The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1905-07-21

Dor after another fell into 1ne and the stretch OF
dragged road continued TO lengthen, the public
comment about 1t increased until the road au-
thorities from neighboring townships and coun-
ties began to investigate the matter. with the re
suit that local farmers institutes asked me to
speak at their sessions and give personal demon
stration of the workings of the split-log drag.
There are a few bugaboos that have to be met
wherever this new gospel is introduced. One is
the calamity that will surely swallow up the drag
ged road when the bottom falls out in the spring
The answer is that the bottom does not
fall out of the road that has been dragged
with spiit-log, because the dragged road.
unlike the other kind, does not put down
a lot of mud into cold storage with the
coming of the first deep freeze. The thing that
plays hob with roads Is midland mud is earth
and water mixed. It's precisely what wagon.
wheel does to a muddy road "a road where the
water can stand until something comes to mix it
with the earth; while, on the other hand. the
dragged road uses coat of mud-to all practical
purposes a cement-to make an oval root that
will not let the water stand.
F1om the outset of this work. so many questions
have poured in upon me indicating points con.
corning which the public is prone to go astray in
its understanding of how to build and use the
spllt-lOS uIaS tudI nave prtpdreu tut IOlOWluS
road-dragging 'catechism' as covering, with fair
completeness the main working facts in the
problem:
dragging?
No. Flowing gives soft foundation. Flowing
the middle of the road is relic of the old dump
scraper days
What do you do when there are deep ruts in the
road?
Drag them. fyou drag when the surface is
quite loose and soft. you will be surprised how
soon the ruts disappear.
| How do you get the dirt to the middle of the
road?
toward the centre of the road little to the rear
of the other end.
But suppose the road is too narrow?
First drag the wheel tracks. After three or four
rains or wet spells, pillow shallow furrow just
road with drag. Only pillow one furrow. You
may pillow another furrow after the next rain At
each blowing you widen the roadbed two feet.
How many horses do you use?
Two, generally; three If handy.
How do you drain the road?
If the earth is pushed in the middle OF the road
| continually, the road will drain itself.
Why not make the drag out OF plank?
| You can, and do good work. But the split log
| is best The plank drag is not SO stiff
Why not make the drag Of heavy sawed timber?
Because drags so made have tendency to slip
over the bumps.
Don't you grade up the road first?
| No. The grading is done with the drag. grad
ually. By so DOING the road is solid all the time
and is built on a solid foundation
What does it cost to drag mile of road year?
| The cost is variously estimated at from one to
| three dollars.
| How do you keepthe drag from lodging around
| sidewise?
| By not loading 1t too heavily. If drag do lges
around the earth you are moving, it is because
it is overloaded.
| Will the dragged road stand heavy hauling?
| Yes and no. A dragged road win stand more
heavy hauling than an undragged road, but not
so much as macadamized or well kept gravel
| road.
Will drag help sand road?
| A sand road is a very different proposition from
| the black soil, clay or gumbo. An entirely diff.
| ferent method must be adopted. Three things
may be done to a sand road to make 1t better:
First keep it wet; second, haul clay to 1t; third
sprinkle it with crude OIL as they do In California
and in Southern Kansas and Texas. The drag
will be beneficial in keeping the sand road per.
ectly fiat so that it will absorb moisture and re.
| tain it a long time.
| To this catechism / would add the following
.Don'ts Don't drive too fast. Don't walk; get on
the drag and ride. Don't be particular about ma
terial; almost any log will do. Don't try to drag
| with one piece: use two.
| A description is given of the drag which Is
merely the two halves Of split log nine feet long
ten to twelve inches thick. set on edge, thirty
inc hes apart both fiat sides to the front; with
three strong oak barr, the ends Of which are
| wedged in two.inch augerholes bored through
the slabs in the middle and abouta foot from each
end. This is fastened to the douhle-tree clevis
with chains, one short and one long, to give the
proper angle, or single chain with several rings
in it may be fastened near the two end bars. A
plank is laid along the bars and the driver stands
about the middle of this for ordinary work. For
ditch cleaning or to make the drag throw more
dirt to the left the hitohngis changed to give the
implement more SLANT" and the driver stands
near the front end When the bottom edges be-
come worn an old wagon tire or something of
that sort is put on them.