The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-09-19
Good Roads a sure Indication III
PROGRESS

There IS no one thlng that to A
stranger marks a section as pro-
SreSsiNe and improving more than the
making OF good roads. Nothing has
aooed more To the Valuee Of real
estate or has done more for the de-
Feiopnent OF ;~gviculture in Mecklen-
ourg county. y. =. than the splendid
roads that traverse IL in all directions
Here. where 1 live. there j. a
smooth she'll road where once there
was a deep sandy track. on that
road Is a farm which my mother aud
her sisters sold 10 their brother Tor
81 en- acre. or $500 for the 400
acres THAI farm was recently sold
Tor $4,000. an part o. il has sine.
been Old for So an acre. or a, the
rate OF $50. 600 for the farm.
out on another road thar * made
OF stone tarred maCadam. and as
smooth as an asphalt street. the land
on each side for over a mile Mas
bought by the present owner for So
an acre Today YOU colld not buy II
ior 5000 an acre. cf course. its
proximity 10 the growing citv has
had d good deal t. dc with the in
creased value. bat if the old sandy
ROAD was still there the property would
not be nearly so valuable. for men
are buying lots on it and putin. up
costly dwellings Who would never
- SoiF Out thefp NaU IlErSs mol
been so fine a road.
On this road a horse can w4lk along
with ease With a good ton load. while
he could not have hauled a third
OF a ton on the old road. on the
streets in any southern city one horse
haulS five bales or cotton easily white
the men who come in from the coun-
Try and have 70 haul over bad roads
before they reach the hard roads. haul
1 one or two halnS or yn-,B-, NJ
matter how good the streets may be
IN town and near town. the farmcr :
toad must be measured by the char
acter OF the roads he starts over.
Ihen there is another tax the
farmer pays for bad roads. This is
the Wrenching and wearing Of the
wagons and carriages on the bad
roads. with a smooth macadam road
the farm wagons and carriages would
last twice as long, and the visor or
the teams could be maintained more
oheaply. There is, in fact. no tax that
costs the farmer more than bad roads.
Ihen II he has land that he wants
10 sell. and the prospective buyer sees
that it is on a bad road. it cuts the
price that he would be willing to
give. ever il he would take 1t at any
price, while a good tract of land on
a fine. smooth roed will find a buyer
without difficulty al a far better price
+ & NJ ..cnn
than land of equal agricultural value
on a bad road.
In one section. near me, where tn
road was deep sandy. the whole was
covered with clay. The sand makes
good drainage and the clay packs
hard and smooth and can be kept in
first-class order with an occasional
smoothing with the log drag. Where
it is no Intended to go 10 the OK
penSe of Il macadamiZed road. very
good roads can be made on a CLAY
bottom by giving a coat of sand and
draining the roadway we'll. On the
other hand, fine roads can BE- made
where the sand is deep by digging
down and getting some of the yellow
Subsoil for a cover TO the road. III
many places where the road is deer
sandy there can be found binding clay
in the dilcheS on each side. Sand
on clay and clay Oh sand will make
Sood roads if they are cared for after
wards with the log drag
Paying Too Big a Price For Corn.
4 am farming on sandy soil. and
have difficulty in preventing the frine
OF corn after it silks. ] notice that
where land rests a few years and
gets broomSedge on it that corn hold
green better. Land will not produce
They die from wilt.
I break my land with one-horse turn
ing plows. lay off rows five feet apar
~ .-.El