The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1904-10-21
MACADAM ROAD BUILDING.
An Expert Shows The Advantages
To Be Derived.

\ An Expert SHOWS Inc huVdHtdyeS
| To Be Derived.
The question of macadam and other
modern metal roads has recently become
one of added interest to Marylanders in
view of the movements now in progress
in the various counties to take advantage
of the opportunity offered to secure such
modern roads under the new State aid
road law. While there is generally be-
lieved by persons of experience to be
great difficulty in obtaining an anywise
accurate computation of the comparative
cost of hauling over modern metal roads
and over the old-fashioned earth thor
oughfares, Mr.. Halbert P. Gillette, in
the Good Roads Magazine, gives some
conclusions from very carefully conf
piled set of figures, which may be con-
sidered with profit by those to whom the
question of good roads is all-important.
'It may be safely said," writes Mr..
Gillette, shat the building of macadam
roads in America will enable team of
horses to haul three net tons on the aver
age of all roads as compared with one ton
which is now the average on earth roads,
and in the face of the facts have little
patience with those who insist that earth
roads are good enough for American
farmers. Experiments show that on a
good macadam road a tractive force of
IS pounds will pull ton as compared
with rs pounds on good, hard. gravel
road, or 100 pounds on good, hard,
clay road. This shows conclusively that
from two to three times as big load can
be hauled over macadam as over first
class earth road"
| II have found from actual experience"
continues Mr.. Gillette, "that the average
load hauled over macadam has been three
tons besides the weight of the wagon,
practically another ton. Oyer gravel
roads find that I II tons is fair load
where there are any hills to ascend.
Grades of from FIVE to six per cent can be
assembled on macadam where the load is
three tons, although on the level have
1
often had teams pull five tons and occa-
sionally up hill with five per cent
grade.
"Now, if good nlacadam road enables
three tons to be hauled to market where
one ton is the average load, we have by
the following very simple computation, a
cost of eight to ten cents per ton-mile
over macadam; for team costing $500 a
day travels 10 to IL miles and return with
three tons of produce; or it hauls 80 to IS
ton-miles for $500, which is eight TO ten
cents per ton per mile, as compared to
rs or 80 cents over common earth roads
and II to 20 cents over the very best
gravel roads.
ga macadam road also actually short
ems the distance to market where light
loads, such as milk or garden truck, are
hauled, because a team that can haul
three tons at walk over a macadam road
can haul one ton at trot The speed of
horses at good walk is $50 feet per min
ute, but the speed at jog trot is 500 to
600 feet a minute. Macadam enables a
team to trot with load of ton or less,
hence it actually cuts in two the time re-
CURED to reach the market, which is
equivalent to reducing the distance one
half. Any farmer living on a macadam
road knows this"
AS proof of the easier hauling over
macadam roads, Mr.. Gillette says he has
had team pull load of 10000 pounds
Iup a five per cent grade on good
macadam road. By means of dynamo
meter, or huge spring balance, he finds
that the resistance to pulling up hill is
20 pounds for each ton for each one per
cent of grade. Hence, if we have five
per cent grade, the resistance is five times
20. or 100 pounds. Adding to this the
rolling resistance over good macadam,
which is IS pounds, there is a total re-
sistance of I35 pounds per ton which one
horse could pull with ease; by little
exertion the horse could pull two tons up
such grade, or by great exertion about
three tons.
| AS to the question whether macadam
road benefits farmer whose place is half
a mile or more to the side of the road,
Mr.. Gillette says it is no more necessary
to have macadam road to every door
than TO have a railroad to every door. In
New York State, he says, there is one
mile of railroad to every ten miles of
wagon road, and it will probably reduce
the present cost of wagon-haulage by one
half if one out of every ten miles of wagon
road is macadamized. Upon this ques-
ton also Mr.. A. N. Johnson, Highway
Engineer of the Maryland Geological
Survey, has an important word, for upon
the result of close calculation he makes
the statement that if IS per cent of the