The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1903-01-22
TO MAKE GOOD ROADS.
The Result a Missouri Farmer Secured

I
Holt county, No., the official repre-
sentative OF the state In the good
roads movement. recently gave the
TX. c. Star the following outline OF a
cheap and effective plan OF road
work:
Six years ago Mr.. King set out to
improve the road that runs by bis
farm in Holtcounty. By chance he
had hit upon a simple continuance.
He split a log, about ten or twelve
feet in length, in two, and attached
the two pieces together with cross
pieces. The slipt or sharp sides OF
the log were placed in front He
hitched team to this splitlog con-
trhance and d. owe up and down the
sides OF the roads in front OF his
farm. He did this right after a rain.
He stood on the drag on the side
away from the center OF the road.
Because Of his weight on the outer
side the drag dug deeper there. The
loose soil was thrown to the center
Of the road. Being high in the mid
dleand low on the sides, the middle
soon dried and became as hard as
clay can.
After doing this few times a re-
markable betterment in the condi-
ton OF the road was observed. The
simple split log device had accom-
plished far better results than had
ever been secured by roads built up
by the big road scrapers.
Mr.. Kings simple contrivance ac-
complished the results that all road
makers had tried to reach, but in a
far better way than did the big cost
lly contrivance. To day the road in
front of Mr.. Kings farm, no matter
what the weather is, is like race
track. The time and labor expended
wae remarkably small Many Others
began to use the King split-log de-
vice, and so excellent were the, results
at such slight labor and cost, that
the attention of the state board OF
agriculture was called to MIR Kings
plan of road making.
Geo. B. Ellis, secretary Of the state
agricultural board, saw the workings
OF the split.log device, and after a
thorough investigation became en-
thusiastic. A year ago the board
. decided to ask Mr.. King to travel
about the state and tell OF this
plan.
Mr.. King talks modestly of his
work, though he is an enthusiast in
the good roads movement. "Mis
sourians," he said, ''labor under the
mistaken belief that because this is q
prairie state they can't have good
roads. The fact is that all over the
, state rock can be secured for rocl
roads, and the rock road is the best
, road. But in the mean time, ant
where it is not readily possible to Sc
cure rock, the dragging system
: should be used,
Anybody can make the spllt-lof
drag. It's cheap, costs practically
nothing and anybody can run it. |
a drag be run up and down a road {
few times each summer, say hall ,
dozen times, the Improvement vii
be immediate and almost incredible
The clay roads, the mud roads, vii
become hard and firm as rock in ba,
weather"
Mr.. King said the old plan OF try
ing to build roads with scrapers an
b digging into the sides had prove
unsuccessful. By the dragging pla
: the road is made surely but slowl
. firm and hard.
Though Mr.. Kings plan has onl
been generally known for a little owe
a year, in that time two other state
besides Missouri have already adop
ed it.
The state Of Virginia is now SEM
e ing out illustrated literature to I'll
farmers OF the state telling OF ii
drag plan and showingho the dra
- can be simply 'made.
= Mr.. King il now explaining ii
" plan to the overseers and farmers
- Missouri.
10 He Invented a Submarine.