of about 1-1/2 yards is quite
generally employed. The soil must be loosened with a plow before it
can conveniently be loaded into the wheeler and a heavy plow is
ordinarily employed for that purpose. Two furrows with the plow will
loosen a strip of earth about as wide as the scoop of the scraper and
if more is loosened it will be packed down by the scrapers wheeling in
place to load. A helper or "snap" team is employed to assist in
loading, after which the wheel scraper is handled by one team.

=Slip Scraper.=--The slip scraper differs from the wheel scraper in
that the scoop is not suspended from wheels but is dragged along the
ground. It is drawn by one team and the capacity is two to five cubic
feet, but the material spills out to some extent as the scraper is
dragged along and the method is not suitable for long hauls, 100 feet
being about the economical limit.

=Fresno Scraper.=--The Fresno scraper is one form of slip scraper
requiring four horses or mules for efficient work. It differs
somewhat from the ordinary slip scraper in shape and is of larger
capacity, but is a drag type of scraper much favored in the western
states.

SHAPING TO PROPER CROSS SECTION

If a road has been graded so that the profile is satisfactory or if
the existing profile of the location is satisfactory, and the surface
is to be shaped to a prescribed cross section, either the elevating
grader or the blade grader may be employed.

=Elevating Grader Work.=--If the elevating grader is used in shaping
the earth road, the apron will be lowered and the material will be
excavated at the sides of the road and deposited on the middle
portion. If slight changes in grade are desired, wagons will accompany
the grader and catch under the apron at the high places and haul the
material to the low places. After the earth has been deposited it must
be worked over to secure the correct cross section and be made
passable for vehicles. This requires that clods be broken, weeds and
grass that are mixed with the earth be removed by harrowing and
forking and that the surface be carefully smoothed with a blade
grader. This latter operation will have to be repeated several times
before a satisfactory surface is secured. But this miscellaneous work
is highly important and under no circumstances ought to be neglected.
Nothing so detracts from an otherwise creditable piece of work as
failure to provide a smooth surface for the use of vehicles. It is
especial