Newspapers / The Dispatch (Lexington, N.C.) / June 14, 1911, edition 1 / Page 2
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1 THE ftlSMTfB. LEX15GT0X, S. C, WIMESDAT, iVSt 14, MIL H0Y7 TO THEAT DIRT 30ADS. Dr. Pratt Off en So pie Good Advice Cart Should Be Taken With Location What a Boed Drag Win Do Some Valuable Dont'a. By Dr. Joseph Hyde Pratt, State Geologist, In June Number of Southern Good Roads. When rve stop to consider the number of miles of road in any county and compare this number with the small nunioer representing the miles of specially sur faced roacL. we can readily see that it will be a great many years perhaps, generations before all, or even half, the public roads are surfaced with macadam, .or sand-clay. For this reason it is very important that we should give very careful consideration and thought to the construction and maintenance of the dirt toad. When properly constructed, the dirt road cau be kept in good condition throughout nearly the whole year, except, perhaps, durinp periods of severe freezes and thaws. At the present time we have very few earth roads but what can be improved, and usually the ques tion of t'le improvement is not a very difficult one to solve. Fig. 1. . Fig. 1. Dirt road that could be Improved 100 per cent, by use of split log drag- The old idea that anybody can build a dirt road is fast losing ground, and our people are beginning to realize that road construction, even of dirt roads, re quires the services of men who have been trained in this line of work. "As careful thought should be given to the construction of dirt roads as is given to the hard surfaced roads; and in those counties which rely on just the labor tax for the construction of their public roads a great advance can he made if this labor tax is utilized under the supervision of an experienced road engineer. The location of any public rond is the only perma nent portion of the road ; theref ire. great care should be taken that when the road is once constructed there should be no question whatever regarding its reloca te Rrr t,', Fig. 2. Road with steep grade (average 10 per cent.) Travel made more difficult by uneven surface of road; large stones project abuve the road. tion. In locating a road it should be done so as to per mit of an easy grade none over 4 1-3 per cent and should be constructed so that it will readily shed the rainfall. How often we see a road going up a hill and clown the other side, when, by building around the side of the hill, it could have been kept at an even grade, reaching the identical point within the same dis tance, or but a little greater. If, in grading a road, we have any grades over 4 1-3 per cent, it will be necessary to construct across the surface of the road a V-shaped surface ditch to turn the water off the surface of the road, for if this is not done the water will, with the grade over 4 1-3 per cent, have momentum enough to seriously gully the, surface of the road. No matter how carefully these V-shaped ditches across the surface of a road are constructed, they are very inconvenient to travel, are hard on the wagons, and" should be avoided wherever possible. They can be avoided if the grade is kept below 4 1-3 per cent. In fig. 2, is illustrated a steep grade on a road in David son county, N. C, which could readily be eliminated by relocation of the road. The surface of the road is un even, and large rocks are projecting above the surface. "Thank-you-mams" have been made across the road to turn the water off the surface of the road, which ad.l a great deal to the discomfort of travel over this road Fig. a Surface ditch la dirt road for carrying water from one aide as the ether. . . . These dltehaa should eo ee used, and the water should be eairled under the aurfaei by aseana of a culvert . .... . v'! , ." ,. ' - - The dirt road is more susceptible to damage by wa ter than, of course, any of the specially surfaced roads; therefore, great care should be taken to work out an efficient system of drainage for the road. Water must be kept away from the road, and the raiii which ills en the road must be permitted to run off as rapid1 as possible, and by a very easy grade. It must n-it only be taken off the surface, of the road as rapidly as pos sible, but also out of the side ditches. Care should be taken that these side ditches are not too steep, and that every opportunity is seized for turning the water out of the ditches into the adjoining fields.