FURNITURE, CARPETS and RUGS
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■——MRN TT-I — n -—-!»■■■ n IMUMAM JUMWN I^-AW—R— — AE— ■——— — l ——i———^ K . mrm
SEHD' During- Trade Week we will not only JjSfex
g|Wll|!. refund your Railroad fare but will deliver |||]^S ; 1
®OTO|i, all goods to your nearest railway station.
We offer you one of the Largest Stocks to select from and will make . l||llp|§r
Vudor Special low prices through our entire line.
RE-ENFORCED tyudor
HAMMOCKS _ PORCH SHADES
THE KIND THAT LAST *
" It Will Pay You to Come t0 Us ' We Wi "
Investigate Make Good and Deliver
wlllli the Goods
We make Window Shades :o fit any size //I If'/ «fe\\ .
window and guarantee the spring to work. "'"*1*1!/ // IbL/ .'• \ Agents for
We carry a large assortment of Rugs and Hoosier Kitchen Cabinets,
Art Squares. Can please you both in quality yff-M/ItTl f I ■ Brenlin Window Shades, and
and price. Globe Werneke Book Cases.
Home Course
Road Making
VIII. —The Sand-Clay
Road.
By LOGAN WALLER PAGE,
Director Office of Public Roads,
United states Department
of Agriculture.
Copyright by American Press Asso
ciation, 1912.
A SAND-CLAY road is composed
of sand and clay mixed in
such proportions as to form a
compact and firm support to
traffic. The perfect sand-clay road
should be neither sticky nor sandy.
The sand and clay may form a natural
mixture, In which case the road is
termed a "natural sand-clay road."
The two materials may have become
mixed in the fields along the road by
Y.y\
MIXING THE BA.XD AND CLAY.
•uccessive cultivation of the soil, and
ii this soil is used in the construction
of a road it is known as "top soil road."
There are many varieties of clay and
consequently a wide variation in the
characteristics of a sand-clay road.
The quality of the sand is a variable
factor, as it may range all the way
from fine, dust-like particles to coarse
grains and gravel and may be perfect
ly clean or mixed with loam and other
material. In consequence of these wide
differences in the materials constitut
ing sand-clay roads it is impossible to
maintain a uniform standard as to
quality of the road or methods of con
struction.
Not all but most sand consists of
tiny grains of quartz. While quartz
is one of the hardest minerals known,
SHUFORD'S FURNITURE STORE
it possesses practically no binding or
cementing power. The grains of sand,
instead of cohering in a tough mass
under the impact of traffic and the ac
tion of water, remain loose and shift
ing. Fine sand when dry is easily
displaced by the wind, which pro
duces in this way the ever shifting
sand hills. No road is so difficult to
travel as one through fine sand.
If clay has been carried in small
quantities by running water and de
posited as sediment it is known as
"sedimentary clay." If the feldspathic
rock has been disintegrated in place by
water the clay is known as "residual
clay." The sedimentary clay, having
been carried in the form of fine par
ticles, is finer grained than the residual
clay and is more sticky and plastic.
In contrast with sand, which possesses
no binding power, but is very hard,
clay is a powerful binder, but does not
possess the quality of hardness. It is
evident that in the construction of a
sand-clay road the important property
in the clay is its plasticity or tendency
to become sticky and elastic when
mixed with water. The clays which
are most plastic are called "ball
clays."-» Another important property
which is possessed by clays in widely
varying degrees is the porosity or ca
pacity for rapid absorption of water.
Clays which possess this quality in
the highest degree fall to pieces under
the action of water. These clays
are called "slaking clays." It will read
ily be seen that the plastic or ball clays
will form a better and more powerful
binder for sand-clay roads than will
the slaking clays; but, on the other
hand, they will be much more difficult
to mix, as they disintegrate with far
less rapidity.
The shrinkage of clay is an impor
tant characteristic in connection with
the building of roads. When water Is
mixed with clay expansion results, and
when the water evaporates the clay
contracts. This characteristic of ev
pansion is much more pronounced in
some clays than in others, and it must
be apparent that the clays which ex
pand the least are preferable for road
building.
The theory of the sand-clay road is
very similar to the theory of the mac
adam road. In the latter rock dust
and screenings fill the voids between
the angular fragments of stone and
when wet serve as a cement or binder.
The grains of sand may be likened to
the angular fragments of stone and
clay to the rock dust binder. In the
most successful uand-clay road Just a
sufficient amount of clay is used to fill
the voids between the grains of sand.
In this way the sand sustains the
wear, while the clay server as a
binder. If too much sand is used the
result will be loose sand on the sur
face; if too much clay is use.! (/„ ?
face of the road will become sticky
after rain*
The best mixture of sand and clay
can be made when the materials are
wet, and particularly is this true of
the plastic or ball clays.
If the clay is a plastic or ball clay
much greater effort will be necessary
to obtain a complete mixture; if it is
a slaking clay the mixture will be
much more readily obtained. This
kind of cls£ IS not as sfltiafaftnrv.
