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?•«• HOW TO BUILD AND USE THE SPLIT-LOG DRAG One of the latest publication issued by the Office of Public Roads of the United States' Department of Agricul ture treats of the split-log drag, an implement which numerous experi ments have conclusively shown to be the greatest possible boon to keep earth roads smooth and passable. Be cause of its simplicity, its efficiency and its cheapness, both in construction and operation, it ia destined to come more and more into general use. With the drag properly built and its us© well understood, the maintenance of earth roads becomes a simple and in expensive matter. At the present time there are ap proximately 2,0Q0,000 miles of earth roads in the United States. Some of the most important of these roads will eventually be improved with stone, gravel and other materials. Many oth ers which are equally important can not be so improved on account of lack of funds or suitable materials, while still others will not require such treat ment because of the light traffic to which they are subjected. For these reasons the majority of our roads must be maintained as earth roads for many years to come. This must be done by inexpensive methods and the split-log drag will be a powerful aid if economy is the criterion demanded. In the construction of this imple ment, care should be taken to make it so light that one man can lift it with ease, a light drag responding more readily to various methods of hitching than a heavy one, as well as to the shifting of the position of the operator. The best material for a split-log drag is a dry red cedar log, though red elm and walnut are excel lent, and box elder, soft maple, or even willow are superior to oak, hick ory or ash. The log should be be tween 7 and 10 feet long and from 10 to 12 inches in diameter at the butt end. It should be split carefully as near the center as possible, and the heaviest and best slab chosen for the front. In the front slab 4 inches from the end which is to drag in the mid dle of the road bore a 2-inch hole, which is to receive a cross bar. At a distance of 22 inches from the other end of the front slab, locate the cen ter for another cross bar. The hole for the middle bar will be on a line con necting and halfway between the two. Then place the back slab in position, and from the end which ia to drag in the middle of the road measure 20 inches for the center of one cross bar and 6 inches from tho other end locate the center of the opposite bar. The hole for the center bar should be lo cated halfway between the two. All these holes should be carefully bored perpendicular or at right angles to the face of the split log. If these directions are followed it will be found that when the holes of the front and back slabs are brought opposite each other, one end of the back slab will be 16 inches nearer the center of the roadway than the front one. That gives what is known as a "set back." The bars, which are 30 inches long, will hold the slabs this distance apart. When the bars have been firmly wedged into their sockets, a brace about 2 inches thick and 4 inches wide may be placed diagonally to them at the ditch end of the drag. A cleated board is placed between the slabs and across the bars for the driver to stand on. By many it is deemed best to place a strip of iron along the lower face of the front slab for a cutting blade and to prevent the drag from wearing. The drag may be fastened to the double tree by means of a trace chain. The chain should be wrapped around the left-hand or rear bar and passed over the front slab. Raising the chain at this end of the slab permits the earth to drift past the face of the drag. The other end of the chain should be passed through a hole in the opposite end of the front slab and held by a pin passed through a link. For ordinary purposes, the hitch should be so made that the unloaded drag will follow the team at an angle of about 45°. The team should be driven with one horse on either side of the right-hand wheel track or rut the full length of the portion to be dragged, and made to return in the same manner over the other half of the roadway. Such treatment will move the earth towards the center of the roadway and raise it gradually above the surrounding level. The best results have been obtained The Rancru Office or Public Roads of the United States Department of Agriculture Issues a Bulletin on this Simple Road-Building Device by dragging roads once each way after each heavy rain. In some cases, how ever, one dragging every three or four weeks has been found sufficient to keep a road in good condition. When the soil is moist, but not sticky, the drag does its best work. As the soil in a field will bake if plowed wet, so the road will bake if the drag is used on it when it is wet. If the roadway is full of holes or bad- Perspective View ly rutted, the drag should be used once when the ground is soft and slushy. This is particularly applica ble before a cold spell in winter, when it is possible to so prepare the surface that it will freeze smooth. Not infrequently conditions are met which may be overcome by a slight Plan, Front and Side View of Plank Drag. change in the manner of hitching. Shortening the chain tends to lift the front slab and make the cutting slight, while a longer hitch causes the front slab to sink more deeply into the earth and act on the principle of a plow. If a furrow of earth is to be removed, the doubletree should be attached close Plan and Elevation to the ditch end of the drag, and the driver should stand with one foot on the extreme forward end of the front