The Lamar register., 1891-12-12
FARM AND HOUSEHOLD.
THE PRESSING NECESSITY FOR
IMPROVED ROADS.
e.s E6se,. Of narrow Wagon rires-
Rotation of crops imperative
LeHks en- the FArm-sheep
Notss and Nome Hints
Our Country Road.


have heard American farmers say
that they we're opposed 10 having the
u,blie roads put in charge OF civil en-
gineers; that they had no desire 10 oe
,.scientificr and were opposed TO SCI
entificn management OF the puole
roads | think | have heard you say
this Let me 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 aSle
hone your razor. smoke your hams
fuuigate your hennery. or take pep
permin, for the stomach ache That
patent incubator Of yours is a perfect
marvel of science IL u not wise 70
think man is more scientinc 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 your knowledge for the
same reason, for in many things your
superior wisdom makes you more SCH
entifc than he Is Besides your ave
rage civil engineer is likely TO Dc one
OF the best fellows in the world; and
If he is worth his salt you will hnd
him wide-awake, practical and inter
estiug; democratic in his ways plain
in his dress. and with = head full OF
good sense. He "a always looking for
ideas and he will eoncede 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 a road ss good as the best in the
world and one thai will last for forty
generations He will tel you that it
needs something besides horse power.
axle-grease and profanity to move &
loaded wagon from farm TO market
that the harder and smoother your
road is made the shorter your distance
becomes from farm TO town and The
less power will be required to hanl
your produce
Did you ever wonder Why II is that
the great railroads of the country are
constantly improving their roadbetis
adopting improved rails and employing
section gangs 70 constantly keep
their tracks in the best condition. /
will tell you why Il ia Years ago it
was found that the cost OF running a
great railroad line was decreased by
every improvement which tended 70
lessen the grades and make the track
smooth and hard; and the best en- ngineer-
ing talent in { world has been en-
ployed TO bring these railroads 10 their
present condition OF excellence Twoo-
ty-fve years ago. before the general
adoption OF the long, solid-fa faced steel
rail the power required to move the
rolling stock was considerably greater
than at present In 1870 1t 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 IL WAS
reduced In 1889 to about Ave mills
Other railroad lire. show a CORE
spending decrease in running expenses
all due TO the improvement OF the
tracks or roadbed.
Next 70 water nothing is so destruc-
tive OF q good road surface as a heavy
vehicle running on narrow wheels 1t
has been proven over and over again
that wheels with sl-inch tires cause
only one half the wear on n road that
results from the use OF wheels with
"a inch tires 1t used to be the rule in
England to make the tire inch wide
for every 800 pound. OF load or vehicle;
that is, If the vehicle and load weigh
cd tons, finch tires would be used
but 1t was not found profitable 20 in
crease the width much beyond -
inches. except in cases where wagons
were used withou, springs when they
were sometimes made as wide as 6
inches
You ought to treat this matter oi
wheel tires as you do other things in
which you are Interested and give Il
the same sensible consideration thai
you apply TO the things about your
home When you built your house
you commenced by putting down a g.
inch stone foundation and on that you
built the framework OF the superstruc.
ture. You have made the foundation
broad to prevent the settling of load
which WAS intended to remain uumoved
as long as it should last and yet you
should know that the weight per inch
upon that foundation is les than one
quarter the weight per inch upon your
narrow wheel fires when you go 70
market with heavy load. to say moth
ing OF the fact that your wagon carries
q moving load aud is therefore much
more likely 10 disturb the foundation
than though it remained quiet. Your
wheel tire is designed 10 touch the
ground at one point only, and when il
is pressed into the earth so as to in.
Grease this point OF contact. the power
required 10 move a 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
Special Farming.
After all. the question OF specisl