Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1876-09-01
Country Roads.

Country Roads.
We cannot refer to this subject too
often. The condition of the MAORI
ty of roads of the west for many
months past has been simply horri-
BILE; and as the farm work of the
spring was late and crowding, but
little has been done to improve them,
and even that little, in many cases,
might as we'll have been left undone.
The practice of blowing up from
cutters and returning to the road-bed
the silt or fine earth that has been
washed out by the rains, is one of
very poor economy, as it only goes
through the same process again. This
wash-out should be replaced with
gravel, or the nearest approach to 1t
that can be obtained, even if it has
to be drawn a considerable distance,
for the extra labor and cost will be
amply co npensated by the improved
condition of the roads and the case
and economy attending the subse-
quent labor of keeping them in good
condition.
The importance of good roads is
not sufficien ,ly appreciated in very
many localities. The ordinary meth
cd Of work '1g them with the pillow
and sc:aper, at a specified time, I'M
der the road-tax system, does not in
a majority of cases result in gradu-
al improvement. The true policy is
to 1opt measures to make the i'm
provements, in some degree, at least
permanent, so that the conditions of
the roads will grow better as the
years 60 by. We refer of course, to
roads generally. There are instan-
ces in which by reason of proximity
to railroads and market towns, the
farmers owning the land can afford
to build macadamized roads, or con-
struct them with sufficient gravel to
make them at once tirst-class; but
such instances are exceptional, while
as rule, the permanent improve
ment of the highway must, from the
ma ,ure of the case, be gradual.
Need we remind our readers that
good roads enhance the value of farm
property? Poor roads, and roads
that cur 6 a considerable portion of
the year are ve'y bad, and frequently
nearly impossible, are serious draw
back to the community where they
exist, retarding its growth, keeping
d wn the price of land, and dwarfing
its prosperity and wealth. Indeed,
the subject of good and bad roads is
one of the vital problems affecting
the interest of every community. 1t
is question which the officers of a
town ought not to neglect, for, as the
Prairie Farmer has repeatedly
shown, it touches the material pros
perity of farmers more than any
other class. 1t should be borne in
mind that the profits of the farm,
in no light degree, allowing that due
economy and intelligent methods in
production have been observed, de-
pend upon the cost ct transporting
the crop to market, and in this behalf
the public roads play no small part.
1t is for the proper officers to exam
inc this matter, and to lnaugurate
to make the highways as
good as circumstances will warrant,
for, as we have indicated above, and
as every intelligent man knows, with
out good roads much of the labor on
the farm in the long run will be sac
lificed in getting the products to
and the appreciation in the
value of the land will be retarded.
There is another phase of the sub
ject which must not be lost sight of,
aside from the wear and tear Of horse
flesh, harness vehicles. We refer to
the loss arising from carrying half
the load that might be moved easily
on smooth, hard, level roads. Take
the proposition as put substantially
by the Neac England Earner.-
Suppose horse can pull on a level
road 900 pounds; on a road rising
one foot to the hundred he could pull
but 900 pornds. If it rises two feet
in a hundred he could pull but 80
pounds; if two and half feet, F20
pounds; if four feet, 500 pounds
If five feet, 400 pounds, and if the
rise were ten feet in a hundred, he
could pull but $50 pounds, or but
on fourth of the load he could draw
on a level road.
1t is only necessary, also, to men
ton the condition of road, with
reference to its being hard and
smooth or soft and uneven, to sug-
gest the difference in the size of loads
which horses can move over them
NJ. Morin's experience shows that
load Of 5000 pounds will require a
tractive force of 1000 to move it
over firm gravel road, in far con-
dition. On the best gravel road it
will require but 3l5 pounds; on bro
ken stone road in good condition,
1861 pounds; on good pavement,
1873! pounds. 1t will be seen from
The at calculations that eight
horses would be required in the first
instance to do what one could do in
the last case. In drawing grain or
other products to market the loss oc-
e ioned by bad roads in time, and
wear and tear, is very important
losses of this kind are not in
frequent, and they are sometimes
serious, for occasionally the opportu-
nifty is lost to sell particular pro-
duct at an exceptionally high price.
Farmer.
The Scientific american says
a few drops Of carbolic acid in pint
of water will clean house plants from