22 BULLETIN 393, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. | 
Fredericksburg, the principal market and shipping point, was obtained 
for the years 1909 and 1913, these being the years, respectively, before 
the improvement was begun and after it had been fairly well com- 
pleted. The 1909 record showed a total of incoming farm products 
of 10,520.1 tons, while the outgoing farm products amounted to only 
7,255.1 tons, the balance of trade being, therefore, against the county 
to the extent of 3,265 tons. The 1913 inquiry indicated that up to 
that year there had been no favorable change in the ratio of incoming 
to outgoing shipments, as the total incoming amounted to 15,169.8 
tons, an increase over the 1909 figures of 44.2 per cent, while the out- 
going amounted to only 7,869 tons, an increase over the 1909 figures 
of 8.4 per cent. The explanation of this continued lethargy in the 
matter of agricultural development is found in a reference to the 
shipments of forest products. In 1909 the total forest products 
shipped out by rail and water at Fredericksburg was 71,915.2 tons, 
while in 1913 the total had increased to 128,219.2 tons, an increase of 
56,304 tons or 78.2 per cent. It is evident that the people are devot- 
ing their first attention to realizing upon their great wealth of forest 
products, leaving the agricultural development to come later. It is 
worthy of mention, however, that the 1913 record as compared with 
1909 shows an increase in the outgoing egg shipments of 77.3 per 
cent, and in the dairy products an increase of 110 per cent. Most of 
the farm products which are bought outside the county can be pro- 
duced on the home farms, and it is quite probable that with the 
excellent transportation system afforded by the improved roads 
farming gradually will be developed and the balance of trade ulti- 
mately be in favor of the county instead of against it. 
Considering the data of freight shipments as an index to determine 
the increase in traffic hauled on the country roads, it would indicate 
that this increase between 1909 and 1913 has approximated 70 per 
cent. To ascertain, however, the volume of traffic before and after 
improvement of the roads and the effect of the road improvement on 
the cost of hauling, records were made of the traffic encountered on the 
roads at each of the annual inspections, extending from 1910 to 1915. 
The following record (Table 5) of traffic encountered on the roads in ~ 
March, 1910, indicates strikingly the poor condition of the roads and 
the excessive burden imposed upon traffic in delivering even small 
quantities of products at markets: 
TasLe 5.— Approximate weight of traffic encountered on roads in Spotsylvania County, 
Va., in March, 1910. 
Pounds 
J-horse wagon loaded :with 2 cross-ties ¢.. 3.6.25 2 .5ci ses 3 Soe eee 400 
1-horse wagon loaded with 4 cross-ties.................-..--.--..-+-----.---- 800 
T-horse wagon loaded with 4 cross-ties__ 222.15 .-22 22 2 oe eee eee 800 
2-horse wagon loaded with 2 crates of chickens.................--...--.....-- 150 
2-horse wagon loaded with 5 cases of eggs. ....----.-------- Set. ob ee 500 