- ; Many of our country roads are bad because in their 'instruction no arrangement was made for taking cars rf the water, and thus they are very mnddy and filled v , i ruts and holes. Instead of the middle of the road li v hi '-her than the edges, so that the water can r s ;.Iy run off on each side, many of them are flat, or ,., , ,. ,..lf(. vilh the center of the road the lowest r ; 1 I ns been constructed no that it Is v 'i t' c slope about 1 ia J f.'om the center of the road to the side ditches, and these ditches have been graded so as to readily take care of the wa ter, and yet not steep enough to cause them to eut deep gullies on the side of the road, and if the water is tak en from these ditches at every available point so as to prevent seepage of water under the surface of the road, there should be little difficulty in keeping the road in good condition. Very often it is necessary to carry the water from one side of the road to the other; and when this is necessary, it should be carried under the surface of the road by means of either concrete, metal, or terra cotta eul verts or pipe. The water should never be car ried across the surface of the road, for it keeps the' sur face soft, is apt to now down the surface of the road unless prevented by high rock, and is a great incon venience to travel. Fig. 3 shows a surface ditch with lower side so high that a heavily loaded team would apt to be stalled. Wooden culverts should be avoided it' pofsiltle and where necessary to use them they should he made of good timber and all planks securely nailed. They should be examined constantly s. that they can be kept in good condition. The surface of the road should bo kept as near flush with the surface of the culvert as possible. Fig. 4 is a poor form of culvert. : . " - A anlVSHU Fig. 4. A Craven County Culvert, Old Style. Regular Vehicle Smasher After the svstem of drainage has been installed, pro vision should be made to keep it up. so that the drains and the culverts will not become stopped up. The surface of a dirt road should be kept vl dirt, and whenever any holes or ruts have developed in the road, they should not be filled up with stoue, or brush, but with dirt, and with dirt as nearly as possible of the same character as the dirt composing the surface of the balance of the road. If, on the other hand, holes or ruts are tilled with rock, gravel, or brush, the wearing effect will be uneven, and the wheels will begin to scoop and cut out holes just bevond or on the opposite side of the road from the hole lolled up. If there are stumps or rocks in the nad. they should all be removed, so that the dirt sunaee ean be s:u othed over and brought to an even slope from the center to the ditches. Fig. 5, represents a road that it is impossible to maintain prop erly on account of the stumps. After the road has been well constructed and the right slope and surface obtained, it can be kept in this condition very readily bv uulicious application of the split-log or King drar. Fig. 8. This simple road machine, if used regularly af ter a rain when the roadbed is wet, will smooth and shape up the road, so that as soon as it has dried out it will be hrm and hard, ihe drag will till up tne ruts and holes and will keep the dirt road in first-class con dition, with hard surface, throughout nearly the whole year. As moisture is very detrimental to a dirt road, the sun should be permitted to strike the surface of a dirt road as much as possible; and, therefore, care should Face eon table a great anany stumpa. ba maintained properly Fig. I. A road w Such a i be taken not to have too much shade along a dirt road, and, where necessary, the trees should be cut away so that the whole surface of the road is exposed to the sun for at 1 ast several hours during the day. Shade is good for a macadam road, but bad for a dirt road. In repairing a dirt road the same thought must be given as in the construction of the road, and, when cleaning