Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1908-08-20
CRACK ROAD MACHINE
When Best to Use the Split
Log Drag.
FOLLOWING EACH HEAVY RAIN

Finest Work Done When the Soil Is
Moist, Net sticky-Clay Highway
Dragging Needs Special Attention.
Economy of the Device.
The best results with the split lot
drag have been obtained by dragging
roads once each day after each heavy
rain. In some cases, however, one
dra ggilIg every three or four weeks
has been found sufficient to keep a
road in good condition.
When the soil is moist but not sticky
the drag does its best work, says bul-
letin from the government Office of
public roads. AS the soil in field will
bake if plowed wet SO the road will
bake if the drag is used on it 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
change in the manner of hitching.
Shortening the chain tends TO lift the
front slab and make the cutting slight,
while longer hitch causes the front
to sink more deeply into the earth and
act on the principle of n plow.
If 4 furroW of earth is to be moved,
the doubletrec should be attached
close to the ditch end of the drag, and
the driver should stand with one foot
on the extreme forward end of the
front slab.
Conditions are so varied in different
localities, however, that it is quite
impossible to lay down specific rules.
Certain sections of roadway will re-
quire more attention than others be-
cause of steep g.ades, wet weather
springs, soil conditions. exposure to
sun and wind washes, etc. There is
one condition, however. in which spe-
cial attention should be given. Clay
roads under persistent dragging fire.
queutly become too high i'll the center.
This may be corrected by dragging the
earth toward the center of the road
twice and away from it once
There is no question as to the eConO-
my of this roadmaking implement,
either in first cost or in operation. In
six counties in Kansas in 1906 the cost
of maintaining ordinary earth roads,
without the aid of the split log drag,
averaged $l2.50 n mile These figures
We're furnished by Professor W. c.
Hoad of the University of Kansas,
who secured them from official records
of the counties.
Some figures furnished by r. Z. San
born and Il. II. Ashton, general man
ager of the Chicago and Northwestern
railroad, have revealed the wonders
of this simple device. Mr. Sanborn
said: The least expense per mile per
annum for split log dragging was $15O,
the greatest little over $6 and the
average expense per mile for five and
a half miles a little over So. l have
lived along this road all my life. and
never in forty years have | seen it
freer from mud and dust, despite the
fact that during the season we have
experienced the extremes of weather
conditions"
The testimony of Mr Ashton is
equally strong. Learning that town
ship in Iowa had been making an i'll
vestigation of the split log drag and
had been experimenting with it for
year on twenty-eight miles of high
way, he sent an agent to secure infor-
nation. 1t was reported that, al
though the town board had paid the
cost of making the drags and of hir
ing men to operate them, the total
expense for one year averaged but
S24o a mile, and the roads We're re-
ported to have been like a race track"
the greater portion of the year.