The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1897-08-21
THE WHEELBARROW.
USED EXTENSIVELY IN CHINA AS A
MEANS or TRANSPORT.

Iseguiated-Eard on the Streets-f43r
The wheelbarrow affords one Of tho
chief means OF travel and transport iii
China, especially ii the northern part
Of the empire and throughout tie Great
plain The Chinese form il 1 decided
Improvement on the types used il vest
ern countries, for it is 50 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 through
out the country necessitate the wheel
Larrows being both rude and strong,
with axles and wheels able to bear tho
strains which they experience. The
Wheelharlow is generally constructed
Of oak, at d cost of about 16 shillings.
Its weight is 100 pounds; extreme
length, 6 feet 6 inches (~includiag shaffsl;
extreme breadth, 3 feet 2 inches. aud
height, 3 feet 6 inches. The wheel is )
feet IN diameter and has an iron tire
III inches wide By a quarter inch thick.
70 MD in steadying and propellinl.
the vehicle the wheelbarrow man wears
a strap across his shoulders, which Il
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 wheelharrow has
seating accommodation for four people,
" on each side, and the fare fer four
people is 24d. per mile.
Passenger fares are lower than those.
Tor 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 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 loltlng, accompanied by q pecul-
lar squeak Of the axle in the case of most
barlcws. Immediately behind the wheel
barrow, between the shafts, there il 4
long, oblong shaped basket, in which
the w~heelbarrow man keeps his few be-
longlngs. On the Great plain wheelbar-
rows are occasionally seen with a sail
set, when a fair wind proves a great help
to the trundling of the barrow over a
level way.
Gip1a tho ,pc%.tr+;or 80 aaAGz~ -.1J.
at Shanghai Foreign settlements) the
wheelbarrow has been extensively used
as a passenger vehicle, especially for car
rying workwomen to and from the
mills. One man can wheel six women
for a distance of about three miles,
morning and evening, the charge being
Is. Sd. per month. The average earn
ings Of q wheelbarrow man are about
SID. per day. About 4, 900 licenses arc
issued monthly to the same number OF
wheelbarrows plying for hire in the
streets Of the foreign settlements al
Shanghai, where, being under the mu.
nicipal regulations, they are perhaps
the best in China. The fee for a license
is 111ad. q month, and no ~wheelbarrow
is allowed, according to the regulations,
to carry more than 61s chests of tea OF
So boxes of kerosene oil or 2015 boxes
Of scan $50 pounds each) or 10 boxes OF
soap (52 pounds EACH or 2 bales Of
American piece goods. The width Of
the packages must not exceed four feet
that is, two feet on each side Of the
harrow-and no wheelbarrow is allowed
under any circumstances to carry more
than 600 pounds Of dead weight.
These regulations are, however, not
strictly adhered to. Sometimes In the
streets of the foreign settlements at
Shanghai about so wheelbarrows NAV
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
is carried on n side of the barrow on
~, SO that the edge of the II inch tire
cuts into the macadam roadway like d
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 nacaGam roadway
that will stand this severe traffic. 1t i
extraordinary to see a Chinaman skill.
fully balancing and propelling a heavy
load ol 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
a large traffic of other kinds, the upsets