248 ELEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE 



good roads can have neither first-class schools nor 

 first-class churches. 



(3) The happiness of most people is, to a large 

 measure, dependent on the society of their neighbors. 

 Few people can be happy when forced to lead the life 

 of a hermit. •In many country districts the women and 

 children are for months cut off from all society. They 

 become practically prisoners, for not only are they cut 

 off from society, but they are prevented from taking 

 any form of outdoor exercise. They are confined to the 

 house or yard, and suffer both physically and mentally. 



It is no very unusual thing for persons in the country 

 to be far removed from all medical assistance; and 

 persons cut off from the doctor have died from want of 

 proper treatment. Good roads bring more and better 

 society, more health and happiness, and better doctors. 



(4) By greatly reducing the cost of marketing crops, 

 good roads increase the farmer's profit. The old saying, 

 " time is money/' is particularly applicable to the 

 farmer during his busy seasons. Over good roads he can 

 in the same time handle almost twice as much produce 

 with less wear and tear on his teams than over roads 

 that are full of rocks and mudholes. 



When we remember that all the produce of the 

 farm, in order to find a market, must pass over some 

 sort of road, we can realize how important is the ques- 

 tion of good roads to .the farmer. In this connection, 

 some figures prepared by the U. S, Department of 

 Agriculture are of interest: 



