THIRTY-SEVENTH ANNUAL CONVENTION. 253 



grades are practically eliminated. It would be useless to so im- 

 prove a road that a team could pull with ease a load of 6,000 

 pounds if in the course of the haul they must ascend a grade up 

 which they could pull not more than 4,000 pounds. 



The force which a horse is able to exert depends upon its 

 weight and conformation, temperament, kind of footing, the way 

 it is shod, the manner in which it is hitched, and upon the driver. 

 In ordinary farm work, a horse is working at about full capacity 

 if it exerts a pull equal to one-tenth its own weight. That is, a 

 horse weighing 1500 pounds will develop a pull of 150 pounds 

 and keep it up at a walking gait all day. By a pull of 150 pounds 

 we mean a force similar to the weight registered on a spring 

 balance and not the load which the horse will draw. A team 

 pulling a thirteen-inch breaking plow in clover sod will exert a 

 force of about 300 pounds. For a short distance a horse can 

 exert a pull equal to one-half or even three-quarters its own 

 weight. The force necessary to pull a ton over different roads 

 and the effect of grade on the load which the horse can draw are 

 shown in the table below. It is assumed that if a horse can pull 

 1000 pounds on a level, he can pull the following loads up the 

 indicated grade: 



900 lbs. up a grade of 1 foot in 100 feet, or a 1 per cent grade 

 800 lbs. up a grade of 2 feet in 100 feet, or a 2 per cent grade 

 400 lbs. up a grade of 5 feet in 100 feet, or a 5 per cent grade 

 250 lbs. up a grade of 10 feet in 100 feet, or a 10 per cent grade 



Once a fair roadway is secured a little care and attention 

 will suffice to keep it in good repair. Most damage is done to 

 earth roads in the winter and spring. There are laws which 

 regulate the traffic over country roads, but these are seldom en- 

 forced. Section 4904 of the Revised Statutes of Ohio states 

 "that it shall be unlawful for any person or persons, firm or cor- 

 poration, in any county having free or toll macadamized, gravel- 

 ed or stone roads, to transport over such roads in any vehicle 

 having a tire of less than three inches in width, a burden includ- 

 ing weight of vehicle of more than thirty-four hundred pounds." 



