open. much trouble from
surface water would be stopped.
Draining by Side bitches.
Sometimes a road runs across low
ground or through swamp where the
road cannot be drained BY side ditch
es alone. II the road we're built
higher like a railroad embankment
across such low land and made with
a crown, It would be dry and hard.
Sometimes road passes through
what is called a cut. This Il q place
where the earth has been dug out SO
that the road can 90 over hill with
out being too steep. The water which
always flows quietly under the ground
on hill sides Is known a. ground
water. In road cuts such water
sometimes makes the road very mud
dy. and the road then needs what
road builders call nnderdrainage. A
good kind OF underdraInage IL trench
to go along under the side drain and
about three feet deep and foot and a
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.
ITO keep a road smooth and crowned
the best method Is 10 drag 1t with a
road drag. A road drag Is made
easily with two halves Of log which
has been split The log should be
about six or eight inches IN thickness
and about six or eight feet long. Tho
two halves OF the log are set three
feet apart with the smooth faces
downward 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 hitehed IN chain
fastened to the front half Of the log
The road drag should move forward
SO that 1t slants across the road in
such a way that small amount OF
earth will slide past the smooth face
OF the log toward the centre of the
road, thus forming a crown. The
edges OF the logs will smooth out the
rnts. The best way 10 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 a little nearer the centre,
and the last trip over the road the
drag may work close 10 the center
itself. Small ridges Of earth will
be thrown In the horse track and
smeared by the road side of the log
smoothly over the road. The smear
Ing OF the earth by the drag Is called
pudding 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 1t has
rained and not when 1t Is dry. A
good, strong pair of horses with a
wall hItitf nraU ah
or four miles of road in 4 day. and II
Is the best way to maintain good
roads. In every county some farmer
along each four miles of road
should own drag and drag the road
when II rains. He would always find
the road in good condition when he
goes to market"
Roads Prize Time Extended.
Owing to the fact that many rural
schools were closed at the time when
the prize maintenance essay was an
nounced by Director Logan Waller
Page, of the Office of Public
Roads, 1t has been decided to extend
the limit for receiving the essays TO
October Is, 1913. IN addition to the
gold medal given as 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
he must be pupil Of rural school
There is some misunderstanding in
regard to the subject Of the essay
The idea is to set the children think
Ing how to better Their earth roads
with the material they have at hand
The Touring Department Of the