The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1914-02-06

The final payments on bonds to
the amount Of 100000. recent
Iy authorized by the voters OF
Harris county for road build
ing, were made today. They
bear interest at four and three
fourths per cent. The roads
most traversed will be selected
by the school trustees for first
attention.
Washington. ID. c., February At
Is great mistake to put of work
ing roads until August or Septem-
her, according to road experts of
the United States department OF
agriculture. The roads should be
worked when the soil is damp so
as to make the soil bake when it
| dries out. II the roads are worked
when they are dry, 1t takes more
rower to draw the machine and
besides dry earth and dust retain
moisture and quickly rut after rains
| The use OF clods, sods. weeds or
vegetable matter in building earth
they also retain moisture.
II the working of the roads is
deferred until the latter part OF the
| summer when the surface is baked
dry and hard, they are not only
difficult to work, but the work is
unsatisfactory when done. Earth
| which Is loose and dry will remain
dusty as long as the dry weather
lasts, and then turn to mud as the
rains begin. BY using the road
machine in the spring while the
soil is soft and damp, the surface
! is more easily shaped and soon
packs down into dry hard crust
which is less liable to become dusty
in summer and mudd in winter.
Repairs to the Roads.
Repairs to roads should be made
when needed and not once a year
after crops are laid by. Because
of its simplicity, efficiency. and
cheapness. the split.log drag or
some similar device is destined To
come into more and more general
use. With the drag properly built
and its use well understood. the
maintenance of earth and gravel
roads becomes a simple and in
expensive matter Care should BE-
taken to make the log so light
that one man can lift il with ease.
Ss light drag can be drawn by two
medium sized horses and responds
more readily to various methods of
hitching and the shifting position
OF the operator than a heavier one
The best material for the drag il 4
dry cedar log, though elm. wal
nut, box elder or soft maple are
excellent. Oak, hickory or ash are
too heavy. The log should be from
seven to ten feet long, and from
eight TO ten inches i'm diameter. II
should, be split carefully Us near
the center as possible and the
, heaviest and best slab chosen for
, the front When the soil is moist.
but not sticky, the drag does the
, lest work. AS the soil i'm the field
will bake IL plowed wet. so the
road will bake II the drag is used
is full OF holes or badly rutted the
drag should be used once when the
road is soft and slushy
Use the Road Machine.
The earth road can best be
crowned and ditehed with road
machine and not with picks and
shovels, scoops, and plows. One
road machine with q suitable power
and operator will do the work Of
! many men with picks and shovels.
, and In addition will do II better.
If the road Is composed of fine clay
5 or soil II will sometimes pay to
/ resurface II with top soil from an
/ adjacent field, which has sand or
E gravel mixed with It. This method.
I called the top soil method" is now
in successful use in Slarke county,
: Georgia.
, Storm water should be disposed
OF quickly before II has had time to
penetrate deeply into the surface of
!. the road. This can be done by
giving the road crown or slope
from the center TO the sides. For
an earth road which is twenty-four
feet wide the center should be not
less than six inches nor more than
twelve inches higher than the outer
edges of the shoulder.
Hints on Road BUILDING.
The narrow road which is high
In the middle will become rutted
almost as quickly as one which is too
fiat. for the reason that on narrow
road all the traffic Is forced to use
; only narrow strip. Shoulders are
! often formed on both sides of the
road, which prevents storm water
|, from flowing into the side bitches,
5 retaining II in the ruts and soften.
Ing the roadway. These ruts and
shoulders can be entirely eliminated
with the road machine or split-loe
/ drag.
4 The width of the earth road will
$ depend on the traffic. AS rule
, twenty-five or thirty feet from ditch
TO ditch is sufficient II the road 1.
, properly crowned. Ordinarily ths
! only bitches needed are those made
, with the road machine which are