Voi. LXV. No. 2942. 
NEW YORK, JUNE 16, 1906. 
WEEKLY, $1.00 PER YEAR. 
RESULT OF A GOOD ROADS CLUB. 
Efficient Work With Moderate Outlay. 
ROAD DRAGS.—A good deal of interest seems to 
have been aroused in the 
subject of road improve¬ 
ment by means of the 
road drag. On page 270 
is shown the split-log drag 
sometimes called the King 
drag. At Fig. 194 is 
shown the drag or hone 
used by the Maple Dale 
Good Roads Club. The 
split-log drag is kept from 
tipping by having the two 
blades fastened together 
rigidly, thus making a 
broad base, and the team 
is fastened to it by means 
of a chain. Ours has only 
a single blade, to which is 
fitted a rigid pole or 
tongue which keeps it from 
tipping. The head of the 
drag consists of a plank 
three or more inches 
thick, and about a foot 
wide and eight feet long, 
to the front face of which 
is bolted a steel blade 
which forms the cutting 
edge. A semi - circular 
iron brace holds it at the 
desired angle to the 
tongue. Different holes 
through the semi-circular 
brace, at the point where 
it crosses the pol<j, allow 
of its being set at any an¬ 
gle. A pair of old plow- 
handles fastened in the 
rear complete the outfit, 
and make a very cheap 
and effective tool. In 
operating it, we some¬ 
times weight it with a bag 
of sand or stones, while 
the driver walks behind 
and guides it by means of 
the handles. This is some¬ 
times an advantage when 
particular care is called 
for in finishing up a job, 
but usually it is more sat¬ 
isfactory for the driver to 
stand on a board thrown 
across the pole and the 
brace, stepping from side 
to side to guide it by 
means of his weight. This 
board was removed while 
the picture was taken, in 
order to show the iron 
brace better. A bright 
sunshine threw a distinct 
shadow which should not 
be mistaken for substance. 
AN OBJECT LESSON 
IN ROADS.—Our four 
miles of road improved 
last year by the Maple 
Dale Good Roads Club as 
an object lesson, at a cost 
of less than $200 per mile, has come through the past grave), and an occasional use of the aforesaid hone, 
severe Winter in fine condition. At Fig. 195 is shown . are the secrets of success. What looks like small stones 
a view of what was one of the worst sections a year < near the center of the road, in the picture, are only 
ago. The view was taken April 17, after a year’s use, hard lumps of dirt drawn in by the hone, which had 
and only two days after the soaking rain of Easter 
Sunday, which removed the last of the snowbanks from 
along the roadside. The perfectly oval crown to the 
road, combined with a thin coating of good shale or 
been used just previous to the picture being taken. 
They will be crushed by the first wheel or hoof that 
strikes them. In the hollow, midway of the section 
shown, there is a small depression where a mud-hole 
was formed as the frost 
was leaving the ground. A 
few loads of good mate¬ 
rial will repair that, and 
give a perfectly smooth 
beaten track. The stony 
character of the land 
shows very plainly in the 
pictures, and will give an 
idea of what the original 
neglected beaten track 
was. 
STATE ROAD 
WORK.—The farmers of 
New York State are on 
record through the State 
Grange, as favoring such 
an expenditure of the 
$100,000,000 to be raised 
for road improvement, as 
will give every community 
in the State a share in the 
benefits derived. The orig¬ 
inal plan, as promulgated, 
was to spend it all upon 
one-tenth of the mileage 
of the State. There are 
about 74.000 miles of high¬ 
way in the State, and if 
every mile of it could be 
improved as ours has 
been at a cost of $200 per 
mile, less than $15,000,000 
would be required to com¬ 
plete the whole job, and 
every farmer would have 
a good road right to his 
very door. Tfie remain¬ 
ing $85,000,000 would go a 
long way in the direction 
of needed repairs, and in 
cutting down grades 
where most needed. 
Brother farmers of the 
Empire State, and also of 
other States, there is food 
for reflection in the 
above. Our experiment 
has shown that a light 
coating of good material 
on a well-crowned road, 
makes a smooth and hard 
wheel track in most kinds 
of weather. It seems to 
unite with the material of 
the old roadbed, like ce¬ 
ment with sand, and hard¬ 
ens in much the same 
way. I know of many 
sections of the State roads 
in this county where good 
gravel was applied thickly, 
that have not worn as well 
as ours. The gravel was 
applied so thickly that it 
did not get mixed with 
the soil beneath, and 
when softened by rain and 
frost, wheels of passing 
vehicles picked it up in 
some spots and deposited it further on, leaving the 
roadbed almost as full of billows as the ocean’s surface, 
when it again hardened. No good mechanic would 
thing of making a cement floor by using all cement 
ROAD “HONE'’ USED BY THE MAPLE DALE GOOD ROADS CLUB. Fig. 194. 
A STRETCH OF COUNTRY ROAD IN ORANGE CO., N. Y. 'Fig. 195. 
