The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1910-08-18
From Good Roads Magazine. New York.
GRADING THE HIGHWAY

GRADING THE HIGHWAY.
shape. ditched up and culverts in very
bad shape and only about forty poll
taxes and $3.50 to do this work with.
l took two plows, right and left.
went all over the roads, plowing fur
rows from twenty to twenty-five feet
apart on the side Of the road. Some
times when the road was In trough
shape l plowed as close as eighteen
feet. And low places and near culverts
where l had used scrapers ] plowed
three or four burrows on side. BY
the time l got over the roads l knew
lust what had to be done and how to
distribute my work. AS soon as 1t was
dry enough to scrape ] went on the
road with a small crew. fixed the
culyerts and wherever ! felt l had
time filled in bitches and threw up low
places and got it in shape for grader.
mostly put on ten horses donated
by the people. In the fall some wanted
their roads graded again and donated
the work l got $50 donation work.
Then / went on the roads again with
the plows and plowed one furrow on
each side of the road, then fixed cul-
yerts and put in the time throwing up
low places and filling large bitches.
then went over the road with grader.
asking a little donation in some places
where the roads needed little more
work. got $50 donation and the roads
in fine shape. Next year | went on the
road and fixed culverts and places
where water had made some large
bitches and scraped in the sand that
lodged in the low places and ut the
foot of the hills. When the ground got
in good condition l took two. King
drags. l hitched to them so they ran
ut an angle Of forty-five degrees, com
menced at outside Of road, and when
came to hill where the banks needed
cutting l hitched near the end. so Il
would cut the bank that was to move
the ditch over from the road. W.
would go few rounds. one drag
cutting up hill and the other down
Six years ago a steep hill east of III!
house was in trough shape. and
plowed the sides and threw 1t iii will
the scraper until l had it highest II
the middle and about twenty fee
wide. It took about one-half day
Then I commenced dragging ii. ant
quite large ditch had got on on
side. | widened it by running agains
| the bank with the wagon wheel Will
driving to the field, using 1t for ioc
aud to wear out the bank.
A hill west Of my place which ! CON
menced to drag some time ago wa
lowest in the middle. l had ten acre
of ground to plow. which took M
/ about four days. hitched on to m
drag with three horses, put the plo'
on it and started to the field. | con
menced the road about twenty fee
wide. A part of the way there wa
sod. | would bring the drag home an
| take it back every time went B
the time the field was plowed ! had a
impression on the road. so the waite
took to the side of the road where
had gone with the drag. Soon I'll
bitches were foot deep, and.
course, the middle was foot the higl
est. kept on dragging every time
went to the field and would set III
drag into the bank wherever it woul
get mellow. The elements did at lea
60 per cent of the work. You ma
sight across the banks and the midd
4 of the road is no higher than Il
banks, so you see the water has doi
the work. and smoothed M after
| The two miles of road ] keep up
| fine shape around my farm. and
takes about one day in the year
keep 1t up.