The Pensacola journal., 1917-08-13


ject issued by William F. Cooke, state
road commissioner, is of much in
terest. The use of the drag is stressed
by road experts, and the demonstra-
tion held Friday afternoon before the
county commissioners proved its value
on Escambia roads.
The three commissioners who at
tended, ]. George White, H. f. Candy,
and L. w. Hardy expressed them
selves as highly pleased with the
results attained by the use of the
drag, and when the matter is official
ly brought before the board at the
meeting next Monday, favorable ac-
tion is expected.
In a general discussion of the drag,
the bulletin issued by the commits
sioner says:
The split log drag is probably the
most widely advertised implement
used in road work, and justly so,
because of its small cost to construct
and operate and its ability to do
certain kinds of road work more
efficiently than a more costly ma
chine. Notwithstanding, however,
the wide publicity given it and its
many merits, the road drag is not
as universally used as might be eN-
pected. The blame for this rests
largely upon it's over-enthusiastic ad-
vocates who have given the impress
sion that the drag can be operated
with benefit on any road, at all times
and by any one capable of holding
the lines and guiding the team. The
consequence has been that many per
sons have built drags, used them for
a limited time and, finding that the
rough road was not Immediately
transformed into a smooth boulevard,
become discouraged.
A very heavy drag is not desirable
for several reasons. The rungs should
be large enough to fit tightly in >
inch auger holes and should be wedg-
ed at the ends. Two 8-inch boards
the full length of the drag, should
be nailed to the rungs for the driI er
to stand upon. The rungs should be
of equal length so that the runners
will be parallel. The forward runner,
or cutting edge, should be shod with
a steel strip for at least half of It's
length. The shod end should, of
course, be the forward or advanced
end of the drag, which will be de-
pended on to do the cutting, while
the other end will distribute and
smooth out the material. The rear
runner is supposed to do no cutting
at all but simply smooths or trowels
out the material which has been pulled
up by the cutting edge of the front
runner. If it is desired to pull up j
considerable quantity OF material 1t
may be we'll to extend the metal cut
ting edge the full length of the front
runner. An old wagon tire or a piece
of bar steel IA by inches will make
a good cutting edge. The bolt heads
in the cutting edge should be counter
sunk, so that weeds and trash will
not hang on them and clog. A dia =
onal brace 2 by inches should be
placed at the forward or cutting end
of the drag to relieve the diagona.
strain on the rungs.
The chain, by means of which the
team is attached to the drag, should
be about feet long. The links OF
the chain should be large enough to
carry the clevis or hook attached to
the double tree or stretcher.
The three most important points to
be considered in order to obtain the
best results from a drag are, the
angle at which it is operated, the
disposition of the weight of the driver,
and the distance from the drag at
which the team is hitched 1t Is
impossible to lay down any fixed rule
in regard to these essentials, as diff
ferent conditions require different ad-
iustments, which can best be learned
from practical experience, but the
following suggestions will be of bene-
fit to an experienced operator.
Where the road is fiat or badly
rutted, and it is therefore necessary
to move considerable material, the
drag should be operated at an angle
of approximately As degrees Gust
one-half of a right angle), which
will throw one end of an S-foOt drag
about ) 1-2 feet behind the other end.
If the road has a full crown and the
ruts slight, so that only smoothing
is required, the drag should be op-
Grated at an angle of approximately
Is degrees, which will throw one end
of the drag about 2 feet behind the
other end.
The driver should always ride the
drag and shift his weight so that
it will cut or slide over the surface,
as may be desired. He can also, by
shifting his weight, deposit material,
which has been collected in front Of
the drag, in holes or depressions. By
placing his weight at the extreme
end of the cutting edge he can clean
out a gutter and spread the material
in a windrow along the shoulder,
where the next trip will catch it and
distribute it uniformly over the crown
of the road.
The distance at which the team
is hitched will control the amount
of cutting which the drag may be
made to do. This is best adjusted by
lengthening or shortening the chain
at the end where it passes through
the hole in the front runner. 1t Is
obvious that if the team be hitched
Z Il. ~