out ditches, the material should not be thrown into the middle of the raad or on any part of the sur face of the road, but it should be thrown into the ad joining fields, for this material is usually composed largely of fine silt and vegetable material, which holds Fig. I Old way ef throwing dirt from dltebea s aide at road preventing drainage from road Into dttea. This seene la as Cravea Comaty. moisture like a sponge and becomes very difficult to dry 'out, and is entirely different in character and consis tency from the dirt surface of the road. How many times we have seen the dirt road repaired by this ma terial being thrown up Into the center, or just beyond the edge of the ditch, thus preventing the surface wa ter from flowing into the ditches, and often turning it down the road I ' ' In the maintenance of our dirt roads they should be divided into sections, with a foreman or overicer in charge of each section, whose duties should be to go over every mile of his section after every rain and at least every two weeks, and wherever he finds a portion of the road needing repair, he should have it done. Af ter each heavy rain he should run a road drag over the road in order to bring it into shape and to fill np any ruts or holes that might have been started. We must bear in mind that roads will not maintain themselves, and that repairing a road simply once a year will not kep it in good condition. I ' 'aWVaff -. - . , ... Fig. 7. Wayne county farmer using the public road for a turning place ror cultivator, thereby damaging the road , The cost of maintenance of the public road is often increased by the farmer using the road as a turning place when plowing, harrowing or cultivating their fields. County and township road commissioners should not permit this as the farm implements carry a certain amount of soil into the ditches and onto the road. Fig. 7, illustrates this use of the public road which should be prohibited. In repairing a dirt road: IVm't fill up the holes and ruts in the dirt road with brush, with rocks on top, and a little dirt to cover the rocks; but fill up the hole with dirt of the same charac ter as the balance of the road. Don't throw all the refuse from the ditches into the middle of the road, thus softening the surface and de stroying the solid, firm bed that you have obtained by previous work; but throw this material out on the op posite side of the ditch. Don't leave the center of the road the lowest point; but make it the highest and give the surface of the road a slope of about 1 in 20 to the side ditch. Don't carry the water across the surface of the road from one side to the other ; but carry it by means of culverts underneath the road. TOOLS TO MAKE IT JlSA, CHISEL, BILL QFMATERIAL t Pieces 4-jrO'rT' LONG t ' t'xt'-se ' j ' rxt'-st . HAILS . Y G00l R0AD 'gPw assiaJuL Fig. 8. Don't have grades on your road over 4 1-3 per cent; for if you do it will be necessary to build V-shaped sur face ditches or "Thank-you-mam's" across the road. Don't, in working out the labor tax on the roads, try to make a holiday of it; but give an honest day's work on the road. Let us eliminate what is often seen in those sections where the roads are maintained by the labor tax ten or twelve men and an overseer, a little, gray mule, a small plow, six dogs, three or four guns, and a few tools which often are not considered worth using at home. This road force is not only hard on the rabbits, but also hard on' the roads. f 1 ! r NothCarolina Culvert Company's Culvert at N silo a. Dtilia (tti K C. Doa't reject the split-log drag because it is a cheap road machine, but use it constantly, for it is the most efficient road machine that we can use in maintaining the dirt road. Fig. 8. Good Roads and Poultry. 'At Stone Mountain next Saturday the people. of De Kalb county will hold a good roads rally and a poultry show. These two enterprises, at first glance seeming ly diverse, will be conducted at the same place, almost at the same time, and they will each enlist the same interest. . , . ' ' This is altogether fitting. ' For the development of poultry culture, like that of truck gardening, farming and other activities of mutual concern to country and town, is vitally dependent upon the development of good roads. The people of DeKalb have emphasized this practical truth by combining their highway con-. vention and the poultry exhibition. , ' Oov.