The Mt. Sterling advocate. (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) 1890-current, 1917-03-27
WIDE TIRES MAKE
EASIER HAULING


good roads have urged the use of
wide tires on wagons as means of
reducing the needless wear Of road
surfaces. For as many years the
farmer has shown little inclination
to adopt such tires. He pays taxes
for the maintenance of roads and
claims that they should be kept in
good enough condition for him to
use any width of tire he prefers
He objects to being taxed for some
thing which he must pamper to the
extent of foregoing what he reg ard,
as one of his inalienable rights to
the slightest degree. His point Of
view is so buttressed by firm con-
victions that it is difficult to puc-
suade him to change it. The most
convincing argument in his case is
usually one that presents a pros
pect of financial advantage, and
there is good argument for wide
tires based on their saving to the
farmer. In fact, it is a better ar
gument for such tires than their
service in protecting roads. 1t is
based on facts ascertained by ex-
periments made by the U. S. Office
of Public Roads and Rural Ehgi-
neering under the direction of r B.
Mccormick, chief of its division Of
rural engineering.
An earth road was plowed up,
graded and then rolled with a 10
ton roller weighing $50 pounds Der
inch of width of the rim of the
wheels. A wagon was then loaded
until the total weight~on the wheels
was 5000 pounds, and the pull in
pounds required to haul it along
the road was measured. The wag
on was equipped with a liz, 2, 3,
4, and inch tires, and the
weight of the loaded wagon was 8S3,
623, All, 313, $50 and 2O8 pounds
per inch width of tire for these diff
ferent widths. 1t will be noticed
that with ~ and2 inch tires the
wheels produced greater loads OH
the road, per inch of width of tire,
than did the road roller used in
constructing the road, so that it is
self evident that such tires will cut
into a new road somewhat and are
therefore undesirable. After each
test was before the beginning of
the next, the road was replowed,
graded and again rolled, so as to
have the conditions at the begin
ming of each test as uniform as
possible with an earth road. The
tests selected for comparisons were
those in which moisture and weather
conditions were identical.
The results of all these tests
show that it takes a pull of about
81 pounds per ton of gross load
when IL inch tires are used, 50
pounds with 2 inch tires, "A pounds
with inch, 90 pounds with 4 inch,
and GO pounds with inch. With 6
inch tires the pull increases some
what above that with 5 inch tires,
indicating that for such a wagon
and load there is no advantage in
increasing the width of tire above
5 inches. From these figures it
will be seen that horse must ex-
ert itself about % per cent more to
pull the same load with IL inch
tires than with inch tires, and
over 10 per cent more with 2 inch
than with 3 inch tires. Any such
steady, needless strain on the
strength of horses, avoidable by
substituting wide for narrow tires,
is waste of the farmers assets
which he will bit quick to see when
pointed out.
The width of tires recommended
by the Department of Agriculture is
as follows: one-horse wagon
weighing 1000 pounds loaded, 2
inches; light two-horse wagon