People's Pilot, Volume 3, Number 49, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 May 1894 — Gravel Roads. [ARTICLE]

Gravel Roads.

A gentleman hands us the following extract from a letter written him by a resident ofCass county, about the mater ial used in the construction of gravel roads in that county. The first gravel road in that county was built in 1861. The letter is as follows: “The kind of gravel you speak of that we use in this county for graveling roads is what is called plastering sand gravel. It should be coarse, the coarser the better. The size of the gravel should be from that of a plump wheat grain or a large bean, up to a quail egg, and of. a blue or grayish color, and not yelldw. Gray or blue gravel is mixed with sand, while yellow gravel is mixed with clay and is rotten. To test these, take a handful and press it together and then open your hand. If it sticks together it is bad; if it falls apart it is good.”