AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING 265 



drawn by a chain in the direction of its faces, and at an 

 angle, so that it pushes earth toward the center of the road 

 just as a reversible road grader. 



Why Earth Roads Need Dragging. — When a road is first 

 made it has a gradual and continuous slope from the center 

 towards the sides. No place is left for water to stand on 

 the road, and it soon dries off after a rain. As heavy loads 

 are drawn over earth roads, the wagon wheels cut into the 

 surface and throw up a ridge just outside of where the 

 wheels run. You can see this on almost any road, especially 

 after a rain. If these wheel tracks are allowed to remain, 

 when it rains water will stand in them and soften the road- 

 bed. Then as wagons pass over them they are made much 

 deeper. The road drag is the simplest way of filling these 

 ruts. It is cheaply constructed, and one man and two or 

 three horses can manage it. 



When to Use a Road Drag. — You have no doubt heard 

 of "puddling'' soil — working it when it is wet. Farmers 

 sometimes make reservoirs for water in clay soil by excavat- 

 ing a hole, wetting the soil in the bottom and tamping it or 

 leading horses or cattle about in the muddy bottom. This 

 puddling makes the soil hold water. Since we want the 

 surface of the road to be impervious to water, it is desirable 

 to have it puddled. This can best be done by dragging it 

 soon after a rain, when it is still wet. If a puddled surface 

 will hold water, as in the case of reservoirs, it will also shed 

 water when rounded and smoothed, as on a dragged road. 

 There are also other reasons for dragging at such a time. 

 The surface of the road is soft and the ridges are more easily 

 cut off and pushed to the center. Men and teams can not 

 work to good advantage in the fields, and the road dries 

 more quickly. When all main traveled earth roads are 

 dragged soon after every heavy rain, roads will be very 

 much better than they are now, and the cost of this work 

 is so slight that any well settled farming community can 

 afford it, or each farmer can well afford to drag the road 

 along his property. 



If a hole is to be filled in a road, material similar to the 

 road should be used, i. e., it is not wise to fill holes in a clay 

 road with sand or holes in a sandy road with clay, as they 

 do not wear uniformly and so ^ make the road rough. 



