Rod: I know this is hard for old Nova Scotia boys like yourself and I to comprehend, however around these parts farmers actually put wagon loads of rocks out beside the highway, with a sign put your money in the bucket and serve yourself. These guys probably get two wagon loads off 300-500 acres anually and folks actually come along and pay for these rocks. I've seen the same in Michigan, Ohio, New york and Indiana.I had fields like that in the Musq. Valley, but I also had fields where one could get a wagon load of rocks off an acre. I always found I did far more plow damage on those 4 rocks per acre fields than where they were plentiful. Where rocks are plentiful one always slowed down and at the end of the day had done little or no damage to the plow. Where I broke the plow beam even though it had tripped was one of those 4 rocks per acre fields. Hit it when you least expected it. This is true across much of the farmland across SW Ontario, Southern Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Western New York, most of it 4 rocks per acre. I remember once coming upon a rock when plowing. My dad had never seen this rock in his day, in fact it was a field with very few rocks. It was about 5" below the surface, and every time I plowed I scraped over that rock, Disk would scrape it, cultivator would strike it. One day I decided to get rid of the rock. It turned out to be larger than my skid steer loader, thus I got a backhoe in dug a deeper hole beside it and the rock is still there. Probably the frost will raise it to plow depth in another 50 years. My point is those scattered big rocks do far more damage than plentiful small rocks. Since I came here the guys up around Exeter are always complaining about OPP closing No.4 highway when icy and poor visability, Folks going to work in London just wont slow down it these conditions. This problem has become worse in recent years as more trees have been cut plus fields along No.4 have been nicely graded up to road bed, thus one can slide off the road at 100K and do little damage. I suggested if they had a granite rock about the size of a Chevy Cavelier in the ditch about every 500'folks would slow down, and OPP wouldn't have to close the road. It works in Nova Scotia and it works in Northern Ontario. Now, I've always had a bit of entrepreneurial spirit. I once suggested to Mike Soldan we field a proposal to Premier McGinty for a contract to place rocks along No.4 highway, using the criteria it would be good for the safety of Ontarians. I firmly believe Dalton is stupid enough to fall for this hairbrain idea. Around here that volume of rocks would have to be trucked in from up north. My idea is some of those old construction boys around the Strait of Canso must have an old barge not in use. Maybe we could rent it and haul rocks up the St Lawerence Seaway and compete with Sudbury-Sault St Marie rocks, large and small rocks.
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