Bluefield Evening Leader

GOOD HIGHWAY HELPS

How to Solve the Problem of
Clean Roadside.

DESTROY
NOXIOUS
WEEDS.

Build Good Fences In Front of Farms.
Use the Drag and Harrow Until Cold
Weather--Tip on Improving Sand
Roads.

It is encouraging to see the attention
that is being paid to good roads
all through the United States. Various
state organizations are taking the
matter up, national conventions are
being held, and an international meeting
was recently called to convene in
France. Everything points toward
better highways, better facilities for
marketing crops and better conditions
for the farmer.

A good road brings one nearer to
his neighbors, nearer to his church
and school and nearer to his market.
The time will soon come when one
will speak of a farm as being ten minutes
distant from town rather than
two miles. The popularity which the
automobile is rapidly acquiring among
farmers will promote this good roads
movement.

In line with this movement the following
suggestions on the improvement
of roads are of value:

There is a splendid opportunity for
the individual to help the good work
along by taking care of the roads in
front of his own farm. There is no
surer method than to take pride in the
road that goes past your door. Ward
King began his successful road
drag campaign in this way. It has
spread from a little Missouri town to
all parts of the world.

There is one line of road improvement
that is more easily carried on
than any other and consequently is
more frequently overlooked. Every
roadway can be kept free from noxious
weeds with comparatively little
labor if the latter is taken up promptly.
Each weed that matures bears a
more prolific crop of seed than its
predecessor. If the fence corners and
the roadside are kept free it will be
an easy matter to exterminate the
undesirable weed pests which are coming
to be a decided problem. If you
cannot drag your road you can at
least have regard for your adjacent
field to keep the weeds from growing
along the roadside.

When time, labor and money have
been expended upon the beds of country
roads and highways there is the
hope of compensation in the way of
improvement.

If the farmer west of the Mississippi
is blessed with a good road leading
to and from his farm, why shouldn't
he pay some attention to the roadside?
There are instances where he has
an excuse. A rank growth of weeds
and briers may be more pleasing to
look at than the fence they hide, but
where land is worth $50 or more per
acre he forfeits that excuse. A good,
well constructed fence along the highway
will arouse a certain amount of
pride, which acts as an incentive to
get busy with the scythe and ax and
clean up.

Many county supervisors and members
of the town good roads association
are advocating the building of a
good highway fence, one which will
be an effectual guard against trespass
and add beauty to the landscape as
the real solution of the clean roadside
problem.

Most of the road tax has been worked
out. Presumably country roads
will need no further attention until
next summer, but they do just the
same. They must be harrowed, dragged
and leveled continuously until frozen
solid. This is easy; this is important.
Neglect it and the vast amount
of work and money expended will be
largely wasted. This is the weakness
of the present system of road management
in the middle west. The work
is not economically done. There has
been some improvement of late years,
but not much. Let the farmers help
by dragging and harrowing newly
made or repaired roads until cold
weather.

A good way to improve a sand road
is to spread a coating of clay over it
with a manure spreader.