68 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



system of road construction. The cities and large villages with 

 machinery for building and means to pay for them may boast 

 of their scientifically constructed roads and, pointing to them 

 with pride, say to the rural districtf^ in this silent way, this is 

 one of the drawing cards which populate the cities at the expense 

 )f the rural towns. Young men and young women are unre- 

 sistingly enamored with the beautiful, and there is nothing so 

 enchanting to the yoimg or old as a good ride over a well con- 

 structed piece of road. Is it not so that the people who experi- 

 ence the beauties and comforts of good roads in the old countries 

 are telling us truthfully that we maintain the poorest system of 

 road building of any civilized nation? History is replete with 

 such evidence, and is it not high time that we awake from our 

 sleep and kindle the latent spark to the end that we shall adopt 

 some means to stir up the people in what would be to their last- 

 ing welfare? Good roads call to our midst city people who 

 would never come without the attraction. They encourage the 

 boys and girls to stay on the farm; they enhance business, and 

 draw from the cities as permanent residents more than enough 

 to compensate for those who under similar circimistances have 

 been drawn from the country. They increase the value of our 

 farms and aid materially in the marketing of our crops. It is 

 the custom in France to do the marketing in wet weather, for the 

 loads well protected with rubber covering will stand a drive of 

 forty or fifty miles with no fear of injury from the storm, and 

 the roads are always firm and smooth, and if the market in one 

 place does not please, the farmer readily moves on to another. 



To move stone from the mountains hundreds of miles away, 

 as is done in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, for the building of 

 Macadam roads is of but little consequence compared with the 

 luxury of a good road : and farmers and others along the way 

 are readv to be taxed that thev mav have the comfort and benefit 

 of them. Let us adopt the southern plan, if need be, and if a 

 convict is wicked enough to commit a crime worthy of jail sen- 

 tence enlist him in the road gang and make him pay the penalty, 

 if only in part, by helping to do what will improve the way not 

 onl}- over which he travels but over which others travel ; at the 

 same time allaying the discontent of the people and making them 

 better satisfied with the town and State in which we live. 



