58 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



tutes their great charm and source of attraction, and should not un- 

 necessarily be interfered with. If the money which is now annu- 

 ally spent by many towns, in assiduously destroying all these charms 

 of our by-ways, by cutting down and uprooting the various shrubs, 

 vines, bushes, and 3'oung trees, which serve as breeding places, 

 and afford food to our insectivorous birds, as well as hide the un- 

 sightly piles of stones, rubbish, and dilapidated walls — were ex- 

 pended upon the improvement of the road-beds, it would add greatly 

 to the comfort and safety of the traveller. When any substantial 

 reason exists for this extermination of all natural beauty, it is desir- 

 able to submit ; but as it is often done without any definite object 

 in view, and merely because it is a custom, we suggest that the 

 pleasure afforded by its presence more than compensates for any 

 possible impediment or injury to the road itself. 



A true observer* of natural objects thus pleasantly discourses on 

 this subject : — " The beauty of these old roads does not consist in 

 their crookedness, though it cannot be denied that this quality pre- 

 vents their being tiresome, and adds variety to our prospect, by 

 constantly changing our position. Neither does their beauty con- 

 sist in their narrowness, though it will be admitted that this quality'' 

 contributes to their pleasantness by bringing their bushy sidewalks 

 nearer together. Their principal charm consists in the character of 

 their road sides, now overgrown with all that blended variety of 

 herbs and shrubbery which we encounter in a wild pasture. We 

 hear a great deal of complaint of these old roads, because they are 

 crooked and narrow, and because our ancestors did not plant them 

 with trees. But trees have grown up spontaneously in many places, 

 sometimes forming knolls and coppices of inimitable beauty ; and 

 often an irregular row of trees and shrubs of different species adds 

 a pleasing variety to the scenes. And how much more delightful is a 

 ride or a stroll through one of these old roads, than through the 

 most highly ornamented suburbs of our cities, with their streets of 

 more convenient width. The very neglect to which they have been 

 left, on account of the small amount of travelling over them, has 

 caused numberless beauties to spring up in their borders. 



Let us, therefore, carefully preserve these ancient winding roads, 

 with all their primitive eccentricities. Let no modern vandalism, 

 misnamed public economy, deprive the traveller of their pleasant 

 advantages, by stopping up their beautiful curves, and building 



* Wilson Flagg, Studies in the Field and Forest, p. 53. 



