28 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETT. 



Do not forget to let all of this work of neatness and lawn- 

 making extend to the roadside, even to the edge of the travelled 

 wa}- ; for no matter how particular one may be concerning his 

 grounds, the effect is sadly marred if the roadside is not corres- 

 pondingly neat and thrifty. I once rode past a nice house with a 

 well kept yard, in front of which were the contents of an old straw 

 bed, wall paper torn off at house cleaning, apple tree limbs, 

 weeds, and vines brought from the garden and thrown over the 

 fence, and miscellaneous rubbish. Aside from the violation of a 

 rule of good taste such a course seems to mark a selfish man with 

 a soul too narrow to do an atom more than is necessary to keep 

 in good order what he regards as his own distinctive property. 

 A roadside devoted to burdocks, thistles, briers, and stone heaps, 

 is no ornament, and prejudices every passer-by against the owner of 

 the adjacent farm. Did any of you ever see a barn built near the 

 highway so as to have the manure pile by the roadside? Such 

 an arrangement has the merit of convenience in loading the carts, 

 but is not in the interests of an attractive home. Sometimes 

 more and more of the underlying soil is annually removed with 

 the fertilizer, creating a deepening hole which during quite a por- 

 tion of the year becomes a pool of green slime. Such conditions 

 dissipate the otherwise pleasing effect of the home. 



There is need of a very general awakening to the importance of 

 the looks of roadsides. Their conspicuousness makes them 

 peculiarly important. There should not be a border of untidiness, 

 tall grass, or rank weeds about an otherwise pleasant residence. 

 The ladies in their decorative work often put the most ornament 

 into the border. The roadside — which is the border to the 

 estate — should, when near the house, be as attractive and luxu- 

 riant as the lawn itself ; while further away it should be kept free 

 from stones and rubbish and mown occasionally. This will add 

 much to the looks of a farm, besides accomplishing the utilitarian 

 good of preventing the spread of noxious plants. It is disheart- 

 ening to work hard for clean culture and have the effort all 

 neutralized by the neglect of a neighbor whose roadsides are 

 nurseries for the propagation of all kinds of undesirable plants. 



Highway surveyors should be men who have an eye for the neat 

 and orderly as well as for the science of road construction. They 

 should take as much pride in a smooth roadside as in a good road- 

 bed. They should not have a mania for sprinkling the space out- 



