322 



Missouri Agricultural Report. 



a drag used upon a gravel road, and the demonstration was given before 

 a skeptical audience. That the demonstration was successful is proven 

 by the following letter received a year later from the county highway 

 engineer of Cape Girardeau county, D. M. Scivally : 



"This demonstration aroused a great deal of enthusiasm and we 

 have since been using the drag to maintain not only our earth roads, but 

 also our gravel roads. Where a road roller is not available, as in my 

 county, the gravel is' packed by travel, and of course after the road is 

 used a short time there will be three ruts formed by the wheels of vehicles 

 and the hoofs of horses. I have since used a light drag very successfully 

 in filling the ruts and smoothing the newly constructed gravel roads, 

 thereby causing the travel to spread over the entire road. The best re- 

 sults though, have lieen obtained in case of an old gravel road which 

 had become worn and the center very low. The road had been neglected 



View "B" before demonstration worli at Marshfleld, Mo. Tliis section (one-fourtli 



mile) was graveled. 



for a number of years and the extremely dry summers had caused the 

 fine gravel and sand to work to the sides of the road, making a trough 

 for the water. In the first place I took a road grader and pulled in 

 the sides, giving the road a good crown, but in so doing naturally pulled 

 some little clay into the center of the road which afterward proved to 

 be the very thing needed as a binder for the fine gravel and sand. After 

 the first rain the road got somewhat muddy and a great howl went up 

 that the gravel road, the pride of the district, had been destroyed. I 

 had previously made arrangements to have the road dragged when in 

 condition, and after two round trips were made with the drag the road 



