No. 4.] ROADSIDE IMPROVEMENT. 281 



ing of his own property will tend to discourage him in that 

 work. Village improvement societies have done much to 

 improve our roadsides ; but in some villages there seems to 

 be a tendency to reduce everything to the condition of the 

 city, thus marring natural beauty and destroying many 

 attractive features. 



When we contemplate improving a roadside, there are 

 two very important things to consider : first, what improve- 

 ments shall we make ; and, second, what shall we plant. 

 In the first place, if the roadsides are near our buildings or 

 against open fields, let us clear them up and plow and seed 

 to grass as far as possible, that they may be a source of 

 profit as well as a pleasure to look upon. The question as 

 to what we shall plant, while depending largely upon locality 

 and surroundings, becomes also a matter of personality. 

 Depend on your own taste, study to find out what will best 

 suit your locality, what your requisites are, and then so far 

 as possible go into the woods and find your material. 



If you enjoy trees, and the road to be improved is near 

 your buildings, perhaps there is no better way than to set 

 out some of our beautiful shade trees that are best adapted 

 to your locality. There is nothing that the weary traveller 

 or the tu'ed horse enjoys more in the hot summer time than 

 to come under the shade of the grand old elms and maples 

 that are found scattered all over New England. For this 

 reason, it might be well for every farmer to set some portion 

 of his roadside to trees, for the benefit of the coming gen- 

 erations. But remember that, whatever trees you set out, 

 they must have care ; for, with the elm-tree beetle, the 

 gypsy moth and other tree pests, the telephone lines and the 

 electric cars, a continual fight in the future must be waged, 

 if you wish to save the life of the trees and enjoy the comfort 

 that they should bring you. 



That portion of our roadsides running through the farms 

 of Massachusetts against our cultivated fields I believe 

 should be free from trees to a large extent, because there is 

 no question to a practical farmer that they sap the ground 

 of the moisture and fertility that are needed by the crop, 

 whatever that crop is, thereby making a serious decrease in 



