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Show LTIME for dragging roads Much Depends on Character of Road . Material Ne Exact Rule Will ' I . Fit All Cases. ' If clay Is mixed with water and 'puddled' and then allowed to dry a hard, almost waterproof, and nearly dustless material Is formed. If a smooth, well shaped road could be constructed con-structed of this material It would never become yery muddy or very f dusty, and would be an Ideal earth ,..sroa6. Under ordinary conditions this Ideal la not realized, because, after being puddled the earth dries In ruts end holes which are rough while dry and which hold water like dishes when , It rains. If the muddy road, after j Dragging Road In Fall. being puddled by the horses' hoofs and wagon wheels, can be smoothed out and properly shaped before drying dry-ing then the Ideal is attained, . and this smoothing and shaping is the work accomplished by the road drag. The water standing in pools and pud- .'dlee Is spread out over a larger surface, sur-face, so that it dries quickly, the min-' min-' ute holes or pores In the clay are smeared over and closed, making the surface more nearly waterproof; the ruts and holes are gradually filled np and made smooth, and just enough earth Is moved toward the middle to give the proper crown. The result Is JLjb smooth, hard, well-shaped road v which will shed water and never be-. be-. comes very muddy In wet weather or very dusty In dry weather. From the above discussion It can readily be seen that dragging should be done when the road Is wet, or at least when it Is moist. The exact time to drag any given road will depend de-pend upon the character of the road material, and no exact rule can be lven whictf will fit all cases. If traffic traf-fic can be kept off from the dragged portion for awhile then the road may be dragged when It Is very wet and tloppyf but if wagons are going to - r follow right behind the drag, making deep ruts as soon as the old ones are filled up, the dragging must be deferred until the road has partly dried out Good Judgment and experience experi-ence en the part of the operator will Ikon tell him what Is the best time to drag any given road. Eoads which dry out quickly must be dragged Im-' Im-' mediately after a rain, while others ,may be allowed to dry for several . idays before being dragged. Dragging a dry road simply makes It dusty. Dragging should be done, If possible, after every rain, and as soon thereafter there-after as conditions are right |
