VOL. XXIV.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., OOT. 19,1889.
NO. 42
Oar Oountry Boads.
Tbe average condition of the country
roads is very unsuitable for pleasure travel
of any kind. For the latest and lightest
road vehicle—the bicycle—many ot them
are almost impassable,even under the moat
favorable conditions, and the best of them
are rarely smooth enough for pleasant
-wheeling. Any suggestions for the better
construction andmaintainanceof our publio highways may teem to come with poor
graoe from wheelmen, because, while asking for smooth roads, they, as a class, contribute nothing to make or maintain them,
but if their advioe seams obtrusive, they
make this excuse, that if they pay no road
tax neither do they cause any damagj. A
good roadway is equally beneficial to all
vehioles, but theirs is the only one that
causes no "wear and tear" of the road. As
bicycle travel is almost exclusively confined to the summer and fall months,
when such outdoor exercise is most enjoyable, all that they especially desire Is
a fairly firm and smooth road in pleasant
weather..
To provide this Is now a very simple and
inexpensive work, as labor-saving machinery has recently been introduced
which, under ordinary conditions, is very
eflect! ve. The "road scraper" or hone,
mounted ia a frame on wheels and geared
so that it can be set to any plane and angle,
will smooth off and round up a dirt road
quickly and cheaply, compared with former methods. The general practice of the
road master has been to defer the annual
repairs till such a time as the farmer has
mest leisure cr inclination to workout the
road tax; this would usually be late in the
summer or even in the fall when the road
crust is at its hardest stage, and after being
broken up and spread anew is too dry to
harden again readily. Now that the "road
hone" may be used, work that took a week
. in the fall may easily be done ln a day, in
the spring. Thus the road will be in the
right form for summer travel at the opening of the season, Instead of at its close.
This would also be making the repairs at
the earliest opportunity after the chief
damage ia done. The worst ruts and
. ridges are formed early in the spring
when the frost is thawing out, and the
ground, being loose and porous, absorbs
all the rainfall till the roadbed becomes
Bpongy and miry. When the ground has
dried sufficiently to be neither muddy nor
crusty, the tough ridges are in their most
friable oondition. They oan then be planed
down with the road hone with muoh
greater ease, and the material carried into
the ruts and holes, will paok and harden
muoh better than at any other time,
whether the road be chiefly clay, loam,
sand, gravel or small stones. This medium
state of dryness gives the best conditions
for easy and effective work. If the work
be neglected for only a few weeks, the
crust may become so hard under the constant pressure of traffic and the baking
sunshine that the hone can make no impression on it. If the work be deferred
until midsummer or later, the "crown"
will probably be worn off the center of the
road, and instead of shedding rain to eaoh
side it will carry lt along like a water
course. Heavy thunderstorms often cause
great damage when the road thus becomes
flat or hollow in the middle. To restore
the proper form when the margin becomes
high and hard, is very laborious work,
whether done with pick and shovel, or
with plow and sooop. The material will
not pack readily in dry weather, and the
newly repaired road may for weeks be in
worse condition than before it waa worked.
Instead of extensive repairs of this character only onoe a year, it would be muoh
better to give a timely scraping as soon as
practicable after, the chief damage is done
in the spring, and also an occasional honing after heavy rains, or whenever from
any cause the surface becomes rough. Oae
machine would be sufficient for alarge
district, and the times, methods and terms
of the work can be arranged on a satisfactory and permanent basis after a few years'
experience. Under ordinary conditions a
fair road can be maintained throughout
the season with simply this occasional passage of the road hone over it. The cost
would be very Bmall compared with present methods. Ot course, these machines
are only suitable where the road is built
up with the ordinary soil or subsoil of the
dlstriot, or with, perhaps, more or less
gravel or small stone in certain sections.
