The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1893-10-05
ROAOS ON THE FARM.
"A A'ttle Work in Bad Places WIN Save
Time and Money!

Time and Money
Inc subject Of good public roads at
tracts and deserves good deal of at
CehC'on. lt ls subject in which farm.
| ers nave greater financial stake chan
Chey nave realized. While the roads
aenaiu as they are the farmers are con-
difficulties of getting their produce to
market. If extensive repairs and re-.
CONSTRUCTIONS are attempted the taxes
on 1arm property will be considerably
increased II the money paid for put
Ting the roads in order is expen ded bv
people who understand making roads
ana VINO are honest as we'll as inteili-
gent, 1t will be protitably invested,
Gnod roads cost but they also pay. We
ought to have them.
10 some extent the principles which
are involved IN making and maintain
ing highways also apply to farm 70 ads.
| II no roads lre provided or if the roads
which are III tde are not kept in order,
the difficulty and consequently the ex-
psnse of moving loads to and from the
barn IS consi lerably increased. To pro.
vide and keep in order good farm roads
VIII involve some expense, but the cost
VIII be many times repaid by the in
creased facilities they afford Tor carry
ing on some of the important farm Op-
erationS.
While every farm of much s,ze needs
one or more good roads over which the
heavier loads SHOULD b. drawn there
are places which are in more urgent
need OF attention than are the farms as
whole. Wet, or 8 vt spots, and hill
sides should we good ro4i beds even
1t Il general SyS' EN- OF road m AkIng for
he farm cannot Immediately be adopt
td 1t probably requires more t14n
| Twice the power TO draw Il given load
| through one of the "mud holes" when
are found on so many farms that il
does to move IL over fairly good road.
AS ior drawing load up hill, every
one who has had experiences Ueamlug
on an uneven farm knows that the
| power required is very much greater
Thar Is need on 4 level road. L. no.
lntrtquently occurs that small loads
must be drawn from the most distant
part OF the farm because there are one
or two bad spots between that point
and the barn. A little work Oh these
spots would open Il pretty good road
Tor the whole distance. Ii fairly we'll
done 1t would last for years, but 1t
would pay to do this work if it had to
be repeated every summer. 1t would
save many long trips every season,
would prevent mucn annoyanceS both
to the team and to the driver, and
would enable the farmer to push his
work much more rapidly than he other
wise can do. In some caS-S the hard
pull comes at some points where ruts
nave been formed. Hence, there is not
merely a great increase in the labor of
the teams, but there is also severe
and an altogether unnecessary strain
upon the wagons and carts. Many "a
wheel has been spoiled and a consider
able bill for repairs has been incurred
Oy means OF those rutS. The delay and
inconvenience caused by such break
down are always VeXatiouS, and the exe
penSe involved Is not al Ways met with
good humor. If the time lost in wait
Ing to have the necessary repairs to
the wagon made were used putting the
road into good condition future losses
and annoyances from this source might
be avoided aud occasion for the use of
good deal of very bad language would
be prevented.
TO make frst-class highways over
which thousands of teams are to pass
every year requires a good deal of sci,
entllic knowledge. Such knowledge
though valuable, is not Indispensable
In making farm roads. In order to
keeplt dry and hard the road should be
little higher in the middle than it is
at the sides. Ruts should be prevented
by forming as solid A road bed as posi-
ble and making repairs as soon as the
least depression in the wheel track is
observed. Where the road passes
through wet ground the bed should be
somewhat elevated and trench should
be made at each side for currying off
the surplus water. Attention to these
points. and to few minor matters
which will suggest themselves, will en-
able the farmer to make on his own
land, roads which will fully answer all
practical purposes.