slab. Conditions are so varied in different localities, however, that it is quite im possible to lay down specific rules. Certain sections of a roadway will re quire more attention than others, be cause of steep grades, wet weather springs, soil conditions, exposure to sun and wind, washes, etc. There is one condition, however, in which spe cial attention should be given. Clay roads under persistent draggings fre quently become too high in the center. This may be corrected by dragging the earth towards the center of the road twice, and away from it once. There is no question as to the econ- of Split-log Drag. omy of this roadmaking implement, either in first cost or in operation. In six counties in Kansas in 1906 the cost of maintaining ordinary earth roads, without the aid of the split-log drag, averaged $42.50 a mile. These figures were furnished by Professor W. C. Hoad, of the University of Kan- sas, who secured them from official records of the counties. Some figures furnished by F. P. San born and R. H. Aishton, general man ager of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, have revealed the wonders of this simple device. Mr. Sanborn said, "the least expense per mile per annum for split-log dragging was $1,50, of Split-log Drag. the greatest a little over $6, and the average expense per mile for 5% miles a little over $3. I have lived along this road all my life and never in 40 years have I seen it freer from mud and dust, despite the fact that during the season we have experienced the extremes of weather conditions." The testimony of Mr. Aishton is 9 J equally strong. Learning that a town- I ship in lowa had been experimenting 1 with it for a year on 28 miles of high j way, he sent an agent to secure in formation. It was reported that, al though the town board had paid the cost of making the drags and of hir ing men to operate them, the total ex pense for one year averaged but $2,40 a mile, and the roads were reported to have been "like a race track" the greater portion of the year. The advantages to be gained from the persistent use of a road drag may be summarized as follows: 1. The maintenance of a smooth, serviceable earth road free from ruts and mudholes. 2. Obtaining such a road surface with the expenditure of very little money and labor in comparison with the money and labor required for other methods. 3. The reduction of mud In wet weather, and of dust in dry weather. There are also several minor ben efits gained from the use of a road drag, besides the great advantages which always accrue from the forma tion of improved highways, of which may be mentioned the banishment of weeds and grass from the dragged por tion of the road. COMMISSION TO ROAD CONGRESS. President Roosevelt has directed that this nation be strongly and of ficially represented at the Internation al Road Congress, to be held at Paris the week beginning October 11, and credentials have been issued naming Logan Waller Page, Director of the Of fice of Public Roads of the United State Department of Agriculture, Chairman of the Commission. The other members named are Colonel Charles S. Bromwell of the United States Corps of Engineers, now serv ing as Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds of the District of Columbia, and Clifford Richardson of New York, an eminent chemist and one of the world's acknowledged authorities on bituminous road building materials. This congress, which will be attend ed by distinguished delegates from every country in the world, is regarded by highway engineers and experts as probably the most important ever sum moned for the discussion of an eco nomic question. Prior to the advent of the automobile the roads improved, but the modern speed vehicle had not been traversing the suburban high ways long before a pronounced retro gression of the most generally traveled stretches was very noticeable. Com plaints came from farmers and from dwellers along suburban roads that a great dust nuisance had also sprung up, and that emerald lawns were tak ing on the hue of London fog, and that box hedge was dove grey rather than green. Fruit farmers noted their prod ucts becoming gritty and prices fell off. Investigation proved at once that the new conditions had been created by the automobile, and highway engineers in every civilized land began studying the new condition and seeking for a rem edy. In this country, Director Page conducted a series of interesting ex periments, in which various classes of automobiles were sent at varying rates of speed over selected stretches of road, while expert photographers pictured their progress and produced proof that the tractive force of the rear tires did the damage. While he was watching that work and was ex perimenting with various dust laying liquids, France was doing the same on an even larger scale. That country, which expends vast sums annually on maintaining the well-nigh perfect sys tem of highways it has been building since the days of the first Napoleon, made a most complete set of measure ments and learned that the automo biles had caused the roads of the Re public to retrograde fully forty per cent. It was decided to summon the thought, skill and intelligence of the world to combat a condition which means great financial losses, and the official invitations to the congress were sent out, the French Government formally requesting the United States Government to participate in the con gress. Invitations have been transmitted through the Office of Public Roads to State Highway Commissioners, City Engineers and Park Commissioners to attend the congress, and already a number of delegates have been se lected.