-elect Hoke Smith declared in a recent address that Georgia is now . particularly in need of three things: Good schools, good farms and good roads. This is eminently true and these three needs are fur thermore intimately related. As each of these interests advances, the other two will progress. Whenever a county turns its attention to the building of . smooth and durable highways, its effort will bear rapid and golden results for agriculture and education. - . A good road links the farm to the school house and the town. It lessens, the cost and labor of marketing commodities. It puts the rural community directly in touch with the life and movements of large centers of population, and every farmer past whose fields it leads reaps a benefit Some time ago DeKalb county set splendid example by virtually making up its mind to issue bonds in order that its roadway improvements might be broadened and hastened. This movement has been temporarily slackened until some of the lepid details of the existing bond act may be modified and perfected. In time, how ever, the bonds will doubtless be voted and this county will carry out its big purpoHe. In the meantime such meetings as that to be held Saturday at Htone Moun tain are full of encouragement and are, therefore, defl niti ly valuable. Atlanta J.mrncl. I UI M w- nTrCZZTA!3 CCIXIEITHAH CASTC2 C2, SALn.oa rtUM wU-iuo and osanso m irsns mom irncxxav urn 'AS MOKt rUAMMV TO TAK& IS T1I IAL FAMILY LAXATIVE, AS IT CIYES SATISFACTION TO ALL, IS ALWAYS IXNLT1C1AL IN ITS EFFECTS AND PERFECTLY SAFE AT ALL TIMES. CALIFOiuUA FIO SYRUP CO. In ttM Circle. , oneverPacfeao of tn& Genuine. : ALL atUASU OSOCCBTS SOL THS OnCMAL AND COMB WHM CAUIS KM. ALTHOUGH THEY COULb MASS A LASGta PROFIT SV SELLING BtTCKiOe PREPARA. TIOItlCTTHCTI,ReTERTOsVXLTHECNUiN& BCCAUSC IT B RIGHT TO DO SO AND FOR THC COOO OF THEIR CUSTOMERS, WHEN SI NEED OF MEMCINES, SUCH DRUGGISTS ARC THS ONES TO DEAL WITH. AS YOUR UFt OR HEALTH MAT AT SOME TIME DEPEND UPON THtra SUU AND RELIABILITY WHEN BUVMQ '.. Notetfe MName of tte Gompan if " i l&'Ji-1 'li' TdNTAnruiysit 'I j, cajT. or i coMoi t jj j TimuM Wwnjsnoa, i I l J swarrTuasoir ; li I' loUIrTJMIAncSYRUrrJ I ygi , auniATuac nrruu ur rMSMS rjii .iii iiBiui' .1 ,vj. iW'iiijii'ii srai SKaii'iiraeif j PRINTED STRAIGHT ACROSS. NLA THE BOTTOat, AND M THE CIRCLE, NEAR THE TOP OF EVERY PACKAGE, Of THE GENUINE. ONE SIZE ONLY. FOR SALE ST ALL LEADING DRUGCBTS. REGULAR PRICE SOs PER SOTTLLi SYRUP OF FIGS AND EUXIR OF SENNA IS THE ONLY PERFECT FAMILY LAXATTVX BECAUSE IT D THE ONE REMEDY WHICH ACTS M A NATURAL. STRENGTHENING WAY , AND CLEANSES THE SYSTEM, WITHOUT UNPLEASANT AFTEREFFECTS AND WITHOUT RUUTATWO, DEBDJTATING OR GRUWG, AND THEREFORE DOES NOT MTERFERS M ANY WAY WITH BUSINESS OR PLEASURE, IT IS RECOMMENDED BY MSUONS OF WELL. ' PiFORMED FAMILIES, WHO KNOW OF ITS VALUE FROM PERSONAL USE. TO CET ITS BENEFICIAL EFFECTS ALWAYS BUY THE GENUINE MANUFACTURED BY THE CALIFORNIA FIG SYRUP CO. 'a i L 1 bT an t r bbIT la 7777777 Never Leak Never Need Repairs fireproof Storm proof rlandsome Inexpensive Suitable for all kinds of buildings. For further detailed information apply to ' Lexmgton Hardware Company, Leidngton. N. C. YORK, ClTYffo 0r intpra aii . ' . ' im '.'n . e .-awes' e& l nat is nest in Hotel ute 1 IV . KfrrxmnrA for vmn as the hAnminrtrr of Niw Ynrlr i BBSfiBV Si ft si representative visitors from every state b the union. Amnjed. fpautei tad coorjucsed aW M otaUaU lyslea ol I Minimri that kag catered to public rVwiMiJ. HOTEL PERFECTION AT CONSISTENT RATES B BOOKLET 5th Ave. and 30th St Geod Bonds sad Better Schools. Good roads and better schools, the two (O together, the one leads to the other. ; The sentiment for better schools has so grown that there are some forty or more special local tax districts. and that which Lbs county needs to be aroused on. more now titan ever be fore is the question of good roads. Many good roads advocates can be found here and there but as a rule there is too much indifference. The people need to