SUBURBAN AND COUNTRY ROADS. 49 



Mr. Strong hoped that none would draw the inference from the 

 remarks made, that the pear was doomed. He beheved the injury 

 experienced last ^-ear to be exceptional, and that in future we should 

 be free from it. 



Dr. Slade, having arrived, was introduced b}- the President and 

 read the following Essa}' : 



The Improvement and Ornamentation op Suburban and Coun- 

 try Roads. 



by daniel denison slade. 



It may be readily conceded that nothing concerns a people more 

 essentially than the sure and easy means of communication between 

 the different sections of their country, and nothing more certainly 

 marks their progress in civilization, than the condition of their high- 

 ways. In an inaugural address, a former chief magistrate* of this 

 state, says : 



' ' Those of our citizens who have visited Europe are unanimous 

 in the opinion that our public roads are far inferior to those of other 

 countries, where the means of easy and safe communication are 

 better appreciated. The science of road-making is apparently not 

 well understood ; or if it is, the present modes of superintending 

 the construction and repair of roads are so defective, that the pub- 

 lic suffer to an extent of which few of us are aware. It may be 

 found, upon investigating the cause of our miserably poor and ill- 

 constructed roads, that the laws relating to this subject need revis- 

 ion, so as to give more uniformity in the construction and the re- 

 pair of our highways." 



In an essay of this character, however, it cannot be expected that 

 we should advance the laws which govern the operations of the civil 

 engineer, nor are we called upon to produce an elaborate treatise 

 upon road-building. Such treatises, for which prizes offered by our 

 legislature have been awarded to successful competitors, have already 

 been written within the last few years. Moreover, excellent standard 

 works on the subject exist in almost every language, and may be 

 easily obtained and consulted. 



It is left for us, therefore, to state in general terms, what are the 



* Gov. Claflin, 1869. 



