Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1891-11-26
FARM AND HOUSEHOLD.
THE PRESSING NECESSITY FOR
IMPROVED ROADS.
Bad Effects of Narrow Wagon Tires
Rotation of Crops Imperative
Leaks on the Farm-Sheep
Notes and Home Hints.
Our Country Roads.

| have heard American farmers say
that they were opposed to having the
public roads put in charge of civil en-
gineers; that they had no desire to be
scientific" and were opposed to sci
entific' management OF the public
roads. | think | have heard you say
this. Let Inc tell you in the most
friendly way in the world that you
could not, to save your soul help being
scientific. You are scientific when you
paint your house, put tallow on your
boots, grease on your wagon-axle
hone your razor, smoke your hams
fumlgate you" hennery or take pep
perm mt for the stomach ache That
patent incubator of yours is a perfect
marvel of science. 1t is not wise to
think man IS more scientific than
you are simply because he may know
thing or two in his particular line
of business which you do not He
might object to yolr knowledge for the
same reason; for in many things your
superior wisdom makes you more sci
entific than he is. Besides your ave-
rage civil engineer is likely to be one
of the best fellows in the world; and
If he is worth his salt you will find
him wide awake, practical and inter-
esting; democratic in his ways, plain
In his dress, and with a head full OF
good sense. He is always looking for
ideas and he will concede your. supe-
rior knowledge OF farming and be glad
to learn of any valuable thing that you
may tell him. He may not know the
difference between timothy and mullen
stalks but he can show you how to
build road as good as the best in the
world and one that will last for forty
generations. He will tell you that it
needs something besides horse power,
axle grease and profanity to move a
loaded wagon from farm to market;
that the harder and smoother your
road Is roade the shorter your distance
becomes from farm to town. and the
less power will be required to haul
your produce.
Did you ever wonder why it is that
the great railroads of the country are
constantly improving their roadbeds
adopting improved rails and employing
section gangs" to constantly keep
their tracks in the best condition? /
will tell you why it is. Years ago it
was found that the cost of running q
great railroad line was decreased by
every improvement which tended to
lessen the grades and make the track
smooth and hard; and the best engineer
ing talent in the world has been en-
ployed to bring these railroads TO their
present condition of excellence TWen-
ty-live years ago. before the general
adoption of the long. solid faced steel
rail. the power required to move the
rolling stock was considerably greater
than at present Ia 1870 it cost the
New York Central railroad company
about one and one-sixth cents to move
each ton of freight over | mile of rail-
road. This seems very small sum,
but AS small as 1t may appear it was
reduced in 1889 to about five mills.
Other railroad lines show a CORE
spending decrease in running expenses.
all uu0 ~ the improvement OF the
tracks or roadbed.
Next to water nothing is so destruc-
tive of a good road surface as heavy
vehicle running on narrow wheels. 1t
has been proven over and over again
that wheels with 45-inch tires cause
only one-n alf the wear on q road that
results from the use of wheels with
- inch tires 1t used to be the rule In
England 10 make the tire l inch wide
for every 800 pounds Of load or vehicle;
that iC if 10 al g !,
ed 2 tons, 4-inch tires would be used;
but it was not found profitable to in
crease the width much beyond Al
inches. except in cases where wagons
were used without springs when they
we're sometimes made as wide as 6
inches.
You ought to treat this matter of
wheel tires as you do other things in
which YOU are Interested, and give it
the same sensible consideration that
you apply to the things about your
home. When you built your house
you commenced by putting down 1G-
inch STONE foundation, ana on THAI YOU
built the framework of the superstruc-
ture. You have made the foundation
VI ottd w IiCNCbG GllC ScJJllIlS VI st lodOk
which was intended to remain unmoved
as long as it should last and yet you
should know that the weight per inch
upon that foundation is less than one
quarter the weight per inch upon your
narrow wheel tires when you go to
market with a heavy load, to say moth
ing OF the fact that your wagon carries
moving load and is therefore much
more likely to disturb tho foundation
than though it remained quiet. Your
wheel tire is designed to touch the
ground at one point only, and when it
is pressed into the earth so as to in
crease this point Of contact the power
required to move wagon and its load
increases very rapidly. You should
use wide wheel tires. and should en-
courage your neighbors to use them
also. Prom The Gospel of Good
Roads" by Isaac B. Potter.
Advantage of Nearne>s to Markes.
The increased price of land near
cities. villages and railway Stations.
even for agricultural purposes, is not
wholly speculative In a growing city