Drainage in Highway Construction 
\A/ ASTED EFF()RTS -— Tho writer was one of 
» * the first to advocate the necessity of im- 
proved highways, when it was considered next t > 
treason from the farmers’ viewpoint as a rule. The 
great argument was that our taxes for construction 
and maintenance would be so heavy that we would 
lose our farms. But tiie worldwide progress brought 
forth great changes, and our improved roads are not 
the least item in this forward movement. Granting 
all this, we recognize the fact that highway con¬ 
struction at best is only in the experimental stage. 
Millions have been spent in the way of trying out 
different methods of construction, and the greater 
part of tliis lias been confined to materials and man¬ 
ner of placing these on the nicely rounded roadbed. 
Little attention has been given to the foundation. 
A> a result miles and miles of these expensive roads 
have been broken up every Spring, and repaired a I 
great expense because of lack of attention to the 
foundation. Careful grading and pounding down of 
the roadbed with a steam roller during dry weather 
will not alone prepare a firm founda¬ 
tion, as there are so many sections on 
every highway where the subsoil is soft 
and springy. These different condi¬ 
tions are common knowledge to the 
people who live along those roads and 
who in past have worked them annually 
under the old system of highway up¬ 
keep. Many of us have served our 
terms as path masters in this work. 
Thirty years ago. when a certain main- 
traveled highway was under construc¬ 
tion. I endeavored to tell the engineers 
about a bad stretch in the highway 
near my farm, which became a sort of 
bottomless pit almost every Spring 
when the frost came out of the ground, 
but a farmer in those days was of less 
account than at present. The road in 
question went to smash in all those 
places, because there was no proper 
foundation. For three years now the 
road by these four corners where T live 
lias been under construction. The 
great blocks of reinforced concrete were 
laid last Fall up the slope to the west 
over a nicely graded roadbed, but this 
Spring, when the frost came out of the 
ground, the lower end of each great 
block was raised up by the mighty 
force of frost action, and in settling 
back caused a chipping of the ends that 
cannot be repaired successfully. And 
why was this? Because that slope is 
full of water every Spring, and these 
great blocks of concrete are lying in a 
sort of mush foundation. While water 
is in evidence in the side open gutters 
they provide no drainage for the mid¬ 
dle of the road. The only benefit these 
open gutters are to the road is to take 
care of the great volume of water after 
an unusually heavy rain or cloudburst, 
and again in the Spring when the heavy snows are 
passing away. I do not recognize them as a drain¬ 
age feature in the right sense of the word. 
SPECIALISTS IN DRAINAGE.—This afternoon 
I have been having a sort of conference with one of 
the engineers on our nearby job, who seems to he 
the right sort of a man. and is going to see what 
can be done in tin* way of proper tile drainage for 
this and other springy slopes. There is a vast dif¬ 
ference between a civil engineer and a practical 
farm drainage engineer. The majority of civil en¬ 
gineers do not understand the latter at all. Conse¬ 
quently this feature of under-drainage in the pre¬ 
paration of a proper foundation for one of our ex¬ 
pensive highways is bound to receive more attention 
in the future. 
AX UNDESIRABLE PLAN.—I understand one 
engineer is getting up a sort of scheme to place a 
tile drain in the center, with outlets into the side 
gutters along the roadway. If this be done it will 
only be another waste of a few millions more of the 
taxpayers’ money, for the reason that the drain 
cculd not be deep enough below the concrete, and 
the outlets would be too numerous and too shallow, 
and the whole system soon become useless. Again, 
it is better to stop the water before it gets to the 
center of the road than to attract it there by the 
center drain. The proper place for the tile under¬ 
drain is perhaps 3 ft. from the edge of the concrete, 
and the bottom to be 1 ft. deeper than the level of 
the bottom of the ordinary side dirt gutter. In most 
instances 3-in. l'arm drain tile, properly installed, 
Iht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
with outlets at convenient sluices or silt wells at the 
corners where roads intersect, will provide proper 
drainage, and also secure a firm foundation for the 
improved roadbed. 
METHODS OF DRAINAGE.—In some instances 
it may he found necessary to run a stub or short 
branch diagonally under to the center of the road to 
take care of an unusually springy place. One vital 
point, in under-drainage is to have as few outlets as 
possible, but to combine the different lines and unite 
in one larger line that will have such force of cur¬ 
rent that it will clear itself at all times. I have seen 
fields tiled where the drain came straight out to the 
highway roadside gutter, necessitating constant vig¬ 
ilance in keeping them clear of obstruction, when if 
a line of larger tile had been laid in the field parallel 
to the roadside gutter, and all these lines had been 
connected on to this line with the usual Y’s, and 
this line of large tile had proper outlet, there would 
be Imt one outlet to the whole system, and the force 
of the stream would he so strong at this point that 
there would he no obstruction possible. This idea 
731 
A Fine General Purpose Horse 
'T^HE mare shown in the picture. Fig. 2S4, was 
A somewhat over 30 years old when she died, 
about a year ago. She was a sorrel, weighed about 
1.150 lbs., and was always in good flesh. Though a 
fast walker and somewhat nervous in disposition, 
she was a dependable worker, and gentle. I often 
regretted that I knew nothing of her ancestry, 
though it was evident she came of a harness-horse 
strain, possibly Morgan or Hambletonian. At any 
rate, she was a fast traveler, a good puller, and will¬ 
ing. Clear of eye. clean of limb, feet always tough 
and free of cracks, and never sick in all the 25 years 
I handled her. Her wind was always good and she 
stood the heat well. 
