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j EARTH, SAND-CLAY . - ? ? (Prepared by the United States Depar ment of Agriculture.) Well-balanced and experienced jud) ment regarding the relative importanc of the various details involved is much more valuable asset in undertal lng to locate a road than mere techn cal skill In handling surveying lnstn ments. No knowledge gained froi books alone can give that complet grasp of the relations existing betwee a public road and the community : serves which is so necessary if th location and design of the road are t secure the greatest possible good froi the money expended. In locating or relocating a publi road the prime considerations shoul i" be, first, the comfort and convenienc of the traveling public which it is \t tended to accommodate, and, seconc the economy of public funds. The firs consideration fixes the general locatio: -. _ . ot the road and llmits-saeh details . design and layout as affect the safet; and comfort of travelers. The secom should control the detailed workln, ont of a location to suit the topograph; or surface layout of the region througl which the road passes, with due re gard for such features of the desigi as affect the cost of construction, o maintenance and of hauling over th completed road. The comfort and convenience o travelers, requires, first, that the roa< pass conveniently close to the dwell lng places of those for whose particu lar use It Is built; second, that it bi free from dangerous curves and grade: and sufficiently wide for safe travel and, third, that the surface be such a? to remain reasonably fjrm and smootl and to become neither very dusty noi ery muddy under any combination o: weather and trafile conditions. Th< extent to which any particular roat must meet these requirements depends of course, on the state of public senti ment in the community which pays foi the road. But in most communities i' ls safe to assume that the standards ol Iexcellence as regards the accommoda tion demanded of public roads will b( raised rather than lowered. Due fore sight, therefore, should be exercised it working out the location and desigr of a road, so that later improvements such as reducing grades, Increasing thc width of the traveled way, or con structing a better surface, can be made H without the necessity of making expen sive changes in the location or other wise wasting any considerable part of H the work already accomplished. Location of Roads. A few general rules regarding the lo r'.% cation and design of public roads may be stated briefly as follows: 1. Avoid sharp curves in the road, I because such curves are a menace to traffic. On light grades and level stretches the location should be prefer H ably such that a traveler may see at least two or three hundred feet ahead from any point on the road, and on H steeper grades this distance should be increased if automobile traffic ls to be reasonably safe. Where the view is H unobstructed and the grade is practi cally level, country roads of ordinary width may be curved to a radius of i only about two hundred feet without seriously inconveniencing traffic, but to safeguard against accidents the ro fl dius of curves located on grades should be preferably not less than about 300 or 400 feet, even If the view is per c! fectly open. 2. Provide ample width for vehicles to pass each other without leaving the '. I traveled way. 8. Bear in mind that if a road ever becomes of any considerable Impor : y tance, its users probably will demand that all the steeper grades be reduced to the lowest maximum that would conform to the general topography of the region which the road traverses. 4. Avoid all unnecessary distance. Aside from the advantages to traffic of a short route, each mlle of addi . tionai road involves a considerable extra yearly expense for maintenance, and this consideration alone may war rant considerable expense in shorten ing the route when the road is con structed, provided that the decrease In distance does not materially increase - the steepness of the grades. ( 5. Regard land lines only In so far as this may be don0 without decreas ing the usefulness of the roa^.o? rn-! ^^^'asirjg 4?S^imiree 'costT The ten s''*""'' dency in most rural communities is to locate all new roads along land lines, regardless of the suitability of the route, and this has been responsible for much waste in the past. Not In frequently roads located along land lines have been graded at considerable expense, and abandoned iater when the community demanded a more highly improved road with better grades. 6. Give reasonable consideration to the pleasing features of the location. A large part of the travel on most country roads is for pleasure, and the degree of pleasure experienced in driv ing is 'argely dependent upon the scenic attractiveness of the road. Laying Out a Road. The actual procedure of laying out a road should be controlled very large ly by the lay of the land which the road is to traverse. Where the coun AND GRAVEL ROADS I [EXAMPLE OF HOW A WADE UNE SHOULD BE ESTABLISHED. fi "A" shows the original grade of an old road ?3 B" shows a wrong.though greatly used method of ?fcotting the top of the hill and filling in ai the bottom 3r The result is no improvement except to shorten a? the grade * 'C Shows the proper method of cutting thc face of 4 the hill instead of the too. thereby reducing H the steepness of the grade without increasing th? jj amount of material moved. try is comparatively level, for ex I ample, prrctically the whole problem, aside from proper drainage, may be to j determine a reasonable balance be tween the desire to avoid unnecessary damage to farming land and the pur pose to secure a reasonably direct route over good ground. 