St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1899-08-23
GOOD ROADS,.
wide Tires for Heavy Wagons.

all round purposes. This Is the result
of long series Of accurate tests and
experiments made at the Missouri az
rlcultural experiment station. The ex-
periments extended over a period of
20 months, in all kinds of weather and
on all kinds Of roads and farm lands.
Director II. ]. Waters, who conduct
eN the experiments, made it his DUR
pose to arrive at the exact truth of
the matter and had two wagons spe-
cially arranged for the tests. They
were of exactly the same weight, one
being fitted with ordinary one-half
inch tires, the other with six inch tires
Each was loaded with exactly 1000
pounds.
These wagons were hauled over all
kinds of dirt and gravel roads, both
wet and dry and over various kinds of
farm lands, the pull exerted by the
horses being carefully measured by
the help of tractometer. 1t was
found that the same power needed to
draw the narrow tired wagon with its
1000 pound load on a gravel road
would have pulled a load of 2,4S2
pounds on the wide tired wagon. The
same power required to draw the 1000
pound load on narrow tires over dirt
and gravel roads when these were dry
and hard was found sufficient to draw
$3.50 pound load on the wide tired
1n,, h.
1t was shown that when these roads
were deep with mud, but partly dried
at the surface by few hours sum-. the
same power required to draw the 1000
pound load over them on the narrow
tires would pull load of 5000 pounds
on the wide tires.
Director Waters states that the con-
ditions under which the narrow tires
offer an advantage over the wide ones
are unusual and of short duration"
and that through majority of days
in the year and at times when the dirt
roads are most used and when their
use is most imperative the broad tired
wagon will pull materially lighter than
tue ndrToW llTeu wagon.
He states that "a large number of
tests on meadows pastures, stubble
land. corn ground and plowed ground
in every condition, from dry hard and
firm to very wet and soft, show with
out single exception large differ
ence in draft in favor of the broad
tires. This difference ranged from II
to 100 per cent" AS result Of all
experiments conducted he says, ut APP
pears that six inches is the best width
of tire for combination farm and
road wagon and that both axles should
be the same length, so that the front
and hind wheels will run in the same
track"
Other experiments have shown that
much less power is required to haul
a loaded wagon if it be provided with
wide tires. One Of these tests was
made by the officers of the United
States department Of agriculture at
the Atlanta exposition in 1895. Two
wagons, both weighing alike with their
loads, We're drawn over wet piece of
clay road, one wagon having two inch
tires, the other with four inch tires
and with the rear wheels farther apart
than the front wheels, so as not to run
In the same track. 1t was found by
the use of the tractometer that twice
as much pull was required to haul the
two inch tired wagon as was required
e. no ~ -
traversed by the narrow tired wagon
was cut and rutted to a depth of sew
eral inches, while the tires of the 9th
err wagon had rolled the road into a
smooth and hard surface.
Experiments made at the agricultur-
al experiment station in Utah have
demonstrated that a ~ inch tired
wagon drew about 40 per cent heavier
than one with three inch tires and
weighing with it's load the same as
the other. At the Ohio State universe
ty it was shown that wagon with
three inch tires and loaded with ALSO
pounds could easily be hauled by two
horses over an ordinary dirt road in
good condition and with hard sur
face, while with a narrow tire half as
much was q full load for double
team.
The general use of wide tires would
do great deal to maintain our roads
In good condition. Narrow tires neces-
sarily wear ruts and cut up the road
surface. Water and narrow tires work
together to destroy streets and roads
OF all kinds, whether macadam, dirt or
gravel.
The value of wide tires as road roll
ers has been strikingly illustrated in
Onondaga county, N. Y. The Solvay
Process company Of Geddes, in that
county, were accustomed to hauling
heavy loads Of stone for Az miles from
the quarry. To test the wide tire theory
they built several wagons having four
inch tires on the front wheels and six
inch tires on the rear wheels and with
the rear axles longer than the others,
SO that the tracks Of the rear wheels
would just lap outside of those made
by the others. The result of the use
of these wagons was to produce
hard, smooth, compact surface, ana
the road, having been filled so as to
raise the middle or crown 1t, Is thor
oughly drained at the surface and al
ways fit for use with the heaviest
loads. Loads Of eight tons are IRE
4 tAnI