be aroused and to see the benefits to be derived from good roads.. The following from the Concord Tribune preaches the good roads doc trine In a convincing manner. There has been a very noticeable in crease in sentiment during the past year or two, and eipesially during the past few months for better and longer term schools and better public roads in this section, and, for that matter, or the state. The people have begun to realize something of the resl value or. tool roads and of good, schools. Good roads easily double the value of farming lands. This has been dem onstrated In every place, in which modern highways have been built And not only do the good roads double the market price of lands, but they great ly increase the value of the products of the soli. In remote sections the transportation of the product to mar ket is quite a considerable expense. In fact, many farm products for which there Is a market never reach market for the slnvDle reason that the cost of transportation la so great that they are not marketed at alL Schools stand for as intelligent clt- Isenshtp, progresslvenesa and happy homes. Good schools linked with good roads and Improved and Intelli gent farming methods will stop the immigration of tbe boys and girls of the meal sections to the cities and nothing else will stop them. Aihebo- ro Courier. - - . Prorlnee of the Kewgpaper To be sure, many changes misht be made in newspapers If newspapers were to be reformed with a view to making them purely educative and . regenerative In their effect It Is not, It must be admitted, the aim of the press to supplant the pulpit, rob tbe Sabbath school of Its function, re move tbe need of the high school and devote Itself wholly to spiritual and temporal preaching , and teaching. What the effect of a newspaper made to fulfill the ideals of persons who view the press of the times with si arm because it publishes a dangerous eom- io supplement can be best Judged by the wide circulation of worldly dallies and the narrow scope of the circula tion of those that most nearly ap proach those Ideals. Circulation Is not the sole consideration, but with out It no educative or mlsalonarv work can be done. The most useful newspaper is one whose general effect Is Improving, and not one so virtuous and piggish that tlsose standing In seed of mental or spiritual tonic will have none of it It ls,as the layman friendly to the projects' cf the school, the university and the pulpit and not as a militant parson, that tbe press may be useful. Tae newspaner must be human or unreal. To be widely read it must make a broad appeal. It is Horace, we believe, who . asserts tbst It Is right to unbend upon fitting occasions. And there is a well known couplet about nonsense belog occa sionally relished by the best of men. The comic supplement may not be ab solutely necessary to the welfare or newspapers, but tbat It Is Inimical to the welfare of any class of newspaper readers, bss not been convincingly ar gued, and It gives enjoyment to many lovers of humor. Louisville Courier- Journal. - . ... : .. riamber trie Took the Plimb. "You're wanted," said the small hor. '"Who wants me 7" aemanaeo-me itiltimhef. "Number 1ST; the bouse you've Just come from." "Do they think I can work all hours of the darr retorted the plumber. "You'd better come," persisted the small boy. stoutly, "or It'll be too late. Ma's got hysterics, and pa's gone nearly mad. and "Look here, sonny!" asked the Dlumber. "What's upT . "Well, I think you've connected the wrong plpe or something," replied the boy. "Anyhow the chandelier In the parlor 1 ar raying like a fountain and the bathroom taps on crei London Aners. 'Willie: Bar. ta. you ought to see tbe men scross the street raise a building on Jacks. Pa (absently) : Impossible, Willie. You can open on Jacks, but a man Is a fool to try to raise on them er I mean It must have been quite a slgbt Puck. e ej Poemvtvv Cuaie SV Tnrel aim psua. Dyspasia relieved, Const petioo avoided, BonK regulated, BO p n, DO (Hp! Of. tatALl FILL. SALL DOSS. SMALL F-FilGS.
The Dispatch (Lexington, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
June 14, 1911, edition 1
2
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