1 One of the most common problems In laying out a road In level country ls to decide between continuing a circuitous route around cultivated fields or along rectangular land lines, and establish ing a new diagonal route across the fields. I In mountainous regions, on the other i hand, the problem may be to flt the I road to the contour of the country, re gardless of land lines, cultivated fields, and all other considerations except grade, drainage and line. In general, the proper location and design of a road involves: (1) deter mining Its controlling points; that is, fixing Its general route with reference to certain points which the road must pass through, (2) surveying a route which passes through the controlling points and ls otherwise adapted to the lay of the land, (3) a study of the drainage situation, (4) preparing such plans and drawings as are necessary I for proper construction and a com plete record. Controlling Points. Such features of the locality as gaps through ridges, exposure to the sun, narrow stream crossings, and suitable I points for crossing railroads (prefera bly by means of overhead bridges or under passes), together with the ne cessity for connecting up with certain centers of population, usually will serve to fix the location of a road with in fairly definite limits. For impor tant roads these controlling points are determined by careful inspection of all ! possible routes. The Survey. The care which should be exercised ? In making a road survey necessarily must depend upon the importance of the road and the amount to be expend ed In its Improvement. An ordinary farm road, for example, usually re quires no survey other than lining It by the eye between the controlling points. Some unimportant public roads may require very little more than farm roads in the way of a survey, but If any considerable amount of grading or other work is to be done, either at the time the road ls located or later, the survey should Include all Instrument work necessary to insure that the work will be done economically. The purposes of a survey are (1) to determine accurately the topography or lay of the land so that the loca tion may follow the route which pre sents the fewest obstacles, (2) to fit the grade line to the ground surface so as to keep down the amount of grading necessary, (3) to balance cuts and fills so that whatever grading ls done will be to the best possible advantage, (4) to line up the road and provide stakes for controlling the work, (5) to obtain data from which proper plans may be prepared and an estimate of cost made, (6) to provide ? record that will pr? vent subsequent contentions among landowners regarding the original lo cation of the road. While the impor tance of all these purposes is apparent, frequently it is not realized that they cannot be accomplished except by meuns of a careful survey, and that such surveys can be made only by ex perienced men who have been trained especially for such work. Farmers j and business men generally are In- j dined to underestimate the amount of 1 skill required to make a road survey properly and their influence has been responsible in the past for much bung- j I ling and for uneconomical road work ! i for which they have had to pay in ! i heavy taxes. The accompanying figure illustrates an error which ls mude sometimes by Inexperienced persons in grading a road without first having sun-eyed und planned the work. In this figure, which is an actual profile of an existing road, the shaded line shows the original ground surface, the heavy full line shows the grade to which the road was actually constructed, and the dotted line shows a grade line which, If lt had been followed, not only would have re iiuired.. ?no additional work, hut would have reduced the steep grade material ly and thereby improved the road con siderably. In fitting the grade line to the ground surface and balancing cuts and fills It should be borne in mind that earth, after being thoroughly compacted, will occupy less space iu an embankment or fill than in its original position. The customary allowances for shrinkage and waste in road work are : Per cent. For heavy cuts and fills.10 to 15 For average grading.15 to 20 For light grading .20 to 30 For very light grading and consid erable sod .30 to 40 Solid rock will expand from one third to one-half of its original volume when taken from a cut or excavation and placed in an embankment. But the spaces between the particles of stone should be filled with earth as the stone Is being placed in the embank ment. DESTROY MANY PESTS Horned Larks Range Over Prac tically Whole Country. Birds Are Particularly Fond of Weed Seeds-Insect Food Includes May Beetles, White Grubs and Grasshoppers. (By W. L. M'ATEE.) Horned larks are small but hardy birds which frequent the open country and never live In forests. They range over practically the whole United States, and are easily recognized by the conspicuous black mark across the breast and the small pointed tufts of dark-colored feathers behind the eyes. These are often erected and cause the appearance referred to In the common name. These birds nest early, often be fore all the snow has disappeared, and they have a joyous flight song in the mating season. The food of horned larks consists of 20.0 per cent of animal and 79.4 per cent of vegetable matter. Not quite a sixth of the vegetable food