10 ANNUAL REPORT, OF THE Off. Doc. 



which is devoted lo the education of her people and the permanent 

 improvement of her agriculture. 



GOOD ROADS. 



Willi our new and im^)ortant Department of IMiblic Highways, the 

 Secretary of AgriculUire will scarcely be expected to say anything 

 in relation to our public roads, and my only excuse, if excuse be 

 needed, for referring to the matter is the fact that no class of our 

 citizens are more interested in good roads than are the farmers 

 of the country. 



The advance of civilization demands better facilities for travel 

 and transportation. This request has become one of the most im- 

 portant questions, not only in Pennsylvania, but throughout the 

 entire country. The story of the transportation of this country and 

 the improvement of transportation facilities is the history of Ameri- 

 can progress. It has been stated by persons who have made the 

 subject a life-long study, that where one dollar has been invested 

 in the improvement of transportation facilities, especially by the 

 construction of railroads, the value of agricultural property has 

 been increased ten dollars. This statement I regard as too strong; 

 but it is, nevertheless, true that the steam engine and the steel 

 rail have been the pioneers in the greatest development of this coun- 

 try. There are men living today, who are older than any railway 

 sj'stem, who can point to public roads established within their recol- 

 lection by legislation and placed in cliarge of ])aid local authorities, 

 that years ago added much to the transportation facilities of the 

 country which, at the present time, are not much better than the 

 original Indian foot-trails over the mountain or across the plain, 

 notwithstanding our boasted civilization. 



It is gratifying, however, to note that with the organization of 

 the Highway Department under the present administration, a dis- 

 position to appropriate money from the public treasury for road im- 

 provement is being manifested, and we seem to be entering upon 

 a new era in respect to this very important subject. 



RURAL. MAIL DELIVERY. 



Among the blessings that have recently come to the farmers of 

 this country, there is none that is more highly appreciated than 

 rural mail delivery. No one who has ever had the experience of 

 living from three to six miles from a postoffioe can appreciate the 

 advantage of having his mail delivered daily to his home. To be 

 able to get the daily papers and all other mail matter with the same 

 degree of regularity that characterizes the mail service in large 

 cities is, to the jieople of the rural districts, a luxury that adds im- 

 measurably to the pleasure of farm life. The extension of this sys- 

 tem is increasing very rapidly, and it is destined to become an import- 

 ant element in the improvement of agricultural conditions all over 

 the land. As mail facilities are increased there is a corresponding 

 increase in the literature to be found in the farmers' home. The 

 circulation of agricultural papers, as well as literature relating to 

 domestic economy, is being greatly increased in all the rural sec- 

 tions of our State. 



