Hide Article Text (OCR)
Washington, D. C., Jan. 29.—It ia a great mistake to put off working roads until August or September, according to road experts of the U. 8. department of agriculture- The roads should be worked when the soil is damp so as to make the soil bake when it dries. If the roads are worked when they are dry, it takes more power 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 roads should be avoided because they also retain moisture.If 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 i 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 a' dry hard crnst which is less liable to become dusty in summer and muddy In winter.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 of1'earth and gafral roada. become a pimple and l^Kponalve mat tec. Care should be taken to make the log so light that one man can lift it with ease, as a 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 dnig Is a dry cedar log, though elm, walnut, box elder or soft maple are excellent. Oak, hickory or ash are too heavy. The log should be from Beven to ten feet long, and from eight to ten inches in diameter. It should be split carefully as 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 best work. As the soil in the field will bake If plowed wet, so the road will bake if the drag is used on It when it is wet. If the roadway is full of holes or badly rutted the drag should be used once when the road is soft and sluBhy.The earth road can best be crowned and ditched with a road machine and •not with picks and shovels, scoops,- and plows. One road machine with a suitable power and operator will do the work of many men with picks and shovels, and In addition will do it better. If the road is composed of fine clay or soli it will sometimes pay to resurface it with top soil from an adjacent field, which has sand or■ gravel mixed with It. This method, called the ''top soil method, Is now• in successful use In Clarke county, GeorgiaStorm water should be diBpose.d of quickly before it has had time to penetrate deeply into the surface of the road. This can be done by giving the road a crown or slope from the center to the Bides. For an earth road which Is 24 feet wide l**e cen-. ter should be not less than 6 inches nor more than 12 inches higher than the outer edges of the shoulder. 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 a narrow road all the traffic is forced- to use only a narrow strip. Shoulders are often formed on both sides of the road, which prevents storm water from flowing Into the 6ide ditches, retaining it in the ruts and softening the roadway- These ruts and shoulders can , be entirely eliminated with the road■ machine or split-log drag.The width of the earth road will depend on the traffic. As a rule, 25 ; or 30 feet from ditch Ib sufficient if : the road is properly crowned. Ordl-'. narily the only ditches needed are I those made with the road machine- v tlch are wide and shallow. Deep \ narrow ditches wash rapidly, espe-• daily on steep slopes. The earth road I should not be loosened, dug up, orplowed up any more than is absolutely necessary. It should be grad-' i ally raised, not lowered: hardened,: nor softened-
Newspaper Details
The Blackfoot Optimist
Blackfoot, Idaho, US
Thu, Feb 05, 1914
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Allison G.
USA 21 Mar 2024
Other Publications Near Blackfoot, Idaho
Blackfoot Bingham County News
Blackfoot Idaho Republican
The Blackfoot Optimist
Blackfoot News
Blackfoot Idaho News
