The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1897-07-17
PASSENGER wHEELeARRows.

In ONSs
They Carry Six Persons and Are Ex-
tcnsiVeIy Used in China.
J The w~heeIbarrow affords one of the
chief means of travel and transport in
China, especially in the northern part
of the empire and throughout the great
plain. The Chinese form is a 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
over the Wheel, and not between it and
the man who propels it. The high cost
of timber and the bad roads throughout
the country necessitate the wheelbar-
rows being both rude and strong, with
aXles and wheels able to bear the strains
which they experience. The wheelbar-
row is generally constructed of oak, at
n cost OF about 1G shillings. It's weight
is 100 pounds; extreme length, six feet
six inches G%ncluding shafts); extreme
breadth, three feet two inches, and
height, three feet six inches. The wheel
is three feet in diameter, and has an
iron tire IL inch wide by o~ne-fourth
inch thick. To aid in steadying and
propelIing the vehicle the w~heelbarrow
man wears n strap across his shoulders
which is attached to the shafts on each
side. Boxes, bales of goods, or what
ever the loads may consist of are Sc
cured to the wheelbarrow by ropes. The
charge for carrying an average load is
about one shilling and five pence per
mile, but varies according to the load
and the state of the road to be travelled
over. The w~heelbarrow has seating
accommodation for four people, two on
each side, and the fare for four people
is 2A pence per mile. Passenger fares
are lower than those for merchandise,
on account of the avoidance of labor in
loading and unloading. A cushioned
seat is provided for the passenger who
generally sits with one leg resting on
the front of the barrow and the other
hanging over the side in a rope loop,
which serves as a foot rest. Thus n ma
tive is wheeled for miles over the rough
roads of the country, with sever jolt
ing, accompanied by a peculiar squeak
of the axle in the case of most barrows.
Immediately behind the w~heelbarrow,
between the shafts, there is a long, OBJ
long-shaped basket. in which the wheel
barrow man keeps his few belongings.
On the great plain wheelbarrows are oc-
CdSlOudlIN ScCn Will IL sail SCls MIlcl u
fair wind proves a great help to the
%trundIing of the barrow over n level
way.
Since the institution of cotton mills
at Shanghai Foreign settlements), the
wheelbarrow has been extensively used
as n passenger vehicle, especially for
carrying work women to and from the
mills. One man can wheel six women
for n distance of about three miles.
morning and evening, the charge being
one shilling and five pence per month
The average earnings of a w~heelbarrow
man are o So pence per day. About
1000 licenses are issued monthly to the
same number of w~heelbarrows plying
for hire in the streets of the foreign
settlements at Shanghai, where, being
under the municipal regulations, they
are perhaps, the best in China. The fee
for.a license is 11H pence a month, and
no wheelbarrow is allowed, according
to the regulations, to carry more than
G% chests of tea, OF Sh boxes of kero-
sene oil, or 20% boxes of soap $50
pounds cach), or ten boxes of soap (52
pounds each), or two bales of 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
wheelbarrow is allowed under any cir
cumstances to carry more than GOO
pounds of dead weight. These regula-
tons are, however, not strictly adhered
to. Sometimes in the streets of the
foreign settlements at Shanghai about
so wheelbarrows may be seen travelling
one behind the other, each carrying
two barrels of English Portland cement
and pushed by one man. Very frequent
ly, however, a load is carried on one
side of the barrow only, so that the edge
of the 1H-inch tire cuts into the ma
cadam roadway like a knife. The bales
sometimes project three feet on each |
side, the man pushing the barrow being
almost invisible from the front. The
municipal roads are chiefly of macadam,
and the damage they sustain from this
traffic is very great. 1t has been found,
after repeated experiments, that granite
broken to pass through a three-quarter
inch ring and rolled in the usual man
ner is the only kind of macadam road
way hat viii stand this severe traffic.
1t Is extraordinary to see n Chinaman
skilfully balancing and propelling a
heavy load on one side of a barrow, and, |
considering that there are about 1000 of
these vehicles travelling through the
streets of the settlements, in addition
to a large traffic of other kinds, the up
sets and accidents are remarkably few.
Iron Age.