Troy weekly news. (Troy, Idaho) 1897-1933, 1908-07-10
ever used BY industrious farmers. /"

ever used by industrious farmers.
What praise Mr.. Torbert bestows
upon the King road drag is borne out
by the agricultural department OF the
United States government, which Is
doing all in its power to transform the
100000 miles Of earth road in this
country into highways as fit for pass
age as the best boulevards in the large
cities. A bulletin Of the department
recently issued gives the following in
structions for the construction (the cost
Of which is remarkably cheap Of the
drag, and its use:
In the construction Of this imple-
ment care should be taken to make it
so light that one man can lift it with
ease, light drag responding more
readily to various methods OF hitching
than heavy one, as well as to the
shifting OF the position OF the operator.
The best material for spht-log drag is
dry red cedar log, though red elm
and walnut are excellent, and box
elder, soft maple, or even willow are
superior to oak, hickory or ash. The
log should be between seven and ten
feet long, and from ten to twelve
inches in diameter at the butt end. 1t
should be split carefully as near the
center as possible, and the heaviest
and best slab chosen for the front. In
the front slab four inches from the end
which is to drag in the middle of the
road bore two-inch hole which is to
receive cross stake. AT a distance
of twenty-five inches from the other
end OF the front slab, locate the center
for another cross stake. The hole for
the middle stake will be on line con-
Meeting and half way between the two.
Then place the back slab in position,
and from the end which is to drag in
the middle of the road measure twenty
inches for the center OF one cross stake
and six inches from the other end To-
cate the center of the opposite stake.
The hole for the center stake should
be located half way between the two.
All these holes should be carefully
bored perpendicular or at right angles
to the face of the split log.
If these instructions are followed it
will be found that when the holes of
the front and back slabs are brought
opposite each other, one end of the
back slab will be sixteen inches nearer
the center of the roadway than the
front one. That gives what is known
as set back" The stakes, which
are thirty inches long, will hold the
slabs this distance apart. When the
stakes have been firmly wedged into
their sockets, brace about two inches
thick and four inches wide may be
placed diagonally to them at the ditch
end of the drag. A cleated board is
placed between the slabs and across
the stakes for the driver to stand on.
By many it is deemed best to place
a strip Of iron along the lower face of
the front slab for cutting blade and
10 prevent the drag from wearing. The
drag may be fastened to the double
tree by means OF trace chain. The
chain should be wrapped around the
left-hand or rear stake and passed over
the front slab. Raising the chain at
this end of the slab permits the earth
to drift past the face of the drag. The
other end oil the chain should be pass
ed through hole in the opposite end
of the front slab and held by a pin
passed through link.
For ordinary purposes, the hitch
should be so made that the unloaded
drag will follow the team at an angle
of about forty-ive degrees. The team
should be driven with one horse on
either ride of the right-hand wheel
track or rut the full length of the por-
ton to be dragged, and made to re-
turn in the same manner over the other
half OF the roadway. Such treatment
will move the earth toward the center
OF the roadway and raise it gradually
above the surrounding level.
The best results have been obtained
by dragging roads once each way after
heavy rain. In some cases, how
ever, one dragging every three or four
weeks has been found sufficient to
keep road in good condition.