These general purpose horses were not fast enough 
for racing nor big enough for drafters, yet for farm 
conditions they were almost ideal. The cities de¬ 
manded big horses up to the time the trucks came in 
general use. but now a farmer can afford to raise 
such horses as are best suited to farm use: such a 
horse is of the Morgan type, and is suited to farms 
where two or three horse implements 
are used. Though I like and admire 
the big drafter, yet I know the smaller 
horses will outlast the big fellows. 
Ohio. W. E. DUCK WALT,. 
The Unit Tedder at Work. Fig. 286 
Futiinii the lldil Under Cover. Fi</. 287 
must be borne in mind in highway drainage. We 
want good roads, and are willing to pay the price in 
taxes, but we want better results than in the past. 
Our highways must be built to stand up under con¬ 
stantly increasing heavy traffic. To this end the 
foundation must be stable by proper under-drainage. 
New York. h. e. cox. 
The Useful Hay Tedder 
A 1 L\ Y tedder makes il possible to cure hay in 
perhaps two hours shorter time on a good dry¬ 
ing day than if the hay is not stirred at all, but the 
tedder must he used intelligently, for the hay in dry¬ 
ing. after it passes a certain stage.- is really wasted 
by this implement, since it knocks off many of the 
leaves if the hay is slightly parched or crisp from 
immediate drying. 
We find that the best time to use a tedder on 
Clover hay is just a few hours after mowing; if the 
hay becomes wet from rain it should be handled 
while still damp and tough. The leaves are the most 
valuable part of the hay. However, when the damp, 
tough hay is picked up, tlit* air goes through it rap¬ 
idly, and it will dry faster than if allowed to lie in 
the same position as when mowed. If this implement 
is used in mixed hay the loss from knocking off 
leaves is not excessive, imt the loss is particularly 
heavy with Medium clover, Alsike or Alfalfa that 
has become too dry. clarence m. bakek. 
Wayne Co., O. 
Making a Weedless Lawn 
I have seen many newspaper statements 
about like the following from the Rhode 
Island Experiment Station. What is the 
truth about it? 
“A weedless lawn is possible without 
trouble or expense, according to the offi¬ 
cial college statement, merely by the use 
of ammonium sulphate instead i>f nitrate 
of soda in the annual application of fer¬ 
tilizer. 
“Slowly but surely the weeds will dis¬ 
appear and the lawn will become the even 
velvety green that is the envy of every 
neighbor,” says the statement. 
“Nitrate of soda gradually tends to 
create an alkaline condition of the soil 
which is especially favorable to the 
growth of weeds. 
“By using ammonium sulphate, which 
is not more expensive, in the same quan¬ 
tities as the nitrate of soda, the required 
amount of nitrogen is furnished and the 
soil kept in the acid condition under 
which the grass develops best, but the 
weeds are so weakened that they are 
crowded out.” j. s. 
T HE truth about this matter seems 
to be that in Rhode Island the 
popular grasses for lawn work are Red- 
top and Rhode Island Bent. These 
grasses do well in Southeastern New 
England, and they have the ability to 
make a fair growth on acid soils. This 
quality was well known to many 
farmers, who follow tin* plan of seeding 
Red-top and Timothy together. We 
have often clone this, and find spots in 
the field which after the first season 
are entirely covered with the Red-top, 
the Timothy having practically disap¬ 
peared. In some cases the entire field 
will be red, almost like sorrel, while it 
will be difficult to find a plant of 
Timothy. A heavy application of lime at seed¬ 
ing would change this almost entirely. The Red- 
top would largely disappear, and the Timothy 
would occupy the ground. Where a lawn is com¬ 
posed largely of Red-top or Rhode Island Bent the 
use of sulphate of ammonia would stimulate the 
growth of these grasses. The sulphate of ammonia 
is an acid fertilizer, and when used freely the lime- 
loving plants will gradually disappear, and those 
which are favorable to the use of acids will increase. 
That explains why a lawn made up largely of Red- 
top and Rhode Island Bent will thrive and keep in 
good condition, while many of the other grasses and 
weeds will disappear. That is undoubtedly true, 
but in most other parts of the country the lawn 
grasses are used which must have a full supply of 
lime. Blue grass, White clover. Timothy and other 
grasses will not respond to the application of sul¬ 
phate of ammonia. It is better on such lawns to use 
an alkaline fertilizer, such as ground bone, or wood 
ashes, or nitrate of soda. We have had considerable 
experience with sulphate of ammonia. It forces a 
quick growth upon some grasses, and we have found 
it excellent for use in apple orchards, or on most 
other fruits. Its tendency is to sour the land some¬ 
what, and a fair quantity of limestone should be 
used in connection with it in order to keep the land 
in good condition. The sulphate of ammonia will 
not work as described on most lawns, for if too freely 
used il would retard the growth of Blue grass, Tim¬ 
othy and other grasses largely used in most lawn 
mixtures, 
