ROAD MODELS. 11 
to the foot. Side ditches should bo 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 above 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 showm 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 S 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 45 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 walnut 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 rain. 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, l 
"The Road Drag and How to Use It," deals fully with this subject. 
1 Copies of this publication will be sent free to persons appl}-ing to the Secretary of Agriculture, Wash- 
ington, D. C 