This, however, is the ordinary structure
of all our oountry roads, and hence this
treatment will be quite generally applicable. Bat to insure a firm road bed where
the country is flit or the subsoil retentive
of moisture, careful draining and ditching
along the roadside is necessary. To keep
these open at all times and in good working condition requires constant watchfulness, as open ditches are very liable to become ohoked. While the simple treatment
above recommended may be sufficient for
rural distriots under ordinary conditions,
many local circumstances may render it
necessary to construct certain sections in
a more substantial manner. Where the
subsoil in wet weather is spongy or
springy or liable to be water soaked, or
where extra heavy traffic, as in the suburbs of towns, a Btone pavement of some
kind may be advisable. In suoh oases the
most oommon practice is to dump stones
promiscuously, 6l~alf~convenlent sizes,
along the worst portions of the road, regulate them roughly, and cover, with roadside dirt. Being irregular in size, rounded
in form, and not well compacted, they are
easily displaced; the traffi. soon works
the smaller stones to the bottom and the
larger ones to the surface; thus they cause
the wheels to slip, and jilt to an extent
often more disagreeable than the soft mud
would be without the stones. Some hints
on better methods of making Btone roads,
therefore, may not be amiss. A stone
roadway, where the stones are broken into
given siz js and pounded or rolled thoroughly into place, is usually called a
"macadam" road. The width, depth and
methods of construction may vary greatly,
according to circumstances, but in all
cases the depth of structure should be sufficient to support the traffic* without yield
ing. The stones should have sharp edges
and be well packed to prevent slipping,
and near the surface they should be small
and uniform in size. To prevent sidewlse
movement under the wheels, a trench
with vertical sides should be dug to the
proposed depth and width of the stone
struoture. This will vary aocording to the
traffic. A depth of six inohes and a width
of fifteen feet may be sufficient where the
foundation is good and the traffi 3 light If
the stones are oompactly ..placed, the surface pressure of the passing load will
spread through the underlying mass in
the'form of a eone, with its apex at the
wheel. The area ot the Dase will inorease
as "the square of the depth." Thus, if the
depth of the macadam stone be six inohes,
the weight on the foundation will be
spread over 36 square inohes. If the depth
be 12 inches, the bearing surface at the
bottom will be 141 square inohes. Thus
the greatly increased strength of the structure due to a slight inorease of depth will
be readily seen.
Experience has shown that while six
Inches may be a sufficient depth for light
travel,' 12 to 18 inohes are necessary if
heavy loads must be carried at all seasons
of the year. For country macadam roads
the limits would be between six and
12 inohes, according to the character of the
subsoil. For the thorough oonstruotlon
of macadam roads, the s^tones are now
crushed by machinery and then rolled
with steam road rollers of 10 to 15 tons
weight.   The weight of the roller per
rquare inch on the bearing surface should
be equal to the expected weight, per square
inoh,under the wheels ofthe heaviest
loads.
Where thorough work of the best character is wanted, enginerieng skill and experience are requisite, but the general
methods may be briefly stated, so that
wherever bad sloughs need filling up with
stone, the macadam plan may be followed
at least approximately. The trenoh or
road bed should be dug out to the required
width and depth, the larger stones should
then be seleoted and firmly paoked together across the foundation in irregular
courses, in the general form of a street
pavement. They should all rest on their
flattest or broadest surfaces, and the thin
or jugged edges upward. The Interstices
or spaces should be closely filled up with
ohlps and the whole layer be well rammed
or rolled into a solid mass. On top of this
place a layer of finely broken stone of the
thickness requisite to bring the surface to
grade, with a good crown in the center.
This should be rolled until the whole mass
is firmly bound together and then covered
with sharp gravel or fine screenings of
broken stones of saffi.lent depth to bed
and bind the layer of broken stone. In the
fature maintenance of such a road the most
important point is to prevent the formation of ruts, by keeping the surface so uniformly even that there will be no inducement for travel to follow beaten tracks
The cost of the macadam structure precludes its use bn country roads, except in
occasional bad spots where stone is neoes-
ary. As a very large proportion of the
country roads in many parts of Europe, in
districts the most rural and secluded, are
constructed with broken stone, and kept
at all times in first class condition, many
Americans, who have seen them, wonder
why they cannot be equally oommon
here. Suoh persons are apt to overlook
the comparatively recent occupation of
the land here and the relative sparseness
of the population. But there is a much
more important factor at work to prevent
similar road construction here. Since the
introduction of railways the country highways are used only for the most limited
local business. In Europe all the fine
highways were built before the invention
of railways; when all trafflo and travel
used them and the great amount of it
made suoh roads a necessity. Taough little used now compared to former times,
their maintenance in good order does not
oost muoh and their usefulness for strictly
local business is fully appreciated. In
this oountry macadam road will rarely
extend beyond the suburbs of larger cities, and will be chiefly confined to public
parks and private pleasure grounds. The
methods of their construction are mentioned here simply because they may perhaps be followed to advantage on short
sections of country roads, here and there,
where the proximity * of suitable stone to
some miry stretch will make the selection
ot macadam preferable to any other.—
From "Improvement of Highways," a
pamphlet Issued by the League of American Wheelman.
