Methods for Smoothing Surface. Several methods have sometimes been employed for smoothing the surface of an earth road. For the purpose of smoothing out the ruts in the spring, when a muddy road is drying up, a railroad rail 12 to i6 feet in length has sometimes been used, the rail being drawn by teams hitched at the ends so as to cut off the ridges and fill the ruts. A heavy stick of timber faced with steel on one edge has also been used in the same way. These methods may prove quite efficient at times when the roads are in bad condition, causing the surface to dry smoother than would otherwise be the case.
The scraping grader is frequently used for light trimming of the surface, but is not usually an economical tool to use unless heavier work is to be done, on account of the weight of the machine and the cost of operating it. Several types of light road scrapers, or road levelers, as they are usually called, requiring only a single team and driver, or perhaps also a man to operate the machine, are occasionally used for this purpose. These levelers are sometimes mounted upon two wheels, and the blade made- adjustable in position; others are simply cutting blades which slide upon the ground in fixed position. They frequently do good work in smoothing the surface when the soil is in proper condition, although they do not pack the material upon the surface of the road.
Road Drag. The cheapest and most successful method yet devised for maintaining the surface of a road in good condition is by the use of the road drag. This method has been used with great success in the states of the Mississippi valley, where the maintenance of earth roads in condition to be used at all seasons had previously been considered an almost hopeless task. Its introduction is largely due to the efforts of Mr. D. Ward King, of Maitland, Mo., who spent most of his time for a number of. years in introducing and explaining his method of using the " split log drag." Fig. 19 shows a drag as commonly constructed of split logs. The following description of the drag and its operation is taken from the report of the Illinois Highway Commission for 1906: "The log should be from 10 to 12 inches in diameter and about 9 feet long. The holes in the front half of the log should be bored so that a slight slant forward is given to the lower part of the front face of the split log. The holes in the rear log are bored so that its flat face will be perpendicular to the sticks forming the con necting braces which should be .tapered at the ends so that they will fit snugly into the holes bored into the logs. The holes should not be less than two inches in diameter. The ends of the cross sticks should be split and wedges driven so as to secure the cross braces in place. The wedges should be driven crosswise of the grain of the log or plank so as not to split it. A diagonal cross brace is placed between the logs at the leading end to stiffen the frame of the drag. The distance from the face of the back log to the face of the front log should be about three feet. The lower front
edge or toe of the drag should be protected by a strip of old wagon tire, or other piece of iron, about a quarter of an inch thick and 3 or 4 inches wide and about 4 feet long. This strip of iron should be bolted to the front log and the heads of the bolts countersunk. The strip of iron should not be carried the entire length of the front log.
."Chains should be provided with which to haul the drag, arranged with a short and long hitch as shown in the sketch, so that the drag will travel at an angle of about 45 degrees with the direction of the road. It will be noticed from the sketch that the long hitch of the chain goes over the log around one of the cross pieces rather than through a hole in the front log.
This allows the earth to slide unobstructedly along the front face of the drag. " The drag may also be made of planks, instead of logs; 2 by 12 inch planks are used for this purpose, reinforced on the inner side by 2 inch by 6 inch strips, to provide a greater thickness of wood through which to bore the holes.
"When the road drag is properly used it spreads out the layer of impervious soil over the surface of the road, filling up the ruts and hollows until a smooth surface is secured. As a small amount of material is always to be pushed to the center, a slightly rounded effect will be given to the road, which may be increased or decreased as desired by subsequent dragging. By forcing the mud into the hollows and ruts, it is evident that the water must go out, which it does by running off to the side of the road. The drying out of the road is thus much facilitated and the road is made immediately firmer because the water is squeezed out.
"The effect of traffic over the road tends to press down and thoroughly compact the top of the road and each thin layer of puddled earth which the drag spreads over the surface every time it is used. After the first few draggings it will be noticed that the road is becoming constantly smoother and harder so that the effect of a rain is scarcely noticeable, the water running off the smooth hard surface which absorbs but little of it." The action of the drag differs from that of an ordi nary scraper or leveler in that it packs the material upon the surface, while the leveler merely smooths the road by trimming off the high places and distributing the material into the low places.
Constant attention is necessary to maintain an earth road in good condition, The dragging should be done as soon after each rain as possible, and at all seasons of the year. If dragging is done before a cold spell, the road will freeze in a smooth condition, and will be in good condition when the frost leaves it.
The amount of work required in dragging roads is comparatively small. While frequent attention is necessary, the work to be done at one time is insignifi cant. In several instances it has been found that the cost of maintenance by dragging is much less than the expenditure previously incurred for shaping up the road with the grader in the spring.