736 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
As early in the spring as I could get upon the ground while it was too 
wet to plough in the field, I took two plows, right and left, went all over 
the roads, plowing furrows from twenty to twenty-two feet apart on the side 
of the road. Sometimes when the road was in trough shape I plowed as 
close as eighteen feet. And lov/ places and near culverts where I had 
used scrapers, I plowed three or four furrows on a side. By the time I 
got over the roads I knew just what had to be done and how to distribute 
my work. I told the people that there wasn't money enough to fix the 
road right and I would have to call upon them for a little donation 
work. As soon as it was dry enough to scrape I went on the road with 
a small crew; I fixed the culverts and wherever I felt I had time filled 
in ditches and threw up low places and got it in fair shape for the 
grader. In June after the ground got in shape and these sods had rotted, 
I went to work with the grader. I mostly put on ten horses, the people 
responding nicely. Those who did not donate, we left their roads un- 
graded. In the fall some wanted their roads graded again, and donated 
the work. I got $150.00 donation work, nearly a.i the roads graded, most 
of the low places and the roads in fair shape. The next year I went on 
the roads with the plows and plowed one furrow on each side of the road, 
then fixed culverts and put in the time throwing up low places and filling 
large ditches. I then went over the road with a grader asking a little 
donation in some places where the roads needed a little more work. I 
got $50.00 donation and the roads in fine shape. They were from twen- 
ty-three to twenty-five feet wide and from sixteen to twenty-four inches 
highest in center, and in nice oval shape. The next year I went on the 
road and fixed culverts and places where water had made some large 
ditches and scraped in the sand that lodged in the low places at the foot 
of the hills. When the ground got in good condition I took two King 
drags, improved as the ones I have shown you, a right and left hand 
one. I hitched to them so they ran at an angle of 45 degrees, commenced 
at outside of road, and when I came to a hill where the banks needed 
cutting, I hitched near the end, so it would cut the bank that was to 
move the ditch over from the road. We would go a few rounds, one 
drag would cut up hill and the other dow^n. Then I would drag the 
center of the road toward the ditch and it would leave the hill in fine 
shape. I would keep on and go just far enough so I could get back by 
quitting time and would have eight or ten miles dragged, and I kept on 
until I was over the road. It cost from seventy-five to ninety cents per 
mile. Later on after the weeds had started some I went one round with 
the grader and let the dirt settle and run it in with the drag. I left the 
road in fine shape and about $40.00 in the treasury, and did some heavy 
hill and bottom work. 
The other half of the township had been worked by one man. He 
worked in a haphazard way, not using the plow or drag much, and peo- 
ple told me $1,000 would not fix his half of the township, in as good shape 
as mine. A young Mr. Massey has taken up the work where I left off, 
using my plans and some of his own, which are better, and the roads are 
still improving. 
I will now take up stretches of road that I have fixed, show by dia- 
gram, and prove the assertions I made at the start. 
