putterings 320 < 321 > 322 index
a tub full of mud and water, a drain under a boggy place
Underdrainage
Where the soil is of a gravelly or sandy nature, so porous that it drains naturally and dries quickly, underdrains are not necessary, but with stiff clay soils, particularly in low places, a road will be greatly improved if it is properly underdrained. Dry clay makes a good firm road foundation, but wet clay never makes anything except mud holes, and if the ground water is within four or five feet of the surface of the road, underdrains are required. In such cases one dollar spent for tile drains will do more good than ten dollars spent for grading. A tub full of mud and water will never be dried up by puttering with the surface, but a hole bored in the bottom of the tub will dry out the contents in short order. A drain under a boggy place acts like the hole in the bottom of the tub.
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ex R(oger). L(eRoy). Morrison (1883-1952), Texas Engineering Experiment Station No. 1, “Earth Roads” in Bulletin of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas 1:2 (February 1915) : 9
U California copy (via google) : link
same (via hathitrust) : link
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see also his University of Illinois thesis — Maintenance of earth, sand-clay and gravel roads — with its chapter on “oiling earth roads” (1917) : link