ls grain, mostly waste, though some sprouting grain ls pulled. This ls the most seri ous charge against the birds and is sus tained, but lt must be admitted that practically all the complaints were Horned Larks. made years ago, when broadcast sow ing was the rule. Becent correspond ence shows that drilled grain ls practi cally safe from Injury. Weed seeds are by far the largest single component (03.9 per cent) of the food of horned larks, and over 10 per cent of the 1,154 birds examined had eaten them, no fewer than 200 In dividuals having fed on them, exclu sively. Conspicuous among the weed seeds eaten are those of the foxtail grasses, smartweeds, bindweeds, ama ranth, pigweeds, purslane, ragweed and crab and barn grasses. Horned larks are among the most efficient weed-destroying birds. The insect food of these birds in cludes such pests as May beetles and their larvae, the white grubs, leaf beetles Injurious to strawberries, cab bage, melons and sugar beets, clover leaf and clover-root weevils, potato stalk borers, nut weevils, bill bugs and the chinch bug. Grasshoppers are a favorite food; cutworms are eaten freely. PLOW IN PROPER CONDITION Something Wrong When Farmer Must Bear Down or Lift Up Handles Study ls Necessary. A plow in proper condition runs smoothly and at an even depth, with very little effort on the part of the plowman. When a plow does not run sm tf>chly, when the plowman must bear down or lift up on the handles, or must constantly hold the plow either one way or the other to keep lt from tipping over, something is wrong with 1 lt. The point tips down or up too 1 much, or the cutting edge of the share is dull or slants down or up too much. A. good plowman must know how a iood plow should work and when it i loes not go right should know what Ls wrong with it. To know these things requires as much thought and study . ind mental and mechanical ability as , :o understand a telephone or a tele- , ,'ruph Instrument. ENCOURAGE GRASS TO GROW ] Where Pasture Lands Cannot Readily ; Be Plowed Application of Lime Is Recommended. In pasture lands that cannot readily 5e plowed the best procedure ls to ap ply lime, If needed, and to encourage the grass to grow vigorously by a year- 4 ly top dressing of well-rotted barn-yard . manure and occasional light appllca- j tions of commercial fertilizer that is rich in phosphates and nitrogen. In addition, ull thin spots in the sod should be reseeded each year with a liberal quantity of good grnss seed. FUNGUS ON CURRANT BUSHES I1 Declared to Be' Bad Neighbors for , White Pine Trees-Cause of In- \ jurious Blister Rust. I Currant bushes are very bad neigh- ; hors for white pine trees, ns the cur- , rant bush may act as host for the fun gus which causes white pine blister j rust. This disenso cnn ne spread by nur sery stock of white pine, and those who wish to protect their pine trees should not plant curruuts near them. Winthrop College ?j Scholarship and Entrance Examination. Thu examination for the award Df vacant scholarships in Winthrop College for the admission or new ?tudenls will be held at the County Court House on Friday, July G, at 9 a. m. Applicant? must not be less than 1(5 years of age. When scholarships are vacant after July 6 they will be awarded to those making the highest average at this examination, provided they meet the conditions governing the award. Applicants for scholarships should write to President Johnson for scholarship examination blanks. These blanks properly filled out by tue applicant should be filed with President Johnson by July I. Scholarships are worth ?100 and free tuition. The next session will open September 19, 1917. For furthei information and catalogue, address President D. B. Johnson, Rock Hill, S. C. It Helps! There can be no doubt as to the merit of Cardui, the woman's tonic, in the treatment of many troubles peculiar to women. The thousands of women who have been helped by Cardui in the past 40 years, is conclu sive proof that it is a good medicine for women who suffer. It should help you, too. Take CARDUI The Woman's Tonic Mis. N. E. Varner, of Hixson, Tenn., writes; "I was passing through the .. . My back and sides were terrible, and my suffering indescriba ble. I can't tell just how and where I hurt, about all over. I think ... I began Cardui, and my pams grew less and less, until I was cured. I am remarkably strong for a woman 64 years of age. I do all my housework." Try Cardui, today. E-76 Abbeville-Greenwood Mu tual Insurance Associ ation. Organized 1892. Property Insured $2,500,000. WRITE OR CALL on the un dersigned for any information you may desire about our plan of insur ance. We insure your property against destruction by FIRE, WINDSTORM or LIGHT NING and do so cheaper than any Com pany in existence. Remember, we are prepared to prove to you that ours is the safest and cheapest plan of insurance known. Our Association is now licensed lo write Insurance in the counties of Abbeville, Greenwood, McCor mick, Laurens and Edgefield. The officers are: Gen. J. Frasei Lyon, President, Columbia, S. C. J. R. Blake, Gen. Agt., ?Secy. & Treas., Greenwood, S. C. DIRECTORS. A. 0. Grant, Mt. Carmel, S. C. I. M. Gambrell, Abbeville, S. C. Ino. H. Childs, Bradley, S. C. A. W. Youngblood, Hodges, S. C. 3. P. Morrah, Willington, S. C. L.N. Chamberlain, McCormick. S.C. R. H. Nicholson, Edgefield, S. C. F.L.'Tiinmerman, Pln't. Lane, S. C. ?. C. Martin, Princeton, S. C. W. H. Wharton, Waterloo, S. C. J. R. BLAKE, Gen. Agt. Greenwood, S. C. Jan. 1st, 1917. 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