16 BULLETIN 53, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
2£ feet. The maximum grade was reduced from 4$ per cent to 3£ per cent. 
The equipment consisted of one 2-horse plow, 5 drag scrapers, one 6-horse road 
grader, slat-bottom wagons, picks, shovels, etc. Labor cost $1.75 and teams $5 
per 10-hour day. 
The improvement consisted in grading and shaping the existing road and 
surfacing it with a sand-clay mixture. The earth was loosened with plows and 
hauled in wagons and on drag scrapers for an average haul of TOO feet and a 
maximum haul of 1,900 feet. The material was spread and the road shaped by 
means of the road grader. One drainage ditch was constructed leading away 
from the road at station 25. The ditch was 5 feet wide by 1 foot deep by 300 
feet long. Clay for surfacing was hauled an average distance of one-half mile, 
and the sand an average distance of three-fourths of a mile. These materials 
were spread in uniform layers of 7 inches and 3 inches, respectively, and 
thoroughly mixed. 
The road was then shaped so that the crown of the finished surface was 1 
inch to 1 foot. Five days were lost on account of unfavorable weather and six 
days from other causes. The weather and labor conditions were largely respon- 
sible for the high cost of this work. 
The road was graded to a length of 2,400 feet, with a width of 28 feet in cuts 
and 20 feet in fills. The entire length was surfaced to a width of 16 feet, 
making the surfaced area 4,267 square yards. Earth to the amount of 1,450 
cubic yards was moved in excavation, and 1,500 cubic yards of surfacing ma- 
terial was used. The total cost of the road to the community was $1,351.51, 
which is at the rate of $0,317 per square yard. The principal items of cost 
were: Excavation, 1,450 cubic yards, at $0.30 per cubic yard, $432; shaping 
the subgrade, at $0,031 per square yard, $130.63; clearing and grubbing, 
$15.50; trimming the shoulders and ditches, $55.38; excavating 303.3 cubic 
yards of sand, at $0.15 per cubic yard, $45.50; loosening and loading 830 
cubic yards of clay, at $0,109 per cubic yard, $90.49; hauling clay, 830 cubic 
yards, at $0,265 per cubic yard, $220; loosening and loading 660 cubic yards of 
sand, at $0,116 per cubic yard, $76.38; hauling sand, 660 cubic yards, at $0.24 
per cubic yard, $158.75; spreading sand, 660 cubic yards, at $0,019 per cubic 
yard, $12.25 ; spreading clay, 830 cubic yards, at $0,021 per cubic yard, $17.50 ; 
mixing sand and clay, 4,267 square yards, at $0.0035 per square yard, $15 ; final 
shaping, at $0.0035 per square yard, $15; and general expenses, $67.13. 
Quitman, Ga. — Work was begun on a sand-clay road extending from QuitmaD 
toward Spain, on January 30, 1913, and completed on February 21, 1913, with 
the loss of five days on account of bad weather. The adjacent land is rolling 
and the natural soil is sand from station to station 15, clay from station 15 
to station 22, sand from station 22 to station 30, clay from station 30 to station 
34, sand from station 34 to station 44, clay from station 44 to station 48, and 
sand from station 48 to station 61. 
A total length of 6,100 feet was graded 30 feet wide in cuts and 20 feet wide 
in fills, making 15,000 square yards. Earth was excavated to the amount of 
1,050 cubic yards, and the average haul was 375 feet and the maximum haul, 
500 feet. Throughout its entire length the road was surfaced to a width of 14 
feet, making 9,489 square yards. The sand-clay surface was constructed as 
follows : The sand and clay were spread uniformly in two courses of 4 inches 
and 8 inches in loose depth, respectively. These materials were then thoroughly 
mixed first with a plow and then with a disk harrow, after which the road was 
shaped with a road grader. It was immediately opened to traffic and as ruts 
were formed they were filled by dragging. Clay to the amount of 1,590 cubic 
yards was hauled to the road, dumped, and spread by hand with shovels. Sand 
was used to the amount of 790 cubic yards, a part of which was hauled and 
