St. Landry democrat., 1885-02-28
BAD ROADS.
What an Agricultural Community Pays
for Indifferent Highways.

Improve the public highways IN any
town or part of the country plenty Of
people are ready enough to figure on
the cost of the proposed improvement.
Too often the figuring is all that is done,
for, as these people are able or willing
to see only one side of the proposed
work, they succeed in preventing the
carrying out Of any plan for making
better the roads in common use. Mis-
souri, is fortunate in having for Pro-
fessor of Agriculture at Columbia man
who is determined that the farmers of
that State at least shall know what it
costs them to drag loads over bad roads.
To this end he has made a number of
experiments to ascertain just what the
difference is between the force required
for pulling load of given weight over
different kinds of roads, and to show
the value Of broad tires, especially in
farm work. The results are given in a
pamphlet of dozen pages, illustrated
by eight diagrams.
Each load drawn was 1865 pounds.
The tires of the wheels were respectively
one and half and three inches wide,
the narrower ones being considerably
worn. On bluegrass sward, moist,
although but little rain had fallen with
in twelve days of making the test, the
average force required by the broad
tires was 80 pounds; the narrow ones
required 439 pounds, or 41.6 per cent
more than was required by the others.
Prof. Sanborn says:
Assuming the wagon to weigh 1000
pounds, then on the broad wheels 3,248
pounds of load would be drawn as
easily as easily as 1000 pounds on the
narrow tires, except the loss from the
wheels cutting deeper under the heavier
load. Again, the broad wheels in the
trial did not injure the turf, while the
narrow wheels cut through it, an i'm
portant consideration. Our teamsters
for use about the college farm invaria-
bly, choose the broad wheels. They
find that they are not nearly as liable to
get stuck in soft places or during rainy
times.
''In a subsequent trial on partially
dried dirt road the broad wheels cut the
road less deeply and drew easier than
the narrow wheels, the draft being for
the broad tires 81 pounds and for the
narrow tires AL pounds, or the latter
drew 1877 per cent. heavier than the
former, net difference per ton load of
381 pounds, or 381 pounds more could
be drawn on the broad wheels to the
preservation of roads, as is recognized
in two or three States by adjusting the
rate of toll to the width of wheels, the
tolls being RENTED on wheels of a GER
tain width. The difference of draft
above recorded disappears on good
roads.
I'm the tests for ascertaining the diff
ference in draft on good and poor roads
ordinary narrow tires were" used. The
road had gravel bed. The first pull
was up grade of one foot in twenty
eight feet, and the draft. was $40
pounds. This test was made ON grass,
and shows that narrow tires on grass a
few days after rain are equivalent toa
draft up a hill of more than one foot
rise to tWenty-eight feet.
1.-THE second pull was on a fiat at the
top of the above grade, and drew on a
draft of 118 pounds. This should en-
force the Importance of avoiding hills
and of reducing grades, when practi-
would be hardly one-third as much up
this mild grade as on level ground. In
addition to this loss there is the fur
Their loss of capacity of horse to draw
uphill. 1t is well known that the
structure of the horse is such that he
works to disadvantage up grade.
On level ground man-power is as to
5, but uphill as to 3 compared with
the horse.
THE value of grades is well known
to railroads, and it has sometimes
caused their reconstruction or the
building of competing lines, and in the
older parts of our country roads are
often constructed at great cost for
the business advantage of improved
grades.
On a moist dirt road the draft was
487 pounds, or 81 per cent more than
required on a grade of one to twenty
eight feet on a gravel road, four times
as much as required on level plank
floor.
The draft registered by no means
shows the actual effects on the horse as
it does not take into account the sue
ton of the mud and the slipping of their
feet nor the extra effort required for
lifting their feet over the little eleva-
tons constantly before them. Prof.
Sanborn concludes by saying:
As we view the long periods in
which traffic is suspended on our dirt
roads, generally in periods when farm
ers are not busy, the small loads
dragged into our markets, the value OF
which is largely absorbed by the ex-
pense of delivery; the almost universal
use of the saddle-horse, and the inn