194 LANDSCAPE-GARDENING 



straight roads, but also of giving the country as a 

 whole a better appearance. In England, which is 

 usually considered the most beautiful country of its 

 size in the world, nearly all the roads are curved. 

 The beauty of New England is due largely to its 

 curved roads which were made before the United 

 States section laws were adopted. Look at any one 

 of the older roads which was used in advance of the 

 government survey and see how much better it fits 

 the ground and how much better looking it is than 

 the more modern straight highway. As a city 

 develops, some of these original thoroughfares, 

 mere trails at first, usually become its leading 

 arteries. 



Even with straight highways laid out with the 

 customary width of sixty-six feet, there is a chance 

 for much variation from a straight line in the road 

 which usually requires only sixteen feet, and it is 

 interesting to see how the lines of travel in unpaved 

 roads are frequently on long graceful curves, per- 

 haps to avoid a valley, the steep part of a hill, or 

 a group of trees or bushes. In many cases it would 

 be wise for the highway commissioners, when they 

 put in concrete, macadam, or brick for a permanent 

 roadway, to follow the easy graceful lines of travel. 



