56 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



who have no adequate conception of the manner of performing 

 the responsible duty assigned to them. Each has a certain dis- 

 trict allotted to him, and not unfrequently, having an idea of 

 fiiing the road near his own place, he takes measures to procure 

 the appointment for the special purpose of working on the road 

 near home. Tlie object is to do just enough to prevent the 

 road from breaking his neck ; an object altogether too selfish 

 to admit of a proper regard to the public good. What better illus- 

 tration could there be of the old adage that " what is everbody's 

 business is nobody's ! " Instead of doing a work which, of all 

 others, has its times and seasons fixed by natural laws, they do 

 it " when it comes handy," after the spring work is over, or at 

 any other leisure time that will most suit their convenience. 

 There are, there can be, no continuous repairs. " A stitch in 

 time " has no application here. The fact that a dollar judic- 

 iously spent in re]. airs in April, or when the frost is coming 

 out of the ground, is worth more than two, in June or July, 

 and more than three or even five, at a later date, is of no signifi- 

 cance where this plan is adopted. 



Now, if this mode of management affected only the town 

 wliich adopted and persisted in it, the evil would be of compara- 

 tively small consequence, but the main roads through a town 

 are often great thoroughfares between other important points, 

 so that the whole community suffers to a greater or less extent, 

 for the w:;nt of an efficient head to do the thinking and the 

 planning for the roads in such a town. 



The worst feature of the whole is that no amount of ability 

 or faithfulness displayed in the performance of the duties of a 

 surveyor, will insure his continuance in office over one year. 

 If he does his duty by making a good road, he will be quite 

 sure to lose the position. All his experience and study and 

 observation will be lost to the public when another takes his 

 turn to undo what the former has done, and begins his appren- 

 ticeshij) at the expense of the public and of the condition of the 

 road itself. In other occupations an apprenticesliip, often of 

 some years, used to be thought requisite to authorize a man to 

 set up business, but a surveyor, the moment he is chosen, is 

 presumed to be fit to direct works which often require much 

 scientific attainment, great skill and intelligence. 



Besides, the hasty appointment of surveyors, and the assign- 



