Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1908-06-05

|
is to drag in the middle Of the road
bore two-inch hole which is to re-
ceive a 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 connect
ing and halfway 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 twen-
ty inches for the center Of one cross
stake and six inches from the other
end locate the center Of the opposite
stake. The hole for the center stake
should be located halfway between
he two. All these holes should be
carefully bored perpendicular or at
right angles to the face of the split
log.
II these directions are followed 1t
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 near
er 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, q 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
strip of iron along the lower face OF
| the front slab for a cutting blade and
to prevent the drag from wearing.
The drag may be fastened to the dou-
bletree by means of a trace chain.
The chain should be wrapped around
the left-hand or rear stake and pass
ed 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 Of the chain
should be passed through hole In
the opposite end of the front slab and
held by a pin passed through link.
| For ordinary purposes, the hltch
should be so made that the unloaded
drag will follow the team at an angle
of about 45o 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 towards 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 al
| ter each heavy rain. In some cases.
however, one dragging 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. AS
the soil in a field will bake II plow-
! ed wet, so the road will bake If the
drag Is used on it when 1t Is wet. If
the roadway is full Of holes or oadly
rutted the drag should be used once
when the ground is soft and slushy.
This is particularly applicable before
a cold spell in winter, when 1t Is pos
sible to so prepare the surface that II
will freeze smooth.
| Not infrequently conditions are met
which may be overcome by slight
change in the manner of hitchlns.
Shortening the chain tends to lift the
front slab and make the cutting slight
while a longer hitch causes the front
slab to sink more deeply into the earth
and act on the principle of a plow.
If furrow of earth is to be moved,
the doubletree 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 varied in different
Localities, however, that 1t is quite I'M
possible to lay down specific rules.
Certain sections Of roadway VIII re-
ouire more attention than others, be-
cause Of steep grades, 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 draggings ire
uuently become too high In the CEN
ter. This may be corrected by drag
eing the earth towards the center Oh
the road twice, and away from 1t
once.
There is no question as to the econ
omy 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 $42.50 a mile.
These figures were furnished by Pro-
| fessor w. G. Hoad, of the university
of Kansas, who secured them from
official records of the counties.
| Some figures furnished by F. P.
Sanborn and r. H. Ashton, general
manager of the Chicago and North
western railroad, have revealed the
wonders of this simple device. Mr..
Sanborn said the least expense per
mile per annum for split-log dragging
was $3.50, the greatest a little over
Sc. and the average expense per mile
for 81 miles a little over SO. | have
| lived along this road all my life ana
never in forty years have l seen It
freer from mud and dust despite the
fact that during the season we nave
! experienced the extremes Of weather
conditions
| The testimony of Mr.. Ashton is
! equally strong. Learning that a town.
ship in Iowa had been making an IN
vestigation of the split-log drag and
had been experimenting with 1t for
wear on twenty-eight miles of high
way, he sent an agent to secure infor-
nation. It 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 totai eX-
pense for one year averaged SZ.4O
i mile, and the roads were reported to
| Lo,,o baan .lika q race track the