Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1891-10-09
Clinch Valley News,
tsltfpAY. - oCT 8, 1891.
GOOD ROADS.

rieus consideration by every farmer
of.t!is county,:
An excellent educational tract upon
Tile subject of better country roads
sEhes been issued by Mr. Isaac d. Pot
4 Ter, chairman of the New York State
Roed Improvement Association. L:
sis ansattractivo pamphletof sixty odd
pages, entitled 1.-The Gospel Of Good
Roads" and is in the form of n letter.
to tho Amt rican farmer. Mr.. Potter
addresses the farmer III direct, col
lo1nial. manner, calling his attention
to ito l:ar,lships he suffers from poor
fcsds, and showing him by instupta
lleous photographs taken on the
spot, how he (the farmer) appears
when engaged in trying to travel
over those roads in muddy seasons.
Then he calls his attention, also by
monns Of photographs. to the scien
ILLEGALLY constructed roads OF forei.n
countries, aud shows him pictures Of
the enormous loads which the farm
ors and other carriers of those coun-
tries are able to take over them at all
seasons of the year Eie shows him
what q saving he would make in
time, in wear and tear of vehicles and
horseilesh, and demonstrates to him
by statistics OF undou!,tad authentic.
ity, that the value OF his laud would
also be greatly increase were he to
have good roads i'll place Of tho dirt
ones which he now says gro ''yood
enough for him. Flo shows him n
picture of an American load of hnv.
"hch was drawn by pair of Ameri
lean horses or dirt road until one
of tho wbill1csroes broke from tho
strain, when it was left stranded, and
I'D an oilaet picture of French
load, drawn by three h@ls,ss al M
easy trOt over 4 French road. These
two pictures arc n tract by them
selves. Tho French load is rs high
rs D haystack, and contains some
thing like four tons, or a ton aud
third for each horse. The American
load contains scAnt half ton, yet
two horses strained so hprd-"'- ~
they DroE --.-...ooh.
AIR Potter; statistics are especial
ly interesting lie says thut in Union
county, Now Jersey, in which sixty
miles Of Tolford roads have been
built during the past few years, farm
lands Eavo advanced from fifty and
soventy-fyc dollars all acre to two
hundred dollars an acre; that good
authorities say that the increase in
land values alone brought about in
Ualon county by tho new roads
would pay six tiiues over the cost Of
every foot OF such roads put down in
tho State; that near Orange, New
Jersey, land has ndvacccd from
$1,000 10 $1,000 an mere because Of
new reads. He cantions the farmers
against all half way kind of good
roads, insisting that tho most scien
ILLEGALLY constructed is the cheapest
IN the end as we'll rs the best Against
the dirt road in it's best condition be-
brings this unanawerable indictments:
Somehow it seems to be com
mon notion among farmers that n
dirt road when dried by tho summer
snn and worn into fairly good condi.
lion by passing vehicles, is as good n
road as can be had for tho purpose
OF farm traffic. This is stupendous
mistake. Every dirt road sinks more
or less nj the point of contact with
the wheels of II heavy wagon. II the
road is composed of soft nmterial the
depression is, of course, greater, but
whether of soft gravel Or clay il nj
ways exists i'll some degreo. MANY
yearsago an instrument was made, u
kind OF 'spring balance by which it
could be ascertained exactly what
power was necessary to haul load
ed wagon over roadways made Of
different kinds of materials. This
instrument has been made in differ
ent forms and used on hundreds of
different occasions, so that It's 70
suits wero proven to be of great.
value 1t was found by these expert
ments that horizontal force reoui,-
ed to draw a wagon and load Of 9, 100
weight over 'Telford' road was
only d6 pounds, showing that the
loud was 81 times orentey Than tha