32 HOW TO PLAN THE HOME GROUNDS 



the horizontal. Ordinarily the one-to-one slope is steeper 

 than is advisable, and one and a half to one is considered 

 as steep a grade as should be given banks. The sliding 

 of soil on a steep grade may be largely prevented by cov- 

 ering it with a foot of rich mold or loam, and sodding or 

 seeding with grass will also tend to make it still more 

 firm. Sodding for slopes is greatly to be preferred to 

 seeding with grass seed. A steep bank may be strength- 

 ened by a low stone wall at its base that will serve to 

 restrain it from slipping. 



If the soil of the bank should be infested with springs 

 which would be liable to impair the firmness of the slope, 

 they should, if practicable, be tapped at their source, 

 and the water conveyed by stone or tile drains to the 

 gutters along the road. These gutters or drains should 

 also extend along the top of the embankment, to prevent 

 the water from coming over and down the slope. The 

 cut of a road can usually be made to equal the fill by 

 locating it in just the right place, but where it is very 

 steep, say forty-five degrees, or one to one, rough dry 

 retaining walls should be made at the bottom of the 

 embankment. 



Drains will often be required at a little distance above 

 the cut of the hillside road. If the road should run 

 through a marsh or swamp resting on a firm bottom, the 

 soft material should be dug out, provided it does not 

 exceed three or four feet in depth, and the road built 

 directly on the hard soil. Deep open ditches should be 

 dug on either side of the road, and sometimes, when the 

 neighboring wet land is especially deep, cross drains 

 under the road at frequent intervals become necessary. 

 The drains may be of stone or tile. When the marsh is 

 very deep, it is sometimes necessary to build under the 



