The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1908-06-02
HOW To BUILD SPuT-LOG DRAG
Office Of Public Roads Issues a Bull
letin on this Device.

Washington, June 2.-One of the
| latest publications of the United
States department of agriculture
treats of the split-log drag, an imple-
ment which numerous experiments
| have conclusively shown to be the
greatest possible boon to keep earth
! roads smooth and passa BILE. Because
of it's simplicity, it's efficiency and
cheapness, both in construction and
operation, it is destined to come
more and more into general use.
with the drags properly built and its
use well understood, the mainten-
ance of earth roads becomes a simple
and inexpensive matter.
At the present time there are APP
proximately 100000 miles of earth
roads in the United States. Some of
the most important of these roads
will eventually be improved with
stone, gravel, and other materials
Many others which are equally i'm
portant cannot be so improved on
account of lack of funds or suita BILE
materials, while still others will not
require such treatment because of
the light traffic to which they are
subjected. For these reasons the ma
jority of our roads must be main
tained as earth roads for many years
to come. This must be done by in
expensive methods and the split-log
drag will be a powerful aid if econ
omy is the criterion demand.
In the construction of this imple-
ment, care should be taken to make
it so light that one man can lift it
with ease, a light drag responding
i more readily to various methods of
hitching than a heavy one, as well
as to the shifting of the position of
the operator. The best material for
a split-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 and 10 feet long and from
10 to IL inches in diameter at the
butt end. 1t should be split carefully
as near the center as possible, and
the heaviest and best slabs chosen for
the front. In the front slab four
inches from the end which is
to drag in the middle of the road
bore Pinch hole which is to receive
a cross stake. At a distance of %
inches from the other end of the
front slab, locate the center for an
other cross stake. The hole for the
middle stake will be on line con-
! Meeting and halfway between the
! two. Then place the back slab in
position and from the end which is
! to drag the middle of the road
measure 20 inches for the center Of
onc cross stake and 6 inches from
the other end locate 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 perpindic-
Lar or at right angles to the face
(, Of the split-log
| II these directions are followed it
! viii be found that when the holes of
the front and back slabs are brought
opposite each ether, one end of the
back slab will he Brought 6 inches
nearer the ceDter Of the roadway
! than tho front ona. That gives what
| +, known as set back" The stakes,
which are 80 inches long, will hold
! the slabs this distance apart. When
the stakes have been firmly wedged
into their sockets, a brace about 2
inches thick and four inches wide
may be placed diagonally to them
ed 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 to prevent the drag from wear
ing. The drag may be fastened to
| the doubletree by means of trace
chain. The chain should be wrapped
around the left-hand or rear stake
and passed over the front slab. Rails
! ing the chain at this end of the slab
permits the earth to drift past the
face of the drag. The other end of
the chain should be passed through
a hole in the opposite end of the
front slab and held by pin passed
/ through a link.
For ordinary purposes, the hitch
should be SO made that the unload
ed drag will follow the team at an
angle of about 45 degrees. The team
should be driven with one horse on
either side of the right-hand wheel
track or rut the full length of the
| portion to be dragged, and made to
return 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 obtain
ed by dragging roads once each way
after each heavy rain. In some cases,
however, one dragging every three
or four weeks has been found suf-
ficient to keep a road in good condi-
| ton.
When the soil is moist but not
sticky the drag does its best work AS
, the soil in a field will bake If plough
ed wet, so the road will bake If the
drag Is used on 1t when it is wet.
If the roadway is full of holes or
badly rutted, the drag should be
used once when the ground is soft
and slushy This is particularly ap-
plicable before a cold spell in winter,
when it is possible to SO prepare the
surface that it will freeze smooth.
Not infrequently conditions are
met which may be overcome by a
slight change in the manner of hitch
ling. Shortening the chain tends to
| lift the front slab and make the cut
ting slight, while longer hitch
causes the front slab to sink more
deeply into the earth and act on