-L50 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[December, 
scraping. The wheel of the plow should now 
be raised an inch, and a furrow four inches 
deep plowed, inclined as before, then others in 
the same way to the number of six. The last 
will be 8 inches deep and 15 feet from the mid¬ 
dle of the road. This plowing should be done 
as soon as the ground is settled in the spring, 
'so as to run the furrows, when necessary, 
straight through the beaten wagon-track, which 
ofteD crooks. Later in the season this is beaten 
so hard that it can not be plowed. Then, too, 
there is no grass to “bother” in April. The 
supervisor should himself do this work, and see 
that the furrows are straight , parallel with the 
fences, and at the right distance from them. 
The furrows, as soon as plowed, should be well 
harrowed and left to rot until May or June. 
This work should be done in the fall, that the 
sod might fully rot, but the supervisor is not 
elected until spring. 
If the scraper, figure 2, is used, three of the 
six furrows should be replowed as at first. The 
scraping is done thus: Two men set thcedge of 
the scraper, just behind the three furrows, and 
the team draws an eight-foot section of them 
to the middle of the road. The distance is only 
twelve feet. Then the team backs diagonally 
for another load, the men carrying the scraper 
by the handles (a, a) at the end of the plank. 
When the three furrows are finished, three 
more are plowed as at the first plowing, and 
scraped as before. These furrows are deeper, 
and will require two scrapings in each place to 
make a clean j >b. If the ditch needs to be 
deeper, three, or even six more furrows may be 
plowed. But the first six, done as described, 
will make the middle of the turnpike sixteen 
inches higher than the bottom of the gutter. 
When the six furrows have been scraped as 
described, there will be six ridges of dirt (side 
by side, their bases touching) tiie whole length 
of the job. The harrow, driven several times 
over them, will level them nearly enough; the 
scraper, figure2 or 8, will improve the surface; 
the hoe, rake, or potato-hook must dispose of 
sods and stones, and the roller finish the work. 
The scraper, figure 2, is a simple, home-made 
thing, but puts dirt on the turnpike much faster 
than the ordinary team-shovel. This spring I 
saw two men and a team, plow, scrape, and 
finish thirty-five rods of turnpike in ten hours, 
and it was a smooth, handsome job, too. True, 
it was on a narrow by-road, and four instead of 
six furrows were plowed, but with the old-fash¬ 
ioned scraper and hand-leveling it would have 
taken three times as long. The common scraper, 
too, leaves the dirt in hillocks, and unless these 
are leveled with the greatest care, there will be 
a billowy road. New turnpikes are commonly 
wretched roads the 
first j r ear. The ob¬ 
jections to the 
scraper, figure 2, 
are—first, it is very 
hard work for the 
men. They must 
lift it out of the 
earth, and carry it 
back ten feet or 
more for every load. 
Second, it is hard 
work for the horses. They must back up each 
time and then draw two men besides the load 
of earth. The scraper, figure 3, has not these 
faults nor those of the old one. It is far easier 
for man and beast than either. It loads with¬ 
out any one riding, 
and with perfect 
ease for the holder, 
carries its load 
with no work to 
him, dumps without 
heavy lifting, levels 
its own earth, and 
keeps its handles 
out of the dirt and 
mud, and where the 
holder can reach 
them easily (see 
figures 3 and 4). 
The tongue helps 
the holder manage the scraper, and keeps the 
traces from under the horses’ feet. The sharp, 
steel cutting edge, the purchase the chain gives 
the operator, with the draft so near the cutting 
edge, and the fact that the scraper can be set 
at any required 
angle, make it pos¬ 
sible to drive it into 
the hardest ground. 
It can even be used 
for leveling knolls 
and hummocks in 
meadows without 
first plowing. Only 
one man is ever 
needed to manage 
team and scraper, 
while the old one 
needs a driver and 
holder, and figure 2 really needs a driver and 
two holders. Figure 2 is certainly an improve¬ 
ment on the old scraper, but figure 3 is a still 
greater one on figure 2. Figure 2 is, however, 
home-made, and costs 
perhaps not more than 
$5, besides the steel 
edge. Figure 3 is pat¬ 
ented, is made only 
in Chicago, and costs 
$12, besides, freight. 
A good old - style 
scraper costs $10.50. 
I shall sell mine as 
soon as I can, and use 
only figure 3. If a 
road district can not 
afford the $12 for figure 3, it ought to have 
both other kinds. Both figures 2 and 3 are ad¬ 
mirable for smoothing rough roads in the 
spring, and for leveling new' turnpikes. 
After a rain a, new turnpike is apt to rut, and 
should be re-leveled with scraper fig. 2 or 3, and 
with the hoe. If itis so leveled, after two or three 
rains the surface gets packed and there is no 
more trouble. Otherwise the ruts and holes 
grow deeper and deeper after each rain. New 
turnpikes, as I have said, are notoriously bad 
roads. It is simply because they are not prop¬ 
erly leveled at first, especially where the old 
scraper is used, and are not kept in repair. A 
supervisor should reserve a part of his funds for 
this purpose. What would be thought of a 
railroad company that should not repair its 
road for a full year after a new track was made ? 
A word in regard to 
Tiie General Appearance op Highways. 
—Some farmers, sometimes whole neighbor¬ 
hoods, get into the habit of leaving their wag¬ 
ons, sleds, lumber-piles, stones from meadow’s, 
apple-tree brush, etc., in the highw'ay. “It is 
so handy." But how a road looks full of such 
truck! The wagons, etc., should be in the barn 
or tool-house, the stones under fence corners or 
in w’alls or pits, and the brush in fire-wood or 
ashes. A nice turf should cover the vacant 
space each side. The grass can be mowed with 
profit, where animals are kept from the streets, 
as they should be. Many farmers own several 
acres of road. They bought it with their land, 
a.r\& pay yearly taxes <m \t. The public have a 
right to use it for a road, but not for a cow and 
hog pasture. 
A certain town in Massachusetts has a society 
whose sole object is to beautify the highways, 
and it is a luxury to drive through the streets of 
that town. No unsightly objects meet the eye. 
No plows show their rusty mold-boards to the 
traveler. No wagons slowly rot beside the 
lazy farmer’s barn. No mud-holes are kept in 
repair by a dozen nasty hogs. No nice turf is 
rooted into an unsightly mass of dirt by abom¬ 
inable snouts. Would that there were more 
of such towns ! Public sentiment can at least 
drive rubbish and hogs from the streets. If it 
rises high enough to plant and keep in thrifty 
growth a double row of elms, future genera¬ 
tions will see Temple streets and Hillhouse 
avenues elsewhere than in New’ Haven. If 
property owners were aware that well-kept and 
properly shaded roads added greatly to the 
value of their farms, they would be more ready 
to secure them than they are at present'. 
Fig. 1.—SECTION OF TUliNPIKE. 
Fig. 2.— RIGID PLANK SCRAPER. 
Fig. 4.— FLEXIBLE PLANK SCRAPER. 
