The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1915-10-27

this fact, the United States depart
ment Of agriculture maintains an
loffice Of public roads and rural engi
neering which studies methods of road
building and is always ready to give
advice regarding such matters on re
Fceiying application for the same. The
Weekly News Letter OF the depart.
ment gives the following good sug-
/ gestions:
That full value may be received for
the money appropriated for road pur-
poses and that the best results OBJ
tainable may be secured it is essen
tial that the right man shall be placed
in charge OF road work. He should
be selected not only because he &C.
tualIy knows more about good roads
than any other person in the com
( munity. but also because he can get
the best results from the money fur
nished II is not sufficient. however.
10 let the matter rest with the ap
pointment of a road overseer. He
should receive the whole-hearted sup
port Of the community in the work II
should be seen to that to that under
the conditions and with the money fur
nished the community is getting what
it has right to expect in the way OF
road Improvement. 1t is well to re-
member that II for any reason an in
competent man is placed in charge of
the work the responsibility for failure
rests upon the community There
should be no other consideration,
therefore. in selecting road overseer
than that Of securing man with the
ability to perform the duties required
II should be realized that good roads
have much to do with the prosperity
Of community, and that united action
in the right direction is the surest and |
quickest way to secure them,
To secure a satisfactory road of
any type, it is absolutely necessary to
remember: First, drainage; second,
drainage; and. third, drainage Ihe
earth road, properly cared for. win I
answer satisfactorily for the traffic of /
many rural sections that can not af- (
ford the better types Of roads; but the
earth road must be we'll drained. /
After this fact is we'll understood, two I
other requirements may be taken up
the location of the road and The re.
duction Of grades to a general average |
Of 5 per cent.
With the exception of sandy roads, [
which are easiest for travelling when
damp, all roads must have proper side |
bitches to carry away the surface
water. In order TO lead this surface
water to the ditch, the road surface
must have a crown, or rounded roof, |
highest in the center and sloping to-
ward the side bitches. A very easy
and satisfactory way to keep earth, |
clay and gravel roads crowned, by the 1
use of the split-log drag, is explained !
in farmers bulletin 597. copies Of
which may be obtained upon applica-
tion to the department
After the road has been crowned
and the crown is kept in condition by
the wise use of the road drag, it should
be seen to that bitches are kept free
from weeds, etc, and that they are
deep enough to carry off the water
which runs into them. In most cases
a wide, shallow ditch is best. Deep
bitches are dangerous to traffic. At
spaces of every few hundred feet along
the roadway a culvert of some kind
should be placed to carry away the
water which has gathered in the
bitches.
A road properly built generally will |
not have an average grade of moro
than per cent. By per cent of
grade" is meant the number of feet
the road rises or climbs" for every
100 feet OF its length. On road of
| per cent grade the horses need pull
the load up a rise of only | foot for
every 100 feet they travel. 1t has been
found that where a horse can pull a
Iull load on level ground; he is able
to pull only one-haif that load on a
per cent grade and only one-fourth
hat load on a 10 per cent grade. More
rips must be made to and from mar
ket on road with just one bad Hill
n order to haul the same amount that
ian be hauled at one trip on a level
'oad.