Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1883-09-06
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THE, ROAD QUESTION,
Laurensville Herald.

.'aiA' ...i.. LaurenSv1lle Herald. ." -
Editors Laurensvizle Herald: Those who
are studying, the road problem would per-
haps profit by studying nature, as well as
science and art. The roads, as a general
thing, have received very little attention
for many years. Water is the enemy of
roads. The roads wear down and act as a
receptacle for the water that falls upon the
adjacent fields and slopes. Where the road
is not level the water runs down it and
washes it away. In the flats and water
ways the Wateraccumulatesa and creates mud
holes, &C. These conditions are as good
ones as could be contriYed to create bad
roads, and yet it is exactly the case with
most of our roads. If the roads were turn
ed in places by an expert, and not made to
run out of their natural course in order to
serve as line between landowners, and
then graded and put in a condition to con-
duct the water speedily from them, we would
hear very little complaint of bad roads.
Some few places would get bad in wet wealth
er, but they could receive such attention as
they required, after the roads were put in
proper shape. In manyplaces the roads are
on about as good ground as they could be put,
but occasionally there are places where it
would be advantageous to turn them, When
ever system of working is adopted that
will save them from washing away. The
surface soil becomes very hard and smooth
where the water is not allowed to run or
stand upon it. .f
I have had some experience in working
roads, both public and private. On the Sec
ton of road over which I have charge as
overseer, the laborers are all colored; the
most of them never travel over the road
unless they are driving their employers
teams, and it is natural that they should be
very Indifferent about working. Part OF
them bring hoes to work with-not many Of
them having shovels. I estimate, that with
a-good. .overseer, a hand on the public road
will not do, any. more in two days than a
hired hand will do in one day. - - ~
Although so poorly equipped, l have sue
ceeded in improving my section so that 1T
answers all purposes very we'll, excepting
a few places of short length which cut up
very badly in wet weather. l think with
four days work in each year, with the free
use of wagons and teams, my section could
be put in good shape, and these bad places
graveled in the length of four or five years.
But the hands will not consent to do so much
work unless other sections receive as much
at the same time.
One great trouble is, the ineXperience OF
many of the overseers, for it takes consid-
erable experience and skill to learn how to
make agood road, and to control large gangs
of unwilling hands.
AS I before said, / have also had expert
ence in working roads that are not public
roads. We live over mile from the public
| roads that pass on either side of us, and
have to keep up roads to lead to them.
These settlement roads were very bad in
places, about two years ago, and my neigh
| bors and myself determined to spend time
and money to improve them. In some
places they were turned from over steep
hills and gullies on to ground that was nearly
| level. These new pieces of road were put
| in condition so as not to wash away, and
the old parts of the road, where needed,
were thoroughly worked. They need still
further improvement in places, but they
answer all requirements, and can be travel
ed over with comfort, speed and safety
and can be kept up to their present stand
ard, and perhaps improved, by one days
work in the Spring Of each year. We have
done all this with our hired laborers, and
mostly at times when the fields were too
wet to plow.
refer to this to show what can be done
when the proper effort is made, with labor
under perfect control, and to show, too, that
what is mostly needed for the public roads
is general good management
| For reasons which have stated, and 9TH
ers with which the public are familiar, l
don't believe that the public roads will ever
be improved as they should be, under the
present system of working. The great
trouble is to raise the money for road ma
king. If one dollar were paid by every
man who is liable to road duty, it would dc
more good than all the work that is doEe
now. But it seems that this cannot be done
for constitutional reasons. Although am
no lawyer, I think a law could be passed to
compel every person who is liable to road
duty to pay S1.O0, or work four days on the
road. Of course the money would be paid
| With thisand light tax on property, asuf'
fcient sum could be raised for road purposes,
| There are several good ways of spending
money, but will close for the present, and
| leave this for future discussion.
FARMER.
CoLoR-HEARING.-P expressions
are often very significant. 81 saw three
dozen lights of all colors," or some sim:
liar expression, may frequently be heard
from persons who received violent blows
on the head or face. Under the influence
of shocks of this kind, the eye really seems
to see infinite numbers of sparks. Shocks
of certain class impressed upon the ner.
vous system seem to have the faculty OF
producing phenomena of light. This re-
mark has been suggested by the facts which
| we are about to relate, which lead us to
suppose that sOnorous vibrations are suscep-
tible in certain cases of provoking luminous
sensations. There are, in fact, persons who
are endowed with such sensibility that
! they cannot hear sound without at the
same time perceiving colors. Each sound
to them has its peculiar color; this word
corresponds with red, and that one with
green, one note is blue, and another is yel-
| low Thic nhanomanon HCo]Or-hearirl -
as the English call it, has been hitherto
little observed.
DR.. Nussbaumer, Of Vienna, appears to
have been the first person who took serious
notice of it. While still child, when play
ing one day with his brother, striking a
fork against glass to hear the ringing, he
discovered that he saw cOlOrs at the same
time that he perceived the sound; and so
we'll did he discern the color that when he
stopped his ears, he could divine by it how
loud sound the fork had produced. His
brother also had similar experiences. DR..
Nussbaumer was afterward able to add to
his own observations nearly identical ones
made by medical student in Zurich. 10
this young man, musical notes were trans
lated by certain fixed colors. The high notes
induced clear colors, and the low notes dull
ones. More recently, NJ. Pedrono, an optha-
mologist of Nantes, has observed the same
peculiarities in one of his friends.
LONG LIFE NOT DEsIRABLE.-Were some
angel to say to a man, "You shall live one
thousand years, if you wish, but all things
else shall keep on in their wonted order, and
you shall not possess the privilege or the ca
pacity to die during that PERIOD" would the
proposition be accepted by one who paused
to think for a moment? Within the first