448 THE RURAL COMMUNITY 



make the surface that much smoother. When this begins to 

 harden by baking in the wind and sun, the surface of the road 

 will soon support animals and vehicles. 



Easy means of transportation is so closely linked with the 

 marketing of farm produce and with the prices at which produce 

 may be sold that all must admit that good roads mean more profit 

 on the farm (Figs. 307 and 308). Usually merchants in villages 

 and cities are eager to have better roads reaching their trading 

 centers. , They are always willing to help in providing public 

 funds for the construction of bridges and more permanent roads. 



X] 



FIG. 306. This drag is made from two pieces of ten or twelve inch plank, two or three 

 inches thick and eight or nine feet long, reinforced by a two-inch by six-inch strip. The cross 

 braces are four-inch sticks shaped to fit a two-inch hole. A board platform, not shown in 

 the cut, is laid on the cross pieces for the driver to stand upon. (U. S. D. A.) 



The farmer is able to take advantage of the fluctuation in markets 

 if he can take his produce over good roads at any time. As good 

 roads are necessary for the transportation of mails, the Post Office 

 Department has demanded improvement of roads before mail 

 routes are started. This has been no small factor in good roads 

 improvement. 



Rural Telephones. There are several advantages of having a 

 telephone in the farm house: social, marketing, medical, household 

 supplies, emergencies. 



Often the easiest way to secure a telephone in the farm home 

 is to organize a local company, each member buying stock in the 

 company. Terms for long distance contracts are much more 

 easily secured if the local company is a substantial one and has a 

 large number of members. 



Extension lines from such exchanges as the county seat or 



