The Cooperstown courier. (Cooperstown, Griggs Co., N.D.) 1902-1913, 1904-11-03
THE WIDE TIRE.


Discussion Of tn Draft ~ Compared
With the old-Fashioned
Marrow Tire.
In many parts Of the prairle states
gravel or similar material for surfacing
the roads II not readily available and
the question that oonfronts these sec
tons. at present is how to have the best
roads from the material at hand.
One very important factorin the pro-
duction and maintenance Of good dirt
roads is the use Of the wide tire. The
advantage Of the wide tire in rolling
down the surface Of the road and avoid
ing the formation Of ruts is quite gem
orally recognised. says the Prairie
Farmer. There 10 still some misappre-
hension. however, % to the draft of the
wtde-tired wagon. as compared with
those having the old-fashioned narrow
tire ga
The belief that increasing the width Of
tire increases the draft doubtless arises
from the fact that as rule the increase
IN width Of tire is accompanied BY q de-
cfeas6 IN the dialnsteroftkeMhe6l. The
forDee.; q shown Ybyemany trials de-
creases the draft, the latter very rapidly
increases Il. The radius Of the wheel
constitutes the lever arm through which
the power Of the horse acts to move the
load. Az this leyar il shortened the ad-
vantage Of the horse is decreased. In
other words, . greater amount Of power
must be applied TO move tho load.
The Missouri experiment station has
conducted numerous trials with wheels
Of different heights and the same width
Of tire. The following are some Of the
conclusions reached: m
For the same load wagons with
wheels Of standard height drew lighter
than those with lower wheels. The diff
ference in favor Of the standard wheels
was greater on road surfaces In bad con-
dition than on good road surfaces. Low
wheels cut deeper ruts than those Of
standard height. The vibration of the
tongue is greater In wagons with low
wheels. For most purposes wagons with
low wheels are more convenient than
those Of standard height. Wagons with
broad tires and wheels of standard
height are cumbersome and require
much room in turning. Diminishing the
height Of wheel to from 80 to SO inches
in front, and 40 to ~ inches in the rear,
did not increase the draft in as great
proportion % It increased the con-
venience Of loading and unloading the
ordinary farm freight. Diminishing
tho height Of wheels below 80 inches
front and 40 inches rear, increased the
draft in greater proportion than It
gained in convenience.
ION good roads, Increasing the length
Of rear axle SO that the front and rea-
wheels will run In different tracks to
avoid cutting ruts. did not increase the
draft. On sod. cultivated ground, and
bad roads, wagons with the rear axle
longer than the front one. drew heavier
than one having both axles of the same
length. Wagons with the rear axle
longer than front one require wider gate
ways and more careful drivers, and are
on the whole, very inconvenient and not
to be recommended for farm us. The
best form of farm wagon is one with
axles of equal length. broad tires and
wheels 80 to 36 inches high in front and
40. to A inches behind"
As to the effect of the width Of tire
where the diameter Of the wheel remains
The sams. the tile Post lotessa trial
where 10 per cent. more power was re-
quired to draw load on . wagon.hav-
ing 13s-inch tires than on 4 wagon nav
ing three-inch tires. Tests at the Mis-
ysouri station were. very decidedly in
favor OF the vide tire under practically
III conditions. S II III
In this .c6nneetion it may be noted
that many Europeanscodnt tries have
the width of tires. In Ger
many four-inch tires are required for
heavy loads. In France the tires must
be from three to ten inches, according
to the load. and the front axle must be
shorter than. the rear axle to prevent
TRACKING" In Austria wagons carry
ing ~ tons must have tires at least
Alb inches wide. and every load over
~ tons must be carried on tires 6K
inches in width. Switzerland has simi.
lar regulations. Z