The record., 1914-01-22
Sand Clay Roads And The Time To
Work Them.

q here are At PRESENT abou: SS,-
900 miles of sand clay roads IN the
; United States, mainly in the South
eTn States, according 10 the Office ol
Public Roads, L. ). Department of
Agriculture. The lime to work the
roads is in the spring when the soil
is damp. Ii the working of the
roads is deferred until late in sum
mer when they arc dry, they are not
only much more III hiSult 10 put IN
proper shape but the COS, OF repair
is greater than if they were worked
early in the spring.
Previous to 1904 comparatively
little, # any. of these roads existed
The popularity of this type of road
is due To the facts that 1t is cheap,
comparatively GGm and durable.
easy To construct and repair. and
/ ihat the materials cut ui which il
Is built are plentiful in many sections
tot the country.
The sand. clay road is made by
mixing the sand and clay in such a
way that the grains of sand touch
each other, the spaces between the
grains being filled with clay which
acts as a binder
The approximate mixture of sand
and clay may be determined by Iiil.
ing a vessel with sample of the
sand TO be used, and ano,her vessel
of the same size with water The
water is poured carefully into the
sand until it reaches he point of
overlooking. The volume of water
removed from the second vessel
represents approximately the pro-
pOiAApu VI Niat hhShSu.
The proper proportion of sand
and clay can best be determined,
however, as the work progresses, as
some clay vii! contain more sand
than Others. In fact, clays are very
frequently found which already con
tain about the rish, proportion OF
sand.
If The road to lie treated is sandy,
The surface is first leveled on and
crowned with a road machine, the
crown being about inch To the
foot from the center To the sides
The clay is then dumped on the sur
face and carefully spread, SO that it
will be from To inches IN depth
at the center, and gradually decreas-
ing in depth towards the sides. y
layer of clean sand is then usually
added, which is thoroughly mixed
with the clay either by traffic or by
means of plows and disk or tooth
harrows.
The best results have been OBJ
tanned by thoroughly mixing or pud-
ding the materials when wet For
this reason, it is desirable that the
mixing be done in wet weather.
The mixing can be lett To the uaffic
after the materials have been pro-
perly placed, but this Involves 4
whole winter and spring of bad road,
and even then the mixing Is not al
ways satisfactory. In all cases, it
is advisable to dress the road with a
road machine or split-log drag after
the materials have been thoroughly
mixed, and to give it a crown of
not more than ! inch or less than
q inch to the foot from the center
to the sides. A light coating of
sand may then be added. The use
of the road machine or drag should
be continued at frequent intervals
until the surface is smooth and firm.
Ii the road TO be treated is COM
posed of clay. it should first be
brought TO a rough grade with a
road machine. The surface saould
then be plowed and thoroughly
pulverzcd by narrowing to depth
of about ! inches arter which it is
given a crown or slope of about l. Z,
inch to the foot from the center 10
iSe sides. 1t is then covered with
6 to $ inches of clean, sharp sand,
which is spread thicker in the cen
ter than at the sides The mater
isls shogld then be mixed with
plows and harrows while they arg
comparatively dry, after which the y
are inally puddled. with harrow
during wet weather. If clay works
to the surface and the road become S
sticky, mere sand should be added.
The road is then shaped, crown
ed, and ditched III the usual manner
with a road machine. This should