Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1909-06-23
VALUE or DRAGGING ROADS.
How Farmers Can Make 5ou!evards
Out Of Neglected Rural Highways.

Z
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. Ma ley, a progressive farmer
residing at BamfOrd, believes in having
good roads and is so emphatic on the
subject that he keeps nearly half mile
Of new dirt road adjoining hls farm ia re-
pair at his own expense for his satlsfac-
ton and to prove to the taxpayers how
well IL can be- done with slittie expense.
To carry out bis plans he set TO work
and constructed a double or split draS Of
the King style This drag he made him
self Of logs and other material IFiug
around the farm. so that really about the
only thing that IL cost him was a Few
hours Of labor.
Every farmer has the material Lying
around his farm 10 build such "A dug
and every farmer has enough mechanical
ability to build It. as IL requires no spe-
cial skill aud matters not how rough its
construction Is. Then. too. all the farm
ers have some spare time to make the
drag II they apply the time TO IT.
After every rain that the road gets
little uneven Mr Nissley bitches a horse
TO the drag runs it over the road as far
| as his lands adIoin the road. and the re-
suit is that the road along his farm Is
always nice and smooth when the road
along his neighbOrs' fa.ms Is rough and
full Of ruts.
The Nissley plan of improving the roads
will go far toward esta blishing "a good
road system. lie makes no big fuss about
what he is going 10 do or what he Is do
Ing but- goes about II In "A quiet manner
and does II. and the results show for
themselves The fact that the road Is
better along mis- farm than any other
place h the neighborhood is evident to
ali those who use the road. and doubtless
IN the near future some OF his neighbOra
VIII follow his example
This, however, we do not think is the
right way to keep public loads in repair
as they should be maintained at the ex-
peuse Of the ,ublic aAd not individually
by each landowner Doubtless Mr. N+lsS-
| iey's progressive movement viii enthuse
the supervisors Of East Hempfield town
ship to ful realization Of their real du-
ties, and doubtless ia the near future the
| township will have drag which viii be
run over all the roads Of the township
whenever they get rough and then all
tho roads OF the district win practically
be smooth all the time,
one man ana two horses can In two
days go over all the roads Ia township
and such work might be necessary about
dozen times year. The entire cost Of
this VIII NOT amount 70 100 Il year. but
viii do more good than "A thousand dol
lars year spent on the roads with
gang Of fifty or more men. with ploWS
and scoops going over the township once
year. az Is now the plan used by most
supervisors.
There are great many different
| kinds Of systems advanced for In
proving our country roads One Of
the simplest ana one which every IN
diyidual farmer eau employ today
without any money and with much
benefit to his road Is the system Of
dragging the 9lrt road by his farm BY
the split r.. road drag. Farmers can
make such drag In q few hours by
simply splitting a log IN h lf eight
feet long If the farmer takes these
split pieces, the split surface facing to
the front and fasten them with stout
slaves three feet apart according 10
the directions given by Mr. King Of
Maitland. Mo. the inventor of the
drag, the farmer will have a simple
road implement that viii make a fine
fA"'th ''hAAf b"h'''u Ah Vdt VI INV
worst neglected dirt road In the com
munity The secret Of successful road
! making with the road drag Will de
pend upon dragging the road after
every rain. filling in the ruls, smooth
! lug out the uneven places aud building
high crown In the middle of the
road, So that the water win run into
the side bitches instead Of standing
in the middle. and. most Of all doing
H. Talking does not keep a dirt road
repaired Neither does excuse finding
one hour Of drag work immediately
after rain does the trick. nothing
else