The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1907-05-30
Dyes Uniform System for Road Work
BY HON. c. c. DYE, OF WOODLAND.

Ut, Ut WOODLAND.
the grade 9 to feet at a very little
expense, compared with the the eN-
pense OF hauling the dirt with wheel
scrapers, and it is so much better to
! just assist nature.
HOW TO FIN BRIDGE AND ROAD NEXT TO
BRIDGE WHEN GuLLY is FROM 10 TO 25
FEET DEEP, AND bitches TAKING THE
ROAD ON BOTH SIDES.
The worst trouble with this kind of
road is that the banks get soft and cave
in every time it rains, and, it is almost
impossible to hold the entertainments at
end of the bridge. In spring and rainy
i times those repairs take much of the
money that should be put on the grad
ing of the road. Many of these gullies
never have but little water in them.
There two are ways to fix them. One is
to lower the bridge from two to four
feet, and slope banks about foot to Is
or 20 feet, and the slope will scarcely
be noticed. 1t will take shorter bridge
and there not be this heavy bank to
hold.
Lay the first few feet Of floor on
bridge tight and in the rest make cracks
from to l. inches; the water that
runs down the wagon tracks will run
onto the bridge go through the cracks
and not cave in the abutments, and by
running over the bridge with drag dirt
will run through the cracks and not
only make the floor last longer but save
about one tenth of the cost of covering
the bridge.
The second way is to lengthen and
raise the bridge high enough so the
water cannot get to the end of the
bridge, and so widen the embankment
to bridge by setting in piling and put
ting plank in behind them to hold dirt,
or build wings of solid masonry.
The first plan is much the cheaper
and would recommend it for very bad
places and roads that are not travelled
very much.
THROWING UP GRADE WITH SCRAPER.
Plow two burrows on each side of the
road about "a feet apart, if road is to be
thrown two feet deep, closer or wider
if road is to be thrown higher OR lower
than two feet. Have first row of dirt
dumped straight in center of road, then
pillow two burrows on each side outside
of the one just thrown in; scrape this in
and dump on each side of row and so on
until about the edge of the road, then
pillow again just where dirt has been
scraped and throw in same as before.
Repeat this until thrown as high as de-
sired, or as time and money will permit.
Before quitting always pillow these
J rows of dirt as thrown in by scraper
and drag it we'll before leaving. 1t will
settle the ground and smooth it so it
won't settle in holes. One object in
using this system is to have the dirt
thrown in straight rows, and one can
quit any time if necessary on account OF
: time or money and what has been done
will not spoil the road and will be there
| to help next time.
J HOW TO KEEP UP A HILLY ROAD THAT HAS
BEEN MADE INTO A FINISHED ROAD AS
} DESCRIBED IN THIS SYSTEM.
| Take the King drag and put iron on
back piece letting the iron stick out
, about six inches. Hitch about one foot
, from end and the drag will pull so the
) iron will cut the bank. Let the dirt lay
and wash away with rain, continuing
| this once in while as the banks get
) mellow. This way the ditch will be
deeper and farther from center of the
, road and retain the grade of the road.
, The roads may be widened by setting
: the grader blade outside the wheel and
cutting bank, but to drag is much the
} cheapest and easiest done as the grader
| sometimes get stuck in the ditch. II
} the ditch is where it is impossible, set
out wheel and straddle the ditch and
cut side of ditch.
, The King drag as improved, as spoken
} OF in this system, is not only a drag but
} a grader. The use of the drag, as most
J of the people understand it, is to drag
) the road when muddy so it will be hard
when dry.
But now we find that we may grade a
road by commencing at the outside, but
to drag the road while muddy it pulls
: hard and piles the mud, but by dragging
| it backward it will also serve to drag
while muddy and pull easy and do the
} work we'll.
| When farmer wants to make grade
l he can do it easily and cheaply by pillow.
ing furrow and going one round with
same or some other kind of drag, and
, repeating the same way until hard
enough.
HOW TO GRADE A WEEDY ROAD WITHOUT
PILING THE WEEDS.
} For the first round set the blade so it
, will hardly throw dirt to opposite wheel
and next round leave blade about the
} same as first round. Set wheel out tc
/, bank to keep grader from slipping
5 Have the drivers drive very carefully
/ At no time let weeds catch on end OF
, blade and the blade is straight enough
, for them to slip off nicely. Keep going
this way until the weeds are rolled to-
, gether, then go back to where you
! started and get dirt and run to center
Z and cover up weeds: but If YOU allow