Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1908-10-06
8iseellaneul15 Reaaing.
TO MAKE THE FARM PROFITABLE.
President w. w. Finley Urges the I'M
portance of Good Roads.
of The Ynrkville ENQUIRER.

portance of Good Roads.
Editor of The Ynrkville ENQUIRER.
In their replies to my letter of July
31st, 1908, on the subject Of diversifi-
cation Of southern agriculture and in
dustries, some Of the editors to whom
it was sent asked me to write to them
from time to time on matters of in
terest to the people Of our section.
This has led me to take the liberty of
addressing you on a topic Of import
ance to all our people and especially
to the farmers of the south.
If the farm Is to be profitable 1t
must not merely produce abundant
crops, but its products must be put
where they can be sold. By whatever
means Of transportation they may ul-
timately be carried before they reach
the final consumer, our farm pro-
ducts move primarily over the coun-
try highway, and the condition Of the
road leading from the farm to the
shipping point or to a nearby consum-
ing centre, such as a manufacturing
town, affects materially the profits Of
the farmer and the value Of his farm.
The condition Of the road controls
the size of the load that can be hauled
over it and the speed at which it can
be carried. An improvement by which
the farmer is enabled to carry, with
the same vehicle and the same team,
a load seventy-five to one hundred per
cent heavier, will result in a substan-
tial saving in his time and in the wear
and tear of his vehicles and teams.
The construction Of good roads lead
ing from a market town has practi-
cally the same effect as bringing the
farms nearer to the town. 1t extends
by several miles in every direction the
area of territory in which farmers
can profitably engage in market gar
dening and dairying. That this is
true has been effectively demonstrated
in those localities in the southern
states and in other sections Of the
country where road improvement has
been carried out intelligently and
Systematically.
The cost to the farmer Of hauling
his products over poor roads is not al
ways appreciated, for the reason that
it Is rare that farmer pays for hav-
ing his hauling done. The United
States department of agriculture has
made an investigation Of this matter,
however, and the results show the
cost for cotton, for instance, to be an
average rate of twenty-seven cents
per ton a mile for an average haul Of
11.8 miles. That road improvement
would materially reduce this cost is
shown by the following striking state
ment in the Year Book of the agricul-
tural department for 1906.
IF it were possible to increase the |
average weight of a wagon load of
cotton in the United States from three |
out increasing the cost of hauling the |
oad, the saving on crop equal to
he one picked in 1905 would amount |
10 100000; and if the average load |
IF wheat, now 55 bushels, were in
creased by 20 bushels, the saving eff
'ected in hauling a crop like that of
1905 would be more than SS,000,00O."
In addition to what may be termed |
he commercial aspect of good roads
hey have a highly important social
aspect as we'll. They bring the farm
,r into closer touch with the world at
arge. He and his family are not
'orced to remain at home for days at
| time because the condition of the
'oads may make travelling unpleasant
f not difficult. Good roads insure
efficient and prompt rural mail deiiv-
,ries, placing the newspaper on the
lay of its publication, enabling him to
ransact much of his business by mail
Ind to take advantage of early
as to fiuctuation in the