882 ANNUAL iiEi'oirrs of department of agriculture. 



EXHIBITS AND ROAD-IMPROVEMENT TRAINS. 



Diirinc: the pa'^t yonr the office has continued to illustrate the best 

 methods of road making b>' means of exhibits at expositions and 

 State fairs and on road-im])rovement trains. These exhibits consist 

 of models and enlarged photographs illustrating the various types 

 of roads and road-building equipment, culverts, and bridges. The 

 models illustrate the construction of earth, sand-clay, gravel, macadam, 

 brick, bituminous macadam, concrete, asphalt, and other standard 

 types of improved roads. The exhibits include models of quarries 

 with miniature crushing plants in actual operation, road scrapers, 

 steam rollers, split-log drags, and other forms of road-building ma- 

 chines and equipment. 



The models are built to exact scale and show every important step 

 in the construction of the various types of roads and bridges. These 

 displays have already done much throughout the country to stimu- 

 late road improvement and to standardize methods of construction. 



During the year the office cooperated with the Southern Railway, 

 the Atlantic Coast Line, the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Rail- 

 road, the Norfolk & Western, and the St. Louis & San Francisco 

 Railroad in the operation of road-improvement trains. These trains 

 usually consisted of one passenger coach in which the road, bridge, 

 and mechanical models and photographic enlargements were installed ; 

 one passenger coach for stereopticon lectures ; one passenger coach in 

 which a gasoline engine was installed for operating the mechanical 

 models, lights for the stereopticon, and lights and fans for the train; 

 and one officers' car for the accommodation of the representatives of 

 the office and the railroad company. The cars and their transporta- 

 tion werfe furnished bj^ the railroad companies, while the office fur- 

 nished the exhibits and one lecturer and one demonstrator for each 

 train. 



The tour of the Southern Railroad's road-improvement train 

 started on May 1, 1911, and was completed on October 29, 1911. The 

 train traveled 13,481 miles in the States of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, 

 Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, 

 visited 210 counties, and stopped at 251 towns, where 288 lectures 

 were delivered to 46,733 persons. 



The Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis road-improvement train 

 started on October 9 and completed its itinerary on November 11, 

 1911. It stopped at 55 cities and towns in Alabama, Georgia. Ken- 

 tuclr^^ and Tennessee, and 75 lectures were delivered with a total 

 attendance of 21.708. 



The Atlantic Coast Line road-improvement train was started from 

 Richmond, Va., on November 24, 1911, and completed its itinerary at 

 Lake Butler, Fla., on February 22, 1912. During the trip 155 lectures 

 were delivered by the office representative to 22,000 persons. 



The office also cooperated with the Norfolk & Western Railroad 

 and the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad Co. by furnishing a 

 lecturer for their " better farming " trains. The Norfolk & Western 

 train started on December 6, 1911, and completed its work on Decem- 

 ber 14, 1911. Thirty-five lectures were delivered with a total attend- 

 ance of 8,818. The Missouri, Kansas & Texas agricultural train 



