92 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



which the rear wheels turn in as much as the forward wheels 

 turn out, and which avoids any trouble in turning), suggests 

 that Congress pass a law making a uniform track for all gov- 

 ernment wagons, ambulances, gun-carriages, mail-wagons, etc., 

 and thinks, that, if a government standard were established, 

 State enactments might be made in conformity therewith. 

 But we shall have to wait long for Congress to do any thing 

 in practical matters. Let the Legislature of Massachusetts 

 simply require, that, at the expiration of a certain number of 

 years, all " teams " used for ordinary carriage of produce and 

 merchandise, or passengers, excepting such as are required 

 for extraordinary carriage (such as moving houses, etc.), shall 

 have axles not exceeding eight feet and four inches, out to 

 out, under a penalty ; and let it be required that all excep- 

 tional vehicles shall be licensed by the municipal authority ; 

 and the work is done. The Legislature must emancipate those 

 who cannot by any uniformity of action, in any other way, 

 emancipate themselves. Let it remove from the Old Colony 

 this narrow, provincial, inhospitable stigma; and whilst 

 other means of communication between men and nations are 

 hastened from day to day, let it not be said, that, in our little 

 State, its inhabitants cannot drive from one end to the other 

 without finding a change of carriage as common as a change 

 of language in the counties of England or the provinces of 

 Europe. 



Mr. Bkown. This is a subject I am glad to have brought 

 up, as I have had it in my mind for at least thirty years, 

 having once lived in a section where they ran carriages of 

 one track, and removing to a portion of the State where they 

 varied very much, all heavy carriages running in one track, 

 and lighter ones, in proportion to their weight, varying con- 

 siderably. You will readily see, all of you, I think, the 

 advantage of having these varied tracks. I had occasion to 

 visit this portion of the State early in the spring one year, 

 after some thaws; and your heavy wagons being all of one 

 track here, or most of them, I found a row of deep ruts in 

 the road. To avoid one row of ruts, the next wagon that 

 comes along passes over them, and cuts other ruts, and so 

 on, until the road is all cut up. Now you will readily see 

 the advantage of having the different tracks. In Worcester 



