EOAD MODELS. 11 



to the foot. Side ditches should be built, as shown in section B, on 

 all earth roads except sandy sections, which are best when damp. 

 Ditches can be made and maintained with a road machine, but care 

 should be taken that they have a fall sufficient to carry the water 

 along the side of the road. Through wet and swampy land it is often 

 necessary to raise the roadbed aboye the general level of the country 

 in order to secure drainage. 



Section C illustrates an earth road which, though surfaced by a 

 road machine, has rutted under heavy traffic and is being maintained 

 by the split-log drag. In the road illustrated by sections B and C 

 the crown or slope from the center to the sides is equivalent to 1 inch 

 to the foot. 



For continuous maintenance the split-log drag shown on the 

 model has been devised. This miniature drag has been built to 

 the same scale as the road model, 1 inch to the foot. The full-sized 

 drag can be made best from a log 7 or 8 inches in diameter and from 

 6 to 8 feet long. The log should be carefully split, and the halves, 

 with the flat sides vertical and facing to the front, connected by 

 stakes. The halves, though of the same length, are joined so that 

 one end of the rear half is from 16 to 20 inches nearer the center of 

 the road than the corresponding end of the front half. An ordinary 

 trace chain and a set of doubletrees are then attached in such man- 

 ner that when the horses move forward the drag will be pulled along 

 the road at an angle of about -15 degrees, with the forward end 

 nearest the ditch in order to move the earth toward the road center. 



The drag should be light enough to be lifted by one man. The 

 best material is dry red cedar, though red elm and wahiut are excel- 

 lent, while box elder, soft maple, elm, or willow are superior to oak, 

 hickory, or ash. A platform is usually placed on the cross stakes to 

 strengthen the drag and furnish a place for the driver to stand. After 

 a little practice a man can learn how best to shift his weight so as to 

 make the drag cut, spread, and pack the earth properly. 



Filling the ruts by dragging up one side of the road and down the 

 other is all that should be undertaken the first time, but this should 

 be repeated after each heavy ram. As a mile of road can be dragged 

 in a few hours, this method of maintenance is simple and inexpensive. 

 If the drag is used in conjunction with the road machine, fairly 

 good earth roads can be built at a small expense. Dragging is done 

 for 50 cents per mile in some parts of the country. At this rate a 

 mile of earth road can be dragged once a month for $6 annually. 

 Some remarkable results have been accomplished with the drag 

 without the aid of the road machine. Farmers' Bulletin 597, x 

 "The Road Drag and How to Use It," deals fully with this subject. 



1 Copies of this publication will be sent free to persons applying to the Secretary of Agriculture, Wash- 

 ington, D. C. 



