Evening journal., 1914-05-26

come IrCZon- Ihe old sayings that
"a stitch in time saves nine" and "an
ounce Of prevention is worth a pound
Of cure" are very applicable TO road
work. A few dollars spent with
care at the proper time may often
save many times their value later on.
All bridges should now be carefully
examined and their condition re-
ported; if any should be found in a
dangerous condition they should be
blocked off until repairs can be made,
which should be within the shortest
time possible.
The first essential of a good road is
proper drainage, and this applies not
only to the surface, but to the sides
of the road and under the road bed.
To drain the surface of the road bed,
of course, the centre must be higher
than the sides, and must be crowned
so that the water has a free flow to
the side cutters. Very many of our
roads are just now the reverse of
this; the centre being the gutter in
many cases. For this work the road
machine or scraper has been de-
signed; and under good management,
combined with good judgment, a very
excellent shaped road can be made at
comparatively slight cost Great
care must be taken, however, not to
push loose stones, sods. or other in
furious material into the middle of
the road. where IL merely forms more
mud, makes soft spots, which after
ward become mud holes, and washes
back again into its old place, inn
peding the flow of the cutters, and the
next year has again to be taken out
In dry weather it forms dust. In
deed, this of so great importance that
1t is best to have a horse and cart
with what help may be necessary
follow over the road just scraped and
remove all such injurious material
as may be thrown on the road bed
taking care that none of II goes Ia
NIL holes etc, a too common prac-
tice. In filling holes and low places
on the road, be careful TO do so with
the same material of which the road
is made; then rake it smooth and
even with the rest OF the road so that
no Jumps or high places are left;
particularly IL Is bad practice to fill
holes or washOuts in a soft or clay
road with stones; horses generally
avoid these hard places, the wear
and tear is unequal, and a washout
or couple of mud holes where for
merly there was only one, forms in
and around them, while in some cases
| what appears to be an old stone wal
shows in the road bed after a year
or so of use.
When the cutters formed by the roa'
| Oh nf ofnFN 1 -.
comes necessary to make good side
bitches for conveying Off the water
these should be made with a regular
even grade, SO that the water viii
not remain here and there in the
bitches, making soft places in the
] road opposite them, which, in yer,
short time, develop into large mui
holes. The water in the side gutter.
should be gotten away from the roads
as soon as possible, and should 4
become necessary to cross a road L
do so, it should be by a culvert undei
the road When springs or wet spotl
| show in the road, or where sid,
( drainage is not sufficient. Il is wei
TO porous drain tile, laying It care
fully, as in field drainage, so that i
may have an even, free flow. A piecl
of road we'll drain-tiled will keep dr.,
under most circumstances so that
is money well spent to do it properl.
at first. Sometimes the wet spots ar
caused by old sods, etc, beiiil
dumped into hole; these places hal
better be dug out and the hole fillel
with good material In side drain
ing, in many places IL is possible Il
tfpIs uII fnr
or so, into adjacent fields, thus avoid
ing unnecessary washing by bringing
the water all to one point. The oil
material from the bitches can some
times be used by the neighbors, VIII,
may help haul IL away free for tn
value It is to them.
On many of our roads IL has beel
the custom to make large breaks Il
keep the water from washing tn
centre of the road, or to pass Il iron
one side TO the other of the roadway
but the number AMI size of them ar
out Of proportion to the need; and a
each years cleanings are piled up a
the ends they become much highe
there than In the centre, with the re
suit that the water follows the whee
or hOof racks; washes out and goe
to the next break; then the break /
made higher, and so on until the roa
Is completely out of shape and grade
! being a succession of dips and fiat
all the way down the hill. Thes
breaks are disagreeable for tn
drivers, hard on the horses, an
damaging to both harness and We
hicle, besides reducing very materi
i -
the hill. They generally hold waite
and mud long after the rest of tn
road is dry, which, in winter time
become frozen and is dangerous
travel. They should be eliminated a
much as possible by sloping off thei
shoulders and filling the centre bot
above and below, thus making
water shed that will answer all need
of a break. In case Of steep hills
where they appear absolutely necef
sary, they should be made in th
form of horses foot. or of the lette
V, with the point up hill.
When needed to pass the waite
from one side to the other, a culver
+ or pipe is better, which should
placed diagonally across the road
insure a good fall and free flow.
some of our Hundreds large rock
are found both in the road bed and
+ the side cutters, N the latter cas-
4 completely blocking the water so th'
the gutter consists of small stretch'
without any outlets and remains fu
of water long after each rain. \
4 road can be kept IN good order und'
these conditions. II is better to r
move them at first, even at some cos
than to be continually repairing mt