The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1909-09-23
VALUE OF DRAGGING ROADS.
HOW Farmers Can Make Boulevards
Out of Neglected Rural Highways.


Out of Neglected Rural Highways.
The Mount Joy Star and News of
PENNSYLVANIA tells in one of its issues
of how a farmer in that locality has
been making good roads by his own
individual effort. The newspaper item
reads as follows:
Frank l.. Nissley, progressive farmer
residing at Bamford. believes In having
good roads and is SO emphatic on the
subject that he keeps nearly half a mile
Of new dirt road adjoining his farm in re
pair at his own expense for his satisfac-
ton and to prove to the taxpayers how
we'll it can be done with lift'c eEpense
| To carry out his plans hg -, 10 work
| and constructed & double or split drag of
the King style. This drag he made him
! self of logs and other material lying
| around the farm, SO that really about the
! only thing that 1t cost him was Il few
| hours Of labor.
Every farmer has the material lying
| around his farm to build such drag.
and every farmer has enough mechanical
ability to build it. as it requires no spe-
| cial skill and matters not how rough its
| construction is. Then, too, all the farm
ers have some spare time to make the
| drag if they apply the time to it.
After every rain that the road gets
| Gttle uneven Mr.. Nissley bitches a horse
TO the drag, runs it over the road as far
as his lands adjoin the road. and the re-
suit is that the road along his farm is
| always nice and smooth when the road
| along his neighbors farms is rough and
| fun Of ruts
The Nissley plan of improving the roads
| will go far toward establishing a good
| road system. He makes no big fuss about
what he is going TO do or what he is do
| Ing but goes about 1t IN a quiet manner
| and does it. and the results show for
| themselves. The fact that the road is
| better along his farm than any other
| place in tho nelghborhood Is evident to
all those who use the road. and doubtless
| In the near future some of his neiShbors
will follow his example.
/ This. however. we do not think is the
right way to keep public roads in repair,
as they should be maintained at the ex-
pense of the public and not individually
by each landowner. Doubtless Mr. Mss
ley's progressive movement will enthuse
the supervisors of East Hempield town
ship to a full realization of their real du-
ties, aud doubtless in the near future the
| township will have drag which will be
| run over all the roads of the township
whenever they get rough. and then all
the roads Of the district will practically
| be smooth all the time.
days go over all the roads in a township.
and such work might be necessary about
| dozen times a year. The entire cost Of
this will not amount to 500 a year but
Will do more good than thousand dol
lars year spent the roads with :.
gang of fifty Or more men, with p!ows
and scoops going over the township once
a wear, as is now the plan used by most
supervisors.
There are great many different
kinds Of systems advanced for im
proving our country roads. One Of
the simplest and one which every in
dividual farmer can employ to.la,
without any money and with much
benefit to his road is the system OF
dragging the dirt road by his farm by
the split log road drag. Farmers car
make such Il drag in a few hours b!
simply splitting log in half eight
feet long. If the farmer takes these
split pieces, the split surface facing t
the front, and fasten them with stoI
slaves three feet apart, according t
the directions given by Mr.. King 0,
| Maitland. Mo-, the inventor of tn,
drag. the farmer will have simple
road implement that will make Il fine
smooth country boulevard out of tn,
worst neglected dirt road in the com
n,unity. The secret of successful road
making with the road drag will de
pend upon dragging the read aftcl
every rain. filling in the ruts. smooth
ing out the uneven places and builGin.
q high crown In the middle of til,
road, so that the water will run int,
the side bitches instead of standin,
in the middle, and, most Of all-doin!
1t. Talking does not keep dirt roa,
repaired. Neither does excuse finding
One hour Of drag work immediatel,
after a rain does the trick. nothin.
else.