The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1898-06-07

a Plea for Wide Tires.

aaAnbenanCe Or good public roads
certainly am, for every time We % ia
church, every load Of fuel handled.
necessitates travel Of ten miles going
and coming. The read has always
been rough, and it seems to me that
under o different system OF manage
ment and with the use of wide tires.
this and many Of our country roads
could be greatly improved.
d This stretch of road runs through d
section Of moist FpEingy land, and no
one ever yet saw good road across
such land where the water la the side
bitches Was as high as the roadbed.
Wheel road machines have been in use
Tor some years, but the roadbed has
been left narrow. with only 3 shallow
ditch and this within footor 80 az the
wheeLtraCk. The result has been that
loaded teaEns1i in passing have been
obliged to cut out into the ditch. and
in coming into the road again, de.
preston was made at an angle BY
which the water from the ditch was
led into the road ard would follow the
rut for half mile in places. Icon.
tend the travelling public has right
TO complain Of such an abuse IA the
shape Of SO called read work. 1speak
Of this particular road because Igo
over it more, and know It better, but
it only represents . large proportional
our country roads.
Some one, however, will Say: ''It q
easy to 6nd fault hat 10 your. rem.
edyG" always likeito an6swer quea-
tions by g presentation Of facts. Our
farm lies lat of the. main road, and ID
all moist land. AZ We do our own road
work, my study has been Ia make
every stroke Of work count i Ihirad q
road worker, man and team, one day,
several years ago, at 8 cost of 81 andit
was practically money thrown away.
He made the road bed narrow, ana "a
the winter following It was impos ible
Co keep hleighs on Il. The folIo,Waihne
spring, we took our picks and shovels,
and dug 8 diSch three or four feet from
the whesltrack on the upper side,
where there was most water, throgina
the earth and gravel on the road. / a
spring tooth harrow was used on this
6ntl every Fut and hole Was Allied.
The. stone stirred up were faked out
with a. garden rake, and drawn topa
low, moist place il the road and COW
cred. Not q particle 81 water has
been seen on the ground since, except
as It has fallen, and the ditch being 90
much lower, the surface ot the road
soon dries after q rain. Itonly 6 inch
tired loaded wagons went over ft, there
would never be FJit. .og f9na lo E@li5
This then, lis my remedy. First
make deep ditch, FAR enough distant
from the upper side of the road, if on
|slOping land $50 that thereshould beno
danger Of dxiving into it (TlWould make
this ditch not less than q feet deep)$
provide suitable outlets i'm lowest places,
to carry aorossthe road, and then allow
no loaded wagon on it with tires less
than6 inches in width. But hear some
one say How am Z to draw q wagon
load ON 6,inch tires over druts madesbv
II inch tirssF' This is just the point5L
wish to get at. NotFuth ismorec eclearly
recognized to day than that good roads
through the State Would add inmensa-
II to the value Of property; hence the
whole State would be benefited. NY
idea would be TO enact a Law CompelI-
ing the substitution of inch tires o.
ell wagons carrying one ton or moEe--
one,half the cost Of the change from
marrow tires 90 beapaid by the State, if
made within one year, and one,half BIZ
the owner; after one years time he'd
been given, the whole cost to be borne
By, the owner. OF coprse, one man
would not be willing to use Q oe inch
tire on the road while ten others were
cutting deeD ruts By the use Of ordi-
nary narrow Tires. ! have found this
true in my own experience. Where
deep Tuts have been made By narrow
tires, the use Of wide tires over the
same road has il q short time obliter.
ated the ruts, and left hard, smooth
surface.
The Missouri Experiment Station
Bulletin 39J made q series oG expert
ments on an kinds Of roads, from hard
macadann to sod, both dry and wet.
pl0Wed ground and mud roads, and
found the 8 inch tire drew mat ally
lighter on aiIrod5 except when soft and
sloppy on the surface, or where mud
was very deep and sticky. Is muss Sc
borne ia mind, however, that We should
have no such depth oE mud az any
time On our roads we're che use of par.