The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1914-02-25
EARTH ROADS.

Spring is n&arly hern, and tho mat
ter Of RAID repair and rnsd con.truc-
tipn viii soon he of present
Ono of tho sNthoriiics IN the sub
jet in The federal department ur aeri-
culture offers ynme suggestions which
ere Timely.
Ar sotls differ for agricultural pur-
pokAs. so they differ for road., sang
this expert. Clay or soils Of hno tex
ture usually max. poor rcada, "spc-
chilly If they contain much vegetable
mattor. Tbs ccaraer suiIa. it"wcver,
which confirm some sand nj gravel.
win often make lery satisfactory
ROADS tor light iraHir provided they
are kept in proper repair.
If the road is composed Of fine clay
OF soil. 1t Will sometimes pay to re-
surface II with top soil from an nd
Ja'.ni field which has sand or gravel
nrirn't with II. This method, called
the top-Soi' method. ia now in suc-
~rosrf'll use in Virginia. hnrth Caro-
lima. and Georgia. and prol,Sh,y other
siatss.
The eart, road csp hast he crowned
Hnd ditrh"d With n road machine, bud
rot with r,cks and ~ahnuels. scoops.
sud ple~e. Ons rot,i machine. with
= suitshle poWer and operation, viii
ii" tho wth % many mon will, picks
end %shovele. and d" II batter.
The . rarhine should h. used
"aem the .oil W. DAMN. so as To make
tho soil bake when IT. driea out. ~ it
n worked dr,. it takes mor. power
y" dreN tho machine. and besides, dry
ssr,h and dust retain mcistnve AND
unickJs rul after rains. The usc Of
clods, sods. weeds or vogetahle wat
ter in building earth roads shouId he
aN"ided kscsuse they also retain
moisture.
u Is n great mistake q" put the
u"rkinE cf tine earth off until August
an September. The surface ia then
haksd dry and hard. 1T ts not only
,ifflcult NV work hut IL unsatisfactory
work when dors. Earth Which, is
loose and dry will remain dusty as
long as the dry weather lasts and
it,cr turn Ia mud as soop as the rains
lrcgin. Fly using the road machine in
tho spring rf The wear while the soil
IT, loft and dawn. the surface is moro
r2sily shaped and suon packs down
,nt" a dry hard crust which is less
lahle 4" hecrrne dusty TN summer or
muddy in winter.
torn water ahonld ia disposed OF
n~u,clsIr before it ha- tln,e TO roue-
trate deonlv INTO The surface. This
eau he done by giving the r"ad =
crown or slope from the center 10 the
fcrt wide tho rcntrr ahouItl la mot
legs thau & inches nor nvore than :.
in"hea higher titan tho outer edges
"f the shoulders. \ narrow road
Which is too high In the middle vii,
heeome rnti.d almost as quickly as
ono which is too Nat for the reason
that on the marrow rnAd all The traf-
Tic is forced to uso only a narrow
strip.
Shoulders are often formed on both
sides Of tho road which ureveut storm
water from flowing into side bitches.
retaining II i'm the rnts and soft enins
tl,c ROADWAY. These r,ts and shout
ders can re entirely eliminated WIN
the road machine or splli-Ins drag.
= Ordinarily. tho only bitches nerded
are thu-e nSde with the road ma ,
chine. wh'cl, are wide and shallow.
deep. narrow bitches wash rapidly.
especially on steep slopes, which Is
another good aso Tor decreasing
tho stespness OF the grades. 1t is diff
hcult to maintain an earth road, or
any kind of road for that matter. oil
= stAep Il
The width of the earth road will de-
pend o., the trat1c. As a rule. IS Nv
20 feet from ditch to ditch Is sum