Walks

WALKS. Walks, drives and roadways, in the vicinity of the farm or rural dwelling, should be so carefully made that they are good at all times, and should approach as directly to the object sought as possible, and without unnecessary curves, especially short ones. Within the house place, curved lines are admissible and beautiful, and here much elaboration may be spent, and once decided on they must be carefully formed and carefully kept, for nothing looks so slovenly as weedy, untidy, half-formed walks or drives through the grounds or garden. Thus unneces sary walks and roads should always be avoided. In relation to walks and roads on the farm, but specially about the homestead: It is true that the beauty of curved lines sometimes prompts to a deviation from the more available direct course; and, where it can be done without too great sacrifice of utility, it is not objection able. But no walk should be turned from its obvious direct course without an apparently sufficient reason. A change of level in the ground, a tree or a group of plants, or other similar obstruction, will induce, and seemingly demand, a change of line. There are many locations where the straight line should be pre ferred as a matter of taste in design. As a con necting link between the strictly horizontal and the perpendicular lines of a building, and the irregular surfaces surrounding it, a perfectly straight walk is in the best taste and adds greatly to the effect of the architecture, while a fre quently curving walk detracts from it. So also, a walk along the side of a straight boundary fence should not curve if both lines are visible at the same time. Most persons are aware of the great beauty of straight walks and avenues of trees; and for public parks of lesser order, en closed by formal outlines, they can always be introduced with great effect, as well as conven ience. where curving walks would be the reverse. In this case beauty depends upon harmony rather than contrast, and more than either upon utility. When roads or walks are carried over irregular swfaces, the natural turns and windings neces sary to follow an easy or uniform grade, and keep as near the original- surface of the ground as possible, will usually develop pleasing curves. A little studied attention in this matter of the course of a road will not only increase the beauty of curves by adding to them the grace of utility, but also deep and expensive cuttings, as well as heavy embankments, will be avoided, and easy grades and economical construction be more certainly secured. When it is necessary to branch a secondary road from the main line, it should leave the latter at as nearly a right angle as con venient, and at the same time be somewhat nar rower, so that its appearance may convey the proper idea of its being suhordinate, and so avoid confusion and mistake; otherwise the roads leading to the stable, ice house, or garden, may be mistaken for the road to the mansion. Under no circumstances should walks be made conspicuous in views of natural scenery. If it is essentially necessary that a walk should cross a lawn where it would interrupt a continuity of view, and destroy breadth of effect, it should be sunk beneath the line of vision by placing it in a slight excavation,which may be further assisted by throwing up a small mound on the side near est the point of view. These expedients, as also. that of planting thick groups of low-growing shrubs, will be effective and satisfactory if prop erly executed. In laying out curving roads it is not advisable to closely follow geometrical rules, or set the curves out to any regular radius. This plan may occasionally prove perfectly satis factory on a strictly level surface, but it will have quite an opposite effect where the ground is greatly undulating. The curves, to be pleasing, must be attractive—not too sudden or abrupt— and properly blended at their points of junctions. Very much of personal comfort and pleasure in rural residences depends upon good roads. A smooth, firm, dry road is one of the greatest conveniences and enjoyments; while a rough, soft, muddy road is one of the greatest draw backs and annoyances of country life. Bad roads form the greatest obstacles to progress and per manent improvements in all the neighborhoods that are blasted with their presence; they have a demoralizing effect upon the inhabitants, and are a sure sign either of poverty or mismanage ment, or both. Water is the worst enemy to good roads. It is, therefore, a leading principle in road making so to construct them that they may be kept dry. In absence of a timely recog nition of this principle, many costly roads have proved to be failures; but where it has had prominent recognition and its value has been properly appreciated, good roads have been made at a trifling expense. After locating the road and marking out its course, the sides should be brought to the proper grade and finished by a layer of sod as a guide to further operations.

In crossing a sloping surface it is not necessary to have both sides perfectly level, but the nearer this can be secured, with due regard to getting rid of surface water, the better it will admit of a neat finish and the more easily will it be kept in repair. The road bed is then formed by exca vating and removing the soil to a depth of six inches at the sides, curving slightly higher hi the center, end made perfectly smooth by roll ing, prothicing a uniform surface upon which the material of the road is to be placed. The best stone for road metal is tough granite. Hard brittle stone is more readily reduced by pressure, but in a well kept road this difference is not im portant. It is, however, all important that the stones should be broken small. The largest should easily pass through a two-inch ring, and if one-half of them are small enough to pass through a ring of only one inch in diameter, the road will ultimately become all the more com pact. The road bed should be filled with this broken stone to a level with the sides, increasing ie. depth toward the center at the rate of one inch to the yard. Thus, a road sixteen feet in width would have a depth of about nine inches in the center. The utmost care should be ap plied to regulating the surface, and the smaller stones should be used on top, in order to secure an even, compact, carefully moulded grade, which should be compressed by repeatedly pass ing a heavy' roller over it, wedging every stone, and making a surface almost as smooth and solid as a pavement. A thin layer, not more than oue inch in thickness, of fine clayey gravel should then be evenly distributed over the stones, and the roller again applied until the surface.he comes homogeneous, firm, and close. The sur face of the road will thus be higher than the sod ded edgings; water will therefore pass readily froni it, and one of the main points of keeping a good road will be secured. This will form a first class road for ordinary carriage drives, or for all purposes required in public parks or pri vate grounds; and, if kept in good surface by frequent rolling, so as to prevent the forming of ruts while it is settling; and, if a facing of gravel is applied when necessary, it will permanently fulfil all requirements of a good road. The quality of gravel deserves notice. Wash gravel, consisting only of sand and rounded pebbles, should never be used. No amount of pressure will render it firm, and it is the most disagreea ble material to walk upon. The best gravel is that to be found in banks composed of pebbles mixed with reddish clay: and the stones must be small. No detail in road making is of so much importance as this. If a wagon wheel or the foot of a horse press on one extremity of a stone the other end of it will probably be slightly raised, allowing small particles of sand to fall into the crevice, when the stone is loosened, and will roll on the surface; hence the necessity of using only very finely divided stones on top, so that they will be smaller than the pressing point, and not become disarranged from leverage or compound action. Where stone can not con veniently be obtained, the road bed may be filled with refuse matters of many kinds, such as coal ashes, clinkers from furnaces, and shells. Oyster shells are plentiful in many places near the sea board, and form an admirable road ; but the per manency, as well as efficiency of these materials in a road bed, will depend altogether upon the care of surfacing with proper gravel. Where it is impracticable to procure, or deemed inexpedi ent to use, any of the 'foregoing materials, an earth road may he rendered very serviceable by proper attention to the leading principle—that is, to keep it dry. In this case, instead of ex cavating a road bed, slight excavations should be made at the sides and the material spread over the center; and that surface water may pass to the sides more rapidly and thoroughly, a greater convexity may be given to time curve. In some sections of the country good roads are kept up in this manner, but they are carefully re paired whenever necessary, and all ruts and tracks are filled up as soon as they are formed. The same general principles apply to the forma tion of walks and foot paths. The depth of ma terial, however, need not exceed a few inches. It is certain that much unnecessary expense is frequently laid out upon mere foot walks. A porous, gravelly, or sandy soil is in itself a good walk if properly shaped. Such walks admit of greater convexity than carriage roads, which is equivalent to a saving of material. Walks should be well filled up. There is no more disagreeable object, or one that conveys so meager an expres sion, as deep, raw edgings, to a walk, looking as if they had been trimmed with a plow. Walks in this condition may be serviceable as water courses, but they are not comfortable foot paths. (See also Roads, and Landscape Gardening.)