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266 ELEMENTS OF FARM PRACTICE 



Sandy roads are best maintained by keeping them 

 covered with straw or other vegetable matter, as this helps 

 to hold moisture, and sandy roads are firmer when moist 

 than when dry. One of the state highway commissions 

 suggests that the road supervisors in sandy sections sow some 

 strong growing crop in the right of way, to cut and throw 

 in the road. 

 Questions: 



1 . Describe a King split-log drag. 



2. For what reasons do earth roads need dragging? 



3. What is accomplished by dragging a road when it is still a 

 little wet? 



Arithmetic: 



1. How many feet of lumber in two timbers 3 in. thick, 10 in. 

 wide and 8 ft. long? How much is it worth at $30 per thousand feet? 



2. How much will a strip of mild steel, ^ in. thick, 2^ in. wide 

 and 16 ft. long, weighing 3 lbs. per ft. cost at 3c. per pound? 



3. A boy can make a road drag with the above materials in 5 

 hours. His time is worth 10c. per hour. What is the total cost of 

 the drag? 



4. A boy with 3 horses can drag a mile of road in 1 hour. How 

 much will it cost, if the boy's time is worth 10c. per hour and each 

 horse's time is worth 9c. per hour? How much will it cost, if he drags 

 the mile of road five times? If he drags it ten times? 



DRAINAGE 



Drainage is the process of opening up a channel by 

 which the surplus water in the soil may run off by the force 

 of gravity. In hilly or rolling land drainage is provided 

 naturally, as the water runs off over the surface. Sandy 

 soils with sandy or gravelly subsoil seldom require artificial 

 drainage, because the surplus water easily runs down through 

 the ground. Flat land, or heavy clay land, or even sandy 

 land with a heavy clay subsoil that the water cannot get 

 through, often requires drainage. There are two general 

 ways of draining land, surface drainage and tile drainage. 



Drainage where needed affords one of the most profitable 

 investments on the farm. Too much water fills the spaces 

 between the soil particles and crowds out the air. We have 

 learned that seeds and the roots of plants require air that 

 they may grow. The roots of common field crops will not 

 grow in soil that is filled with water; that is, where there is 

 so much water that it crowds out the air. 