Changes in the Money We Use.
There have been several decided changes
in the amount and character of the circulating medium during the past year. In
the first place the circulation has increased
from $1,384,340,280, 0_t, 1, 1888, to $1,405,-
018,000, Oot. 1, 1889, or $20,677,720. The
principal change in the character of the
money in the hands of the people is in silver certificates. The circulation is now
$276,619,715, or $58,058,114 greater than a
year ago. This inorease is attributed
more to the withdrawal from circulation
of national bank notes than to any® other
one cause, although the increasing business demands of the oountry contributed
materially to the result.  The reduction
of national bank note circulation sinoe
last October is $37,779 225. The total
amount outstanding on the first instant
was $199,779,011. There has also been a
decided deorease in the circulation of the
gold certificates, which have declined from
$134,838,190 in Ootober 1888, to $116,675,319
on the first instant. Excepting silver certificates, United States notes have increased
in circulation more than any other form
of money. Ot these there are now in circulation $325,510,758 whioh is $19,458,705
more thau was in the handi of the people
a year ego The circulation of gold coin
ls now $372,947,715 or $1,382,149 less than it
was last Oj to ber. Tnere are about half a
million less sliver dollars and nearly a
million dollars subsidiary silver in circulation now than at the same time last year
The amount of silver dollars now in circulation is $57,554,100 and the amount of subsidiary silver in circulation^  $52,931,352.
Crops of the Country—The Department of Agriculture report the general
percentage of condition of corn at 91.7,
against 93 9 a month ago,and 82 for crop of
of 1888 on the lst of O .tober. Condition of
potatoes, 77 9, against 86 8 last O -tober; of
buckwheat, 90, against 921 last year; of
tobacco 80.5, against 85 7 in 1888. The preliminary estimate of yield per aore ls 12 8
fdr wheat, 119 for rye and 22.2 for barley-
The past month has been favorable for
oorn. Slight frosts north of the 40th parallel ln j ared late oorn, but the percentage
of damage was generally very small, as
the crcp was well matured in the third
week of Saptember. In the States of the
Ohio yalley there was excess of moisture
in May and Jane that retarded planting,
and early growth prevented cultivation
and delayed maturing, leaving some fields
to be caught by the frosts of the 20th to
the 25 th of September. The best development of maizs was in the Mies juri valley.
The best growth of the South was in the
Golf States. It could scarcely be improved
ln either district, though the yield per
acre is muoh greater in higher latitudes.
Potatoes were in jared east of the Alleghe-
nles by excess of moisture, causing rot'
la West Virginia and Oaio similar reports are received. Drought reduced the
yield in Michigan, though the quality ls
generally good. In the Mississippi valley
the crop is more promising. Ia the Rocky
mountain region, where the area is largely
increased, the season has been unfavorable.
The returns of yi aid per aore of wheat
are in thresher measurement. This report is preliminary, as the local estimates
will be tested ty the record books of the
threshers' now coming in. The present
averages for the principal States are 13.8
bnshels In New York; Pennsylvania, 12 3;
Ohio, 14 6; Michigan, 14 7; Indiana, 14 7;
Illinois, 16; Wisconsin, 14.2; Minnesota,
14 6; Iowa, 131: Missouri, 13; Kansas,
18 4; Nebraska, 12; Dakota, 8 3; California, 15. Winter wheat was Id jared in
many distriots, during harvest and in the
stack, by heavy rain, and is comparatively light, grading badly.thus reducing its
weight and value. Its weight and quality
well be the subj sot of further report, af tec
the test of the scales in marketing.
 . ♦  ■	
A terrific wind, rain and eleotrio storm
swept over the southwestern part of HI.
on the llth. Sarious damage was done at'
Mound's Janotlon. Several houses were
blown down, among them the new depot
of the Illinois Central Company, a large,
substantial frame struoture, which waa
nearly finished. A number of trees were
blown across the track, and it took till
midnight to clear away the obstruction.
No one was hurt.
  .     m,     .
In Paris the dram-saops have increased
from 24,000 in 1880 to 29.000 at the present
time. The consumption of alcohol haa
trebled in the last 30 years.