The Somerset reporter., 1897-07-15
THE WHEELBARROW.
USED EXTENSIVELY IN CHINA AS A
MEANS OF TRANSPORT.

they Each Carry Six Passengers or 900
Pounds of Licensed and
Regulated on the streets-How
j They Differ From Our Wheelbarrows,
The wheelbarrow affords one of the
chief means of travel and transport in
/ China, especially in the northern part
IF the empire and throughout the Great
/ plain. The Chinese form is decided
! improvement on the types used in west
ern countries for it is so constructed
/ that the load, which sometimes is very
great in bulk and weight is carried
j over the wheel, and not between 1t and
the man who propels it The high cost
of timber and the bad roads through
out the country necessitate the wheel
/ barrows being both rude and strong,
with axles and wheels able to bear the
| strains which they experience. The
wheelbarrow is generally constructed
of oak, at a cost of about IS shillings.
Its weight is 1870 pounds; extreme
| length. 8 feet inches fincluding shafts)i
extreme breadth, 3 feet 3 inches, and
height, 3 feet 6 inches The wheel is
| feet in diameter and has an iron tire
"a inches wide by a quarter inch thick.
To aid IN steadying and propelling
the vehicle the wheelbarrow man wears
strap across his shoulders, which is
attached to the shafts ON each side.
Boxes bales of goods, or whatever the
loads may consist Of, are secured to the
wheelbarrOw by ropes The charge for
carrying an average load Is about Is.
cd per mile, but varies according TO
the load and the state Of the road to be
travelled over The wheelbarrow has
seating accommodation fer four people,
two on each side, and the fare for four
people is 214d. per mile.
Passenger fares are lower than those
for merchandise on account of the avoid
ance of labor in loading and unloading.
A cushioned seat is provided for the
passenger, who generally sits with one
leg resting oA the front of the barrow
and the other hanging over the side in
a rope loop, which serves as foot rest.
Thus a native is wheeled for miles over
the rough roads of the country, with
severe jolting, accompanied by peCul-
lar squeak of the axle III the case Of most
barrows. Immediately behind the wheel
| barrow, between the shafts, there is a
long, oblong shaped basket, in which
the wheelbarrow man keeps his few be-
longings ON the Great plain wheelbar.
rows are occasionally seen with sail
set, when "a fair wind proves great help
to the trundling Of the barrow over a
level way,
Since the institution Of cotton mills
at Shanghai Foreign settlements) the
wheelbarrow has been extensively used
as passenger vehicle, especially for car
Tying wOrkwOmen to and from the
mills. One man can wheel six women
for distance of about three miles,
morning and evening the charge being
Is. ID. per month. The average earn
| ings of "a wheelbdrroW man are about
s d. per day. About 4, 900 licenses are
issued monthly to the same number of
wheelbarrows plying for hire in the
streets Of the foreign settlements at
Shanghai, where, being under the mu-
nicipal regulations, they are perhaps
the best i'll China. The fee for a license
~ . IT, a lllDIlliit anu III " il''lbullpH
is allowed, according 20 the regulations
to carry more than " chests Of tea OF
so boxes of kerosene oil or 20l6 boxes
of soap go pounds each) or 10 boxes Of
soap (52 pounds each) or bales Of
I American piece goods. The width of
the packages must not exceed four feet
that is, two feet on each side of the
barrow-and no W heelbarTow is allowed
| under any circumstances to carry more
than 500 pounds of dead weight.
These regulations are, however, not
strictly adhered to. Sometimes in the
streets of the foreign settlements at
| Shanghai about 30 wbeelbarrows may
be seen travelling one behind the other
each carrying two barrels of English
| portland cement and pushed by one
man. Very frequently, however "a load
I is carried on one side of the barrow on
| ~, so that the edge of the | "a inch tire
cuts into the macadam roadway like a
knife. The bales sometimes project
three feet on each side, the man push
ing the barrow being almost invisible
/ from the front The municipal roads
are chiefly of macadam, and the dam
age they sustain from this traffic is
very great. 1t has been found, after re-
peated experiments, that granite broken
to pass through a three-quarter inch
ring and rolled in the usual manner is
the only kind of macadam roadway
that will stand this severe traffic. 1t is
extraordinary to see Chinaman skill
fully balancing and propelling heavy
/ load on one side of a barrow, and, con.
sidering that there are about 1000 of
| these vehicles travelling through the
streets Of the settlements, III addition to
large traffic of other kinds, the upsets
and accidents are remarkably few
: Iron Age
Smashed the Tradition.
The tradition cherished by every
schoolboy that one Englishman is equal
! to three Frenchmen probably originated