252 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



The Chairman. The great question seems to be how to 

 secure good country roads. The cost of such roads 1 tears 

 heavily upon the country towns, not so heavily upon a 

 city. How shall it be equalized? How can we have uood 

 country roads throughout the State, and how shall we 

 assess the expense of doing it? That question is before us, 

 and wo hope to hear from other gentlemen who are 

 interested in it. 



Mr. TnuRSTOX (of Swanzcy). There is no que -lion 

 but what we all agree to the necessity of having better 

 country roads. The town of Swanzey the past year 

 made a trial with one surveyor ; a year ago they had three ; 

 before that they had ten. We have now got dow r n to 

 one, and we think that we are progressing in the right 

 direction, and hope to get roads, if we can get the 

 right kind of help, that will be satisfactory. "We have the 

 city of Fall River four miles from us on one side and the 

 city of Providence fifteen miles from us on the other side, 

 one having a population of eighty thousand and the other 

 of one hundred and twenty thousand. We have a bridge 

 and eight miles of street in our town, over which the 

 traffic from those two cities passes ; and the question has 

 been, how we can take care of that eight miles of road. 

 and at the same time take care of the forty-four miles 

 of other roads belonging to our town that are feeders to 

 this main road. The people in the town of Swanzey want 

 to have good roads. One-third of all the money, ten 

 thousand dollars, that we raise on a valuation of seven 

 hundred and fifty thousand dollars, is spent on our high- 

 ways, one-third is spent for our schools, and the balance 

 for our State, county and town expenses outside of our 

 highways ; and yet our roads arc; in poor condition, and 

 they never can be any better, I fear, unless somebody 

 comes to our help. I think that is the condition of a 

 great many towns in this Commonwealth. I have travelled 

 over many roads in the neighborhood of Woreester, and 

 from there to Boston. I understand the question before us 

 this afternoon is " How can the country roads be improved?" 

 We have been told it can be done through educational 

 means. I think the State should come to the rescue of 



