Show UNITED STATES department OF agriculture aaice of public roads washington D C THE maintenance OF EARTH ROADS we may recognize the value ot of hard an and 1 I durable roads in all parts ot co the country but still the fact remains that for a long time to come the majority of 0 the roads will ile be composed ot of eaith furthermore in about nine months out ot of ty tte e year tile earth road it if properly cared tor for is reasonably satisfactory for many agricultural districts it is the only road at present available hence these communities should set themselves seriously selious ly at work to learn the best methods ot of maint maintaining aaning earth roads and nd of getting the maximum service from them prosperity comes to the country to a great extent through the prosperity of the farmers this fact strongly suggests the importance of giving the earth road every possible care and attention in its location drainage construction and maintenance an earth road composed of water holding soil should be exposed to the sun and air as freely as possible As comparison between the shaded and sunny portions ot of such a road will easily indicate this should be accomplished by clearing a sufficient amount of trees and undergrowth away from the road it must be remembered however that sandy and gravelly roads require moisture and in ili these cases some shade should be retained furthermore trees are beneficial along river banks and on beep grades subject to washing drainage is one of the most important points to consider in connection tion with an earth road the majority of earth roads in all mountainous and hilly districts have too much drainage occasionally a road will be found with five ditches three in the middle made by the horses hoofs and by wheels of the vehicles and two on the sides all well con strutted ted earth roads are supposed to have no more than two ditches one on each side of the travelled roadway keep the water out of the middle of the road by giving it a crown or elevation in the center of 7 inches above the top of the inner inne r slope of the ditch tor for a 20 foot road and where the hills ire are a little steep make the crown 10 inches with a crown of about I 1 inch to the foot from the center to the sides the ditches which are often built across the craod on steep steel grades to deflect the water will net be instead of carrying water across the road in open ditches tile or concrete drains should it if possible be provided they should have sufficient capacity and fall to carry the maximum amount of watce that is expected to flow them at any one time the capacity is increased in proportion to the fall or grade tor for instance 12 inch pipe laid on a one per cent grade will carry 1800 gallons por per minute while the same pipe laid on a 2 per cent grade will carry 2500 gallons per minute furthermore a culvert laid flat will soon fill up while one having a good incline will keep itself clear in the maintenance of an earth load avold avoid the mistake of changing the natural order of things naturally the soil is found on top and the clay on tile the bottom it if the order is reversed reNer sed in constructing a road the result will be less satisfactory than it if the soil be left at the top of the road for foil makes a better surface to a road than clay it if the road bed is largely clay to start with it will be well to place sandy soil or clean sand on top A covering 0 of G to 10 inches of sand upon clay that persists in breaking up into deep mud holes will usually be satisfactory and it if sand enough be added this clay will cease to make mud it if tile the roadbed is composed of 0 sand it can be improved by an application of clay the lule iule for the servi serviceable cable earth road then is as follows make ditches on both sides and keep keel thern them open haul sand and gravel upon sections needing this treatment use a road machine and a split log drag judiciously a full description of which will be ba contained in a later article follow the stitch in time rule and give an earth road the same saine careful persistent attention you would give your prize acre factory or store and it will pay as aa large a profit in proportion to your individual outlay |