THE HICKORY DEMOCRAT, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 1912
however, as'the ball clay, us its bind
ing powers are much less. Ia select
ing clay for road purposes it is always
best to select the stickiest clay avail
able. A common test is to wet the
thumb and place it against a piece of
clay. If the clay will not stick to the
thumbi it is safe to assume that it will
be a poor binder in a saud-claY/road.
As the desirable proport,ions\Df sand
and clay «aro such that the particles of
clay baredy till the voids between the
grains of sand, it is well in determin
ing the quantity of clay to be applied
to a saud.-road or sand to be applied to
a clay road to know approximately
how much is needed. "A simple method
for determining the relative quantity
is to take two glasses of the same size
and fill one with dry sand^which it is
proposed'.to use and the.other witli wa
ter. The water should fjien be poured
carefully* in the glass of sand and al
lowed tot trickle down through the sand
until it reaches the bottom of the glass.
When the water'has been poured into
the glass of sand to the point of over
flowing*we may assume that the voids
between the grains of sand have been
filled, and consequently the amount of
water 1 taken from the full glass would
represent the volume of clay needed to
fill the voids in a volume of sand equal
to that in tlie other glass. It is better
to use a little less clay than would ap
pear to be. necessary, as the tendency
is to-overestimate the amount needed.
Good .drainage is the most essential
feature*of the sand-clay road just as it
is of all other of road. A sandy
or gravelly soil affords better natural
drainage, and if the sand is present to
an exceptional extent the only provi
sion necessary lor drainage will be to
crown; the surface of the road in the
same/manner as prescribed for earth,
gravet or macadam roads. If the road
is located through land that is so low
as to be»continually wet it will be nec
essary in addition to crowning the road
to provide wide 'ditches on each side
and to raise the roadbed a little higher
than theosurrounding country.
After ; proper drainage has been se
cured the roadbed should bo crowned,
beginning near the source *>f supply of
the clay or sand. The clay should
them be spread to a depth of from six
to eitght inches in the center, sloping
off .gradually to a thin layer at the
sideK. Upon the clay should bp placed
a thin covering/ of sand. If the clay
is of the plastife kind it will then I e
neeesfiary to pflow and ..harrow it. ad
vantage bei:v,' taken of rtiius to puddie
the surface with a disk rt irrow. S.uul
should be gradually ad»tyd until the
surfaee»of the frond ceasesito ball and
cake.
If the cla placed on sand to a
depth/ of six/ inches a cubic yard *>f
clay --will cover fifty-four lineal feet;
consequently; a sixteen foot road treat
ed in>this manner wotald require one
cubic*yard.of ,clay for each three feet
of length. mile of sixteen foot
road ;would (therefore* require 1,7d0
cubic;yards of clfty.
If the clay'subsoil istto be treated
with sand it should be flowed and
harrowed to n depth of about four
inches. On this prepared subsurface
should "be "placed from six to eight
inches of clean .sand, spread thickest
at the anct sloping to the sides
"TH TiTmil uu . i- manner as me clay
is «ppli"l to a sand rufltl These ma
(crisis h"iiUl then be mixed dry in
stead of the wet mixing, which is
preferable when clay is applied to
sand. This is preferable because the
clay can be better pulverized when in
a dry state. After dry mixing the road
should be puddled following the first
heavy rain. When the materials are
thoroughly mixed and paddled a road
K: • :
I . Jt
I- . vv'h.T?--.-.;
I"
A SAXO-CIIAY KOAD.
machine or grader should be used to
give proper crown to the road, and if
a roller is available the road can be
improved by the use of it. As It is
impossible to determine exactly the
proportions of sand and clay to be
used in the first place, it is necessary
to give careful attention to the sand
clay road for a considerable time after
it is completed. In order that addition
al sand or clay may be applied as
needed.
In 11KH there were only 2,900 miles
of sand-clay roads in the United States,
but at. the present time there are ap
j proximately 25,000 miles.
More Favorable Ground.
When our son was a boy of four a
amily of children moved next to us
Tho were simply incorrigible. Of
ourae their doings were much com
; aented on in our family, and many a
Ime I talked about "those dreadful
mith children."
One day I had occasion to correct
ay little son, talking to him seriously,
te listened quietly for awhile, then
joked up at me and said with the
lost engaging air: "Don't let's talk
bout this, mamma! let's talk about
ie Smith children."
Advice From Kindly Busy Body.
"Oh, my! Your house has an odor
9f burning milk. you know how
to avoid that?" asked tho K. B. B.
"I didn't think it was so terrible,
t'm sure. Everybody has accidents of
that kind," said the woman she was
risking rather irritably.
"Now it's all right, of course, I tlont
mind it, my dear, but next time just
sprinkle some salt on the stove at
jnce after the milk is spilled and you
Rill avoid that unpleasant odor.""
LOOK OUT FOR :-s
Gaiety Theatre
"Trade Week" we will be open every
evening from two to five o'clock.
Come and see a good show, and rest. It will only cost you
5 CENTS
and if you are not satisfied we will give that back to you.
We'give the best show and the cheapest show Hickory has ever had.
Clean amusement is necessary. We can't work all the time.
The Air Dome
✓
will be open each night if it is not raining.
Good Vaudeville and Pictures
J. Lee and W. A. Stone
PAGE FOUR