Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-10-21

on country roads. The department pro-
tests against throwing rocks into soft
mud holes. because the result Of do
ing this liz usually to produce a mud
hole at each end Of tho place whore
the rock Is dumped II water Is in q
roadbcd 1t must be drained away;
dumping rock into tho mud merely In
creases the area which 10 wet by the
water In the soil. The Missouri de-
partment points out that In many cases
the wnter Is retained by u bed OF clay
or hardpan resting on stratum OF
gravel or other material through which
the water can trlcklo away readily
All that II Is necessary to do to draw
way tho water from the roadbcd is to
sivsn II an opportunity OF passing
through the impervious layer into tho
gravel below. II is, therefore. recon-
rnended that holes be dug in the clay
and charge Of dynamite placed in the
bottom Of each BY exploding this
dynamite q wall will be formed at each
hole through which the water In the
roadbed Will be drained into the graz
vol. This work should be done care
fully 30 that II la certain the dynamite
VIII clear away hole reaching down
into tho stratum through which tho
water will pass away. After the hole
has been completed 1t should DO filled
with coarse stone or gravel or some
imilar material. in order that tho dirt
will not seal II and destroy it's useful
ness in FEY months.
Finishing Concrete Roads.
few years ago Georgia engineer
decided that the best method OF fnish-
Ing the surface Of a concrete road was
to roll II lightly. Having the courage
OF his convictions, he tried the method
and found IT satisfactory. After using
I. TO Ii considerable extent he described
1t at meeting OF road engineers In
Chicago and i, has since gradually
come into favor. The concrete was
mixed more stir than that ordinarily
used for roads The roller is about
four to six feet long. eight Inches In
diameter and weighs about seventy
pounds. 1t is moved across the road by
man standing at the roadside. The
good results seem to be due TO the fact
that the roller compacts tn concrete
considerably. squeezing out the water
and making the material dense. An
other new method OF finishing has been
developed at Wichita Falls. Texas. Two
boards, six inches wide and one inch
thick. each equal In length to half the
width Of the pavement. are spliced to
make a jointed plank. Each end Of this
plank Is provided with gauge TO keep
1; at the right elevation OF the finished
edge OF the pavement when moved
along the curb. long handle Is at
tached at each end OF the plank and a
handles. They pull and push the float
over the fresh concrete finishing the
entire width in this way at a single OPP
GRAFTON. This process Is said to elm
inate much OF the excess water In the
/ concrete and TO leave a surface less
/ ishinE.
Spreading stone From Motor Trucks.
Motor trucks have proved invaluable
to road builders for hauling rock and
gravel rapidly at low cost, but 1t was
not until recently that way was
found TO fit them for the class Of work
done BY automatic spreading wagons.
The latter are very valuable for dis
iributinG small quantity OF stone or
gravel over the surface of road in a
thin sheet, or in long narrow strip
where rut has to be filled II large
quantities Of such material are dumped
la q pile on the road, the center of the
pile forms a sort OF hard core and will
produce a hump in the finished surface
of the road unless the stone is well
narrowed after II has been spread by
shovels. Until recently the motor truck
could only deliver stone or gravel in
such piles, for the chassis does not
permit the uae OF hopper bottoms and
similar CONTINGENCIES such as are en-
pioycd In spreader wagons. The def
cheney has been overcome by providin e
the body OF the truck with taiiboard
having openings which can be closed
more or less by slides. BY raising the
front OF the body in the usual way
adjusting the opening ia the ta!lboard
TO deliver a Etream OF stone OF the
right amount, and then running the
truck at the speed which will give the
correct amount OF stone per linear foot
or road. the truck will distribute its
load satisfactorily. II takes a little ex-
periencc for the driver 10 acquire skill
enough TO do the work we'll, but when
skill has been gained the work