The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1893-09-19
ROADS ON THE FARM.
A Little Work In Bad Places Will
Save Time and Money.

a 1tAsttO HI ktau kIaCeS WIFI |
Save Time and Money.
American Farmer.
The subject of good public roads at
tracts and deserves a great deal OF at
tention. 1t Is a subject In which farm
ers have q greater financial stake than
they have realized. While the roads
remain as they are the farmers are
constantly losing money by the delays
and difficulties of getting their produce
to market. II extensive repairs and
reconstructions are attempted the taxes
on farm property will be considerably
increased. II the money paid for put
people who understand making roads,
n who are honest as we'll as intelli-
gent. it will be proftably invested.
Good a cost. but they also paw.
We ought to have them.
To some extent the principles which
are involved in making and maintain
ing highways also apply to farm roads.
LII no roads are provided, or IL the
roads which are made are not kept in
order, the difficulty, and consequently
he expense, OF moving loads to and
sfrom the barn is considerably increas-
ed. TO provide and keep in order
good farm roads will involve some ex-
pense, but the cost will be many times
repaid by the increased facilities they
afford for carrying ON some of the i'm
portant farm operations.
While every farm of much size
needs ono or more good roads over
which the heavier loads should be
drawn there are places which are in
the farms as a whole. Wet, or soft
spots, and hillsides should nave good
road beds even II a general system of
road making for the farm cannot i'm
mediately be adopted. 1t probably
requires more than twice the power TO
draw a given load though one of the
"mud-holes" which are found on so
many farms that it does to move it
over a fairly good road. AS for draw
ing a load up hill, every one who has
had experiences teaming on an UNI
even farm knows that the power re-
quired is very much greater than is
needed on u level road. 1t not in
frequently occurs that small loads must
be drawn from the most distant parts
of the farm because there are one or
two bad spots between that point and
the barn. "A little work on these spots
wouid open u pretty good road for the
whole distance. If fairly we'll done it
would last for years, but it would pay
to do this work if it had to be repeated
every Summer. 1t would save many
long trips every season, would prevent
much annoyance both to the team and
to the driver, and would enable the
! farmer to push his work much more
rapidly h n he otherwise can do. In
some cases the hard pull ut
some point where ruts have been
formed. Here, there is not merely a
! great increase in the labor of the
teams, but there also is q severe and
an altogether unnecessary strain upon
the WAGONS nn1 norfc Mo~r 4, ,,Lool
has been spoiled, and q considerable
| Dill for repairs has been incurred, by
means of these ruts. The delay and
: inconvenience caused by such q break
down are always veXatious, and the
expense involved is not always met
, with good humor. If the time lost in
waiting to have the necessary repairs
to the wagon made were used putting
the road into good condition future
. losses and a%nnoyances from this source
, might be avoided and occasion for the
) Use of a good deal ofvery bad language
, would be prevented.
10 make tirst-class highways, oven
. which thousands of teams are to pass
every year, requires u good deal OF
3 scientific knowledge. Such know
: Lodge, though valuable, is not indis-
| pensable in making farm roads. In
/. order to keep it dry and hard the road
Snould De a little higher In the mid
| die than it is ut the sides. Ruts should
be prevented by forming as solid a
/. road-bed as possible and making
repairs as soon as the least depression
, in the wheel tracks is observed.
Where the road passes through wet
ground the bed should be somewhat
elevated and u trench should be made
, at each side for carrying off the surplus
water. Attention to these points, and
to u few minor matters which will
suggest themselves, will enable the
, farmer to make, on his own land, roads
which will fully answer all practical
purposes.