Williston graphic. (Williston, Williams County, N.D.) 1895-1919, 1905-12-28
ROAD s DRAGGING cATEcHlsM
Some Valuable Hints on How to Do
the Work Of Improving
the Roadway.

J Would it not be better to plow the
road before dragging?
No, says D. Ward King, the Missouri
authority on road dragging. Flowing
gives a soft foundation. Flowing the
middle of the road is a relic of the old
dump scraper days. E..
What do you do when there are
deep ruts in the road?
Drag them. If you drag when the
surface is quite loose and soft you
will be surprised how soon they will
disappear. r.Z
How do you get the, dirt to the mid.
die of the road? ~ - H.
BY hauling the drag slantwise with
the end that is toward the center of
the road little to the rear of the
cher end. :
But suppose. the road is too mar
row?
First drag the wheel tracks. After
three or four rains or wet spells, plow
shallow furrow just outside the
dragged part. Spread this over the
road with the drag. Only pillow one
furrow. You may plow another fur
row after the next rain. At each
blowing widen the road bed two feet.
How many horses do you use?
Two genera w. Three if it is just
as handy. FoUr when breaking colts.
A good solid team in the center and
colt on each side. Two men on
the drag, one to drive, the other to
control the colts.
Why not make the drag out of
plank?
You can. and do good work. Charles
Hill, Of Mexico, Mo-, uses one made
of three hardwood two-by-fours. But
the split log is best. The plank drag
is not so stiff and quivers and founces.
Why not make the drag of heavy
sawed timber, say six-by-eight or
eight-by-ten?
Because they have a tendency to
slip over the bumps. The log is bet
ter than the plank, because it Is more
rigid, and better than heavy timbers,
because it's thin. tapering edge scrapes
more surely.
Don't you grade up the road first?
No. The grading is done with the
drag, gardually. BY SO doing, the
road is solid all the way, and is
built on solid foundation.
At what angle do you haul tho
drag?
A safe answer is As degrees, or in
common parlance exactly quartering.
But bear in mind that the proper angle
Of drag like the proper tension of a
sewing machine, depends somewhat on
circumstances. The angle of the drag
will need to be varied as the soil is
moist or dry and as the Surface Is
more or less convex. These slight
changes can be made by the driver
walking in one direction or the other
on the drag.
What does it cost to drag = mile of
road year?
The cost is variously estimated at
from one to three dollars. think
much depends on tho season and what
degree of excellence satisfies tho man
who drags. It is hard to estimate
what it costs to comb mans hair or
black his shoes If ne does it himself.
How do you keep the drag from
lodging around sidewise?
By not loading it too heavily. If a
drag lodges around the earth that you
are moving, it is because it is over
loaded. If you do not overload the
drag, it will move and spread the
earth. It is overloaded because you
are tt ying to do too much. The secret
Of success in road dragging is to do a
little often. Remember if the drag
lodges, it is generally because you
have neglected to drag the road at
some previous time when it needed
dragging