The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1913-06-19
THE SPLTT-LOG DRAG.

Engineer VIM. J. Roberts, formerly
OF Medford, now state highway com
missioner OF Washington. has issued
a pamphlet on the split-Iog drag
which he declares the greatest aid tc
good roads of any implement yet de
vised. The National Good Roads
Bureau makes the same declaration.
The splt-log or king" drag, 80
called from its inventor, d. Ward
King, is simple, effective and cheap.
AS 80 per cent or more of our rOaGs
will always, or at least for years, be
made Of earth and gravel, this drag
should be in universal use-yet it is
one of the least used road-buiIding
and maintaining tools in Southern
Oregon. Every farmer should own
one and use it on the roads his prop
erty faces.
Constant attention is needed to
| keep roads in condition. Traffic and
the weather are busy destroying and
man must constantly rebuild. The
crown of the road must be kept
rounded, the surface kept smooth
ruts and holes filled, drains and cuI-
verts in repair.
The "King" drag has proved the
most effective and economical aid in
this work and it's use is enforced in
many states. Iowa passed ii com
pulsory drag law which raises a one
mill levy Of $1,7O0, 900, which can be
used for no other purpose than drag
ging-not the steel drag, which is a
failure, but the split-log drag.
Road engineers say that every To-
cality should use the drag freely.
There should be drag for every
three miles of road. Engineer Rob-
erts advises as follows:
Methods, QD Smooth the surface.
Don't stir Use light drag with a
blade three and one half feet long;
this will stir all that should be
stirred
(2) Soil in it's original condition
contains a great deal of humus This
should be disposed of. The best way
to accomplish this is to drag a slight
crown into the road at a season
when beating rains will force the
heavier mineral matter down, which
in turn, forces the lighter vegetable
matter up. This action is very ma
terially increased by the cedar drag.
Cedar literally pulls the vegetable
matter to the surface at Il rate at
tanned by no other material. When
the crown has become reasonably
firm and smooth, a considerable
amount of the finer vegetable matter
will have been washed away. Then,
and not until then if wider road is
desired, plow one shallow furrow on
each side just outside the dragged
portion, throwing toward the CEN
ter Spread this carefully over the
surface with the drag, while the
earth is moist Allow this To become
thoroughly washed and packed be-
fore repeating. With each of these
plowings the road will have been
widened two feet. When the proper
width has been reached. stop plow-
ing, but keep on dragging after each
soaking rain.
80 If the earth road has received
proper attention during the time
when attention is most needed, the |
wet season, it will certainly he good |
when dry. The time to cultivate a |
road and a field is entirely different.
Don't put on a dust mulch either
with a drag or a grader"
Instructions for making the split
log drag are furnished by the United |
States Agricultural Bulletin No 32l |
which can be obtained upon applica-
tion. two-slab log or plank drag |
with liberal ''set back" is the most |
1t should he SO light |
that one man can easily lift it.
timbers should be avoided. !
Soft wood, preferably cedar, is more |
than hard wood. But
little earth is moved at a time, and |
that with the sliding stroke"
Mr. Roberts describes how the Pa
cific Highway in Skagit county, |
Washington, containing every condi-
ton of road to be found in the North
west, was improved and maintained
by the use of the drag. The necessity /
of regravelling was eliminated, saw
ing about $1,000 The work proved
that the average road could be much
and maintained in good
for IS per mile per year.
The drag not only prepares highways
to receive permanent surface, but re-
luces the cost of repair and mainte-
nance.
Highest cash prices paid for dry