﻿ni] 
  Speciai. 
  Report 
  No. 
  8 
  : 
  Road 
  Making 
  329 
  

  

  growth 
  of 
  the 
  use 
  of 
  road 
  graders 
  has 
  been 
  wonderful 
  during 
  the 
  last 
  few 
  

   years, 
  and 
  indicates 
  that 
  the 
  farmer 
  has 
  discovered 
  a 
  practical 
  solution 
  of 
  

   the 
  problem 
  how 
  to 
  build 
  his 
  local 
  dirt 
  roads. 
  

  

  The 
  peculiar 
  feature 
  of 
  a 
  road 
  grader 
  is 
  that 
  it 
  cuts 
  away 
  the 
  dirt 
  at 
  the 
  

   side 
  of 
  the 
  road, 
  and 
  draws 
  it 
  up 
  into 
  the 
  middle, 
  thus 
  producing 
  a 
  ditch 
  at 
  

   each 
  side 
  and 
  a 
  slope 
  in 
  each 
  direction 
  from 
  the 
  center. 
  At 
  the 
  same 
  time 
  

   it 
  will 
  cut 
  away 
  the 
  dirt 
  to 
  just 
  the 
  proper 
  depth, 
  and 
  no 
  deeper. 
  In 
  this 
  

   particular, 
  its 
  work 
  differs 
  from 
  that 
  accomplished 
  by 
  the 
  use 
  of 
  plows, 
  

   shovels 
  or 
  hand 
  scrapers. 
  The 
  road 
  grader 
  leaves 
  a 
  smooth, 
  regular 
  surface, 
  

   giving 
  the 
  road 
  the 
  proper 
  contour. 
  A 
  dirt 
  or 
  gravel 
  road 
  can 
  be 
  put 
  into 
  

   excellent 
  shape 
  by 
  running 
  the 
  grader 
  repeatedly 
  over 
  it. 
  Care 
  should 
  be 
  

   taken 
  first 
  to 
  remove 
  brush 
  and 
  rubbish 
  from 
  the 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  road, 
  that 
  the 
  

   grader 
  may 
  not 
  carr}' 
  it 
  into 
  the 
  traveled 
  roadway. 
  

  

  To 
  properly 
  finish 
  a 
  dirt 
  road 
  made 
  with 
  the 
  use 
  of 
  the 
  grader, 
  it 
  should 
  

   be 
  thoroughly 
  rolled 
  and 
  hardened. 
  It 
  is 
  not 
  sufficient 
  that 
  it 
  be 
  crowned, 
  

   but 
  it 
  should 
  be 
  made 
  hard 
  and 
  smooth. 
  The 
  same 
  thing 
  is 
  true 
  of 
  gravel 
  

   roads. 
  This 
  can 
  be 
  best 
  accomplished 
  with 
  the 
  use 
  of 
  rollers. 
  Horse 
  rollers 
  

   weighing 
  from 
  five 
  to 
  eight 
  tons 
  are 
  most 
  frequently 
  used 
  for 
  the 
  purpose. 
  

   All 
  loose 
  stones 
  should 
  be 
  removed 
  from 
  the 
  road 
  surface 
  before 
  rolling, 
  as 
  

   well 
  as 
  sods, 
  turf, 
  leaves, 
  sticks 
  or 
  any 
  other 
  matter 
  that 
  will 
  tend 
  to 
  soften 
  

   the 
  road 
  bed. 
  A 
  road 
  that 
  is 
  thoroughly 
  and 
  repeatedly 
  rolled 
  is 
  well 
  fitted 
  

   to 
  stand 
  the 
  wear 
  of 
  travel, 
  and 
  can 
  be 
  made 
  into 
  a 
  perfect 
  watershed. 
  

  

  The 
  difficulty 
  about 
  the 
  use 
  of 
  road 
  machinery 
  in 
  many 
  localities 
  is 
  to 
  be 
  

   found 
  in 
  its 
  cost. 
  It 
  is 
  frequently 
  thought 
  wrong 
  that 
  farmers 
  should 
  be 
  

   obliged 
  to 
  tax 
  themselves 
  for 
  the 
  purchase 
  of 
  road 
  graders 
  and 
  road 
  rollers, 
  

   in 
  addition 
  to 
  having 
  to 
  stand 
  the 
  regular 
  road 
  tax. 
  There 
  is 
  much 
  justice 
  

   in 
  this 
  position, 
  for 
  the 
  average 
  farmer 
  pays 
  his 
  full 
  share 
  of 
  taxes, 
  and 
  

   these 
  should 
  not 
  be 
  added 
  to 
  or 
  increased 
  without 
  some 
  very 
  excellent 
  rea- 
  

   son. 
  But 
  the 
  farmers 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  are 
  badly 
  in 
  want 
  of 
  good 
  roads, 
  

   and 
  the 
  clamor 
  for 
  their 
  construction 
  is 
  growing 
  from 
  year 
  to 
  year. 
  Quite 
  

   a 
  number 
  of 
  towns 
  have 
  solved 
  the 
  road 
  machinery 
  problem 
  b}' 
  voting 
  to 
  pay 
  

   their 
  taxes 
  in 
  cash 
  instead 
  of 
  working 
  them 
  out, 
  and 
  using 
  a 
  parts 
  of 
  this 
  

   fund 
  for 
  the 
  purchase 
  of 
  machines, 
  which 
  avoids 
  the 
  necessity 
  of 
  lev3'ing 
  an 
  

   extra 
  tax 
  for 
  the 
  purpose. 
  This 
  plan 
  has 
  been 
  adopted 
  in 
  New 
  York 
  and 
  

   Wisconsin, 
  and 
  probably 
  elsewhere. 
  The 
  town 
  of 
  North 
  Salem, 
  Westches- 
  

   ter 
  Co., 
  N.Y., 
  adopted 
  itasfar 
  back 
  as 
  1881. 
  The 
  town 
  of 
  Canaan. 
  Columbia 
  

   Co., 
  N. 
  Y., 
  adopted 
  it 
  in 
  1887. 
  In 
  Wisconsin, 
  C. 
  H. 
  Everett, 
  until 
  recently 
  

   the 
  president 
  of 
  the 
  Wisconsin 
  Dairymen's 
  Association, 
  says 
  on 
  this 
  subject 
  

   in 
  a 
  recent 
  letter 
  : 
  " 
  The 
  town 
  of 
  Turtle, 
  Rock 
  County, 
  where 
  I 
  reside, 
  was 
  

   among 
  the 
  first 
  to 
  adopt 
  the 
  cash 
  system, 
  and 
  has 
  two 
  improved 
  road 
  graders. 
  

   I 
  do 
  not 
  think 
  that 
  our 
  people 
  could 
  ever 
  be 
  induced 
  to 
  go 
  back 
  to 
  the 
  old 
  

   system. 
  We 
  know 
  that 
  we 
  have 
  spent 
  enough 
  money 
  in 
  road 
  taxes 
  during 
  

   the 
  past 
  forty 
  years 
  to 
  have 
  macadamized 
  every 
  road, 
  and 
  until 
  we 
  began 
  to 
  

   pay 
  our 
  road 
  taxes 
  in 
  cash 
  and 
  use 
  machinerj^ 
  there 
  had 
  been 
  little 
  or 
  no 
  

   improvement 
  in 
  our 
  highways." 
  

  

  