Durant weekly news. (Durant, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 190?-1944, 1916-03-17

ne flush with the edge of the slab.
The bolts holding the blade in place
should have flat heads and the holes
to receive them should be counter
sunk.
"A platform of inch boards held
together by three cleats should be
placed on IN stakes between the
slabs. These boards should be spec
ed at least an inch apart to allow
any earth that may heap up and
fail over the front slab to sift
through upon the road again. The
end cleats should be placed so that
they will not rest upon the cross
stakes. but drop inside them, while
the middle cleat can be shifted 60
either side of the middle stake
These cleats should extend about an
inch beyond the finished width OF
the platform.
"An ordinary road chain is of
sufficient strength to draw the i'm
plement, provided the clevis is not
fastened Through a link. The chain
should be wrapped around the rear
stake, then passed over the front
slab. Raising the chain at this end
of the slab allows the earth to drift
past the face of the drag. The 9TH
er end of the chain should be passed
through the hole in the end of the
slao and is held by a pin passed
through a link. One and one-half
trace chains are sufficient"
If clay is mixed with water and
'puddled" and then allowed to dry,
hard. almost waterproof, and
nearly dustless material is formed
If smooth, well-shaped road could
be constructed of this material, il
would never become very muddy or
very dusty. and would be an ideal
earth road. Under ordinary condi.
tions this ideal is not realized, be-
cause, after being puddled, the earth
dries in ruts and holes which are
rough while dry and which hold the
water like dishes when il rains. II
the muddy road, after being puddled
by the horses hoofs and wagon
wheels, can be smoothed out and
properly shaped before drying. then
the ideal is attained, and this
smoothing and shaping is the work
accomplished by the road drag The
water standing in pools and puddles
is spread out over a lrge surface, so
that il dries quickly, the minute
holes or pores in the clay are smear
ed over and closed, making the sur
face more nearly waterproof; the
ruts and holes are gradually filled
up and made smooth, and just
enough earth is moved toward the
middle to give the proper crown. The
result is a smooth hard, well-shap-
ed road which will shed water and
never become very muddy in wet
weather or very dusty in dry wea-
ther.
From the above discussion it can
readily be seen that dragging should
be done when the road is wet, or at
least fhen il is moist The exact
time to drag any given road will de-
pend upon the character of the road
material. and no exact rule can be
given which will fit all cases. If
traffic can be kept off from the
dragged portion for awhile then the
road may be dragged when ii is very
wet and sloppy, but if wagons are
going to follow right behind the
drag, making deep ruts as soon as
the old ones are filled up. the drag
ging must be deferred until the road
has partly dried out. Good judg-
ment and experience on the part of
the operator will soon tell him what
| is the best time to drag any given
road. Roads which dry out quickly
must be dragged imm ediately after
rain, while others may be allowed
to dry for several days before being
dragged. Dragging a dry road sim
ply makes it dusty. Dragging should
be done, If possible. after every
rain, and as soon thereafter as con
ditions are right.
Wherever the road drag has been
tried and pronounced a failure, ii Is
safe TO say that il was not used of
ten enough or else it was used at
the wrong time or in the wrong way.
Some operators seem to think that
all they have to do is to drive the
team and the drag will automatical-
ly do the work; but this is a sad
mistake.
In the first place, the manner of
hitching the team to the drag great
ly effects its operation If a short
hitch is used the tendency is to raise
the front edge of the drag, while
longer hitch makes it cut deeper
and move more material. The cor
rect hitch to use depends upon the
height of the team, arrangement of
harness, etc. and must be determin-
ed by trial
The amount of skew or angle
which the drag makes with the cen
ter line of the road also affects tho
results. The greater the skew q. e.
| the smaller the angle hetween the