The Grangeville globe. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho) 1907-1922, 1913-06-19

road after a shower you VIII see
small puddles along the wheel ruts
and sometimes larger pools. This
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
into them. That part of he 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 1t Is 10
feet from the center of the road to
the side ditch, the surface at the
side ditch should be at least 10 inch
es lower than 1t Is at the center
where the horses travel The road
then has q 10-inch crown. The rain
that falls on the road properly crown
ed 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 of them into neighboring brooks
or streams. II the bitches merely
collect the water from the road sur
face and It cannot run away, large
pools will be formed along the road
side, which will gradually soak into
the soil beneath the road and make
It 20 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 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 lon
ger run away. II the driveways that
stop the ditch water were rebuilt so
that no pipes were necessary ana
the ditch could be left open, much
trouble from surface water would be
stopped.
Sometimes a road runs across
low ground of through a swamp where
the road cannot be drained by side
bitches alone. If the road were
built higher like a railroad embank
ment across such low land and made
with a crown, 1t would be dry and
hard. Sometimes a road passes thr'
what Is called cut. This Is
place where the earth has been dus
out so that the road can go over q
hill without being too steep. TIT
water which always flows quietly un
der the ground on hill sides Is known
as ground water. In road cuts sucf
water sometimes makes the roat
very muddy, and the road then needs
what road builders call underdrainage
"A good kind of underdrainage is
trench to go along under the sid
drain and about 3 feet deep and
foot and a half wide. In this trenc
a pipe is laid near the bottom an
covered with loose stones no bigge
than an egg. When the trench
completely filed with loose stone
the ground water, instead of soakin
into the roadway, will stop anon
the stones and flow down the nj
through the pipe.
Split Log Drag Should be Used.
To keep a road smooth and crow
ed the best method Is to drag
with a road drag. A road drag
made easily with two halves of X
which has been split. The log shoul
be about or inches In thickness
and about or feet long. The tv
halves of the log are set 8 feet apa
with the smooth faces forward al
upright. They are then fastened
gether with braces set in holes Dor
through the log. A pair OF hors
may be used to drag the road al
are hitched to a chain fastened
the front half of the log. The dr.
should move forward so that 1t slar
across the road in such a way tn
a small amount of earth will sill
past the smooth face of the log
ward the center of the road, tn
forming the crown. The edges
the logs will smooth out the ru
The best way to drag is to begin
the side ditch and go up one side
the road, and then down the 9TH
In the next trip the drag should
started a little nearer the cent