774 ANNUAL ina'ORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



BiLLiNos, Mont. — The improvonuMit at liilliii^H, Mont., consisted in surfacing with 

 gravel a section of the state road leailing from JJillings toward Laurel. A length of 

 3,9G0 feet was surfaced 14 feet wide. Two thousand five hundred feet of the road con- 

 sists of alkaline gumbo and theremainderof " IJillingsclay." The surrounding country 

 is quite level. A concrete culvert with an opening 2 feet high and 5 feet wide was built 

 at a cost of $214.50, with cement costing $3.50 per barrel, sand and gravel $2 per cubic 

 yard, steel 4^ cents per pound, and labor $3 per day of eight hours. 



The gravel for the road was secured from a pit 2i; miles distant from the road. Ou 

 account of the fact that the pit gravel contained about 20 per cent of rocks, 2 J to G inches 

 in diameter, it was necessary to screen it. This was done and the screened gravel was 

 loaded into wagons at a cost of 38.4 cents per cubic yard. The screening was done by 

 buihling a high "trap" with a double driveway and placing a screen composed of bars 

 of steel spaced 2h inches apart at an angle of about 35° over one of the driveways, and 

 dumping the gravel, hauled with drag scrapers, through the trap floor on the screen, so 

 that the gravel less than 2\ inches in diameter fell into one wagon and that over that 

 size fell into another. One tliousand eight hundred and twenty-four cubic yards of 

 gravel were placed on the road at a cost per cubic yard of 38.4 cents for screening and 

 loading, 98.1 cents for haiding, and 2.5 cents for spreading. The total cost of the road 

 to the community, with labor at $3 and teams at $6 per day of eight hours, was $3,557.32, 

 or 57.7 cents per square yard, which is at the rate of $4,743.08 per mile. Work was 

 begun on April 25, 1910, and the road was completed on June 18, 1910. 



Arlington, Tex. — On February 21, 1910, the work of building a gravel road G,928 

 feet in length was begun at this point. The work was greatly delayed during the 

 months of March, April, and May, on account of frequent rains, and was not completed 

 during this fiscal year. A detailed statement of this work will be deferred until the 

 next annual report. 



Sweetwater, Tex. — The work at Sweetwater, Tex., consisted of surfacing a section 

 of road with a mixture of clay and gravel. The adjacent land is rolling and the soil a 

 fine sandy loam. To secure proper cross section and drainage 394 cubic yards of earth 

 were moved with drag scrapers and slat-bottom wagons an average distance of 200 feet 

 at a cost of $81.95, or 21 cents per cubic yard. Six hundred and eight cubic yards of 

 clay were loaded at a cost of $102.35, hauled a distance of 1^ miles at a cost of $300.85, 

 and spread upon the road to a depth of 5 inches, with a road grader, at a cost of $19.40. 

 Three hundred and seventy-one cubic yards of gravel were loaded at a cost of $63.45, 

 hauled 1^^ miles at a cost of $197.25, and spread upon the road with a road grader to a 

 depth of 4 inches at a cost of $11.25. The clay and gravel were mixed at a cost of 

 $17. GO, and sprinkled and rolled at a cost of $17.50. With labor at $1.80 per day and 

 teams at $3.50 per day the cost of the road to the community was $989.05, which is at 

 the rate of 27 cents per square yard. The work was begun on March 31, 1910, and the 

 road was entirely completed on April 27, 1910. 



SAND-CLAY ROADS. 



DoTHAN, Al.\. — The work at Dothan, Ala., consisted of grading a section 4,000 feet 

 in length of the Columbia road and surfacing with a sand-clay mixture a section of 

 the graded road 1,600 feet in length and 14 feet wide. The work was begun on May 4, 

 1910, and completed on May 26, 1910. The adjacent country is hilly and the soil 

 sandy. To secure proper grades and drainage 2,000 cubic yards of earth were moved 

 an average distance of 100 feet with a road grader and wheeled scrapers at a cost of 

 $120.85. Eight hundred and twenty-nine yards of surfacing material were hauled an 

 average distance of 300 feet, spread upon the road, and mixed at a cost of $99.77. One 

 cross drain of corrugated iron, 24 inches in diameter and 24 feet long, was constructed 

 at a cost of $24. Two wooden culverts were built, one 4 feet high, 10 feet wide, and 

 20 feet long, at a cost of $38.70, and one 9 feet high, 16 feet wide, and 20 feet long at a 

 cost of $65.47. Part of the road was relocated, and grubbing was done that cost $60.78. 

 With labor at $1 per day and teams at the cost of subsistence — that is, 70 cents per day — 

 the total cost of the road to the community was $479.02, which is at the rate of $632.30 

 per mile. 



Tyler, Ala. — Work on the construction of a sand-clay road at Tyler, Ala., through a 

 level country over deep sand was begun on May 3, 1909, and completed on July 29, 1 909. 

 The work consisted of surfacing, with a sand-clay mixture, a road 4,300 feet in length 

 and 20 feet wide. Clay to the amount of 2,785 cubic yards was hauled a distance of IJ 

 miles, spread upon the road about 12 inches thick and mixed with sand by means of 

 plows, harrows, and a road grader. A vitrified clay tile cross drain 12 inches in diame- 

 ter and 30 feet in length was put in. The work was done with the county convict road 

 force. The cost of labor was based upon the cost of feeding and guarding the convicts, 



