The Saint Paul globe., 1897-06-07
PASSENGER WHEELBARRoWs.
They Carry Four Persons and Are
Much Used in the FiOwery King
dom

They Carry Four Persons and Are
Much Used in the FiOwery King
dom.
The wheelbarrow 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, says the Iron Age.
The Chinese form is a decided i'm
provement 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 car
ried 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
wheelbarrows being both rude and
strong, with aXles and wheels able TO
bear the strains which they experience.
The WheelbarroW is generally con-
structed of oak, at a cost of about Is
shillings. It's weight is about 129
pounds extreme length 6 feet in
3 feet 2 inches, and in height feet 2
inches. The wheel is feet
in diameter and has an iron
tire IA inches wide by A-inch
thick. To aid in steadying and pro-
pelling the vehicle the wheelbarrow
ers 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 of carrying an average
load is about 1 shilling pence per
mile, but varies according to the load
and the state of the roads to be tray-
eled over. The wheelbarrow has seat
ing accommodation for four people, two
on each side, and the fare for four
people is "a pence per mile. Passenger
fares are lower than those for mer-
chandiSe, on account of the avoidance
of labor in loading and unloading. A
cushioned seat is provided for the pas
senger, 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 a native is wheeled for miles over
the rough roads of the country, with
severe jolting accompanied by a pecu-
liar squeak of the axle in the case of
most barrOwS. Immediately behind the
wheelbarrow behind the shafts, there
is a long, oblong shaped basket, in
which the wheelbarrow man keeps his
few belongings. On the great plain
with sail set, when a fair wind proves
a 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
carrying work women to and from the
mills. One man can wheel six women
for distance of about three miles,
morning and evening, the charge being
l shilling and 5 pence per month. The
average earnings of wheelbarrow
man are about S1a pence day. About
1000 licenses are issued monthly for
the same number of wheelbarrows ply
ing for hire in the streets of the for
eign settlements at Shanghai, where, be-
ing under the municipal regulations,
they are, perhaps, the best in China.
The fee for license is liz pence a
month, and no wheelbarrowS are al
lowed, according to the regulations, TO
carry more than six and one-half chests
OF tea or eight and one-half boxes of
kerosene oil or twenty and one-half
boxes of. soap (thirty pounds each> or
ten boxes of soap (ifty-two 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
circumstances to carry more than 500
pounds of dead weight. These regula-
tions are, however, not strictly adhered
to. Sometimes in the streets of the
foreign settlements at Shanghai about
fifty wheelbarrows may be seen trav-
cling one behind the other, each carry
ing two barrels of English Portland
cement and each pushed by one man.
Very frequently, however, a load is car
ried on one side of the barrow only, so
that the edge of the IL Inch tire cuts
into the macadam roadway like knife.
The bales sometimes project three feet
on each side, the man pushing the bar
row being almost invisible from the
front. The municipal roads are chiefly
of macadam and the damage they sus-
tain from this traffic is very great. It
has been found, after repeated expert
ments, 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 extraor-
dinary to see Chinaman skillfully bal
ancing and propelling heavy load on
one side of a barrow, and, considering
that there are about 1900 of these We
hicles travelling through the streets OF
the settlements, In addition to a large
traffic of other kinds, the upsets and
accidents are remarkably few.