JUST TRY GOOD ROADS. 311 



The drainage of lands, now held to be so important for agri- 

 cultural and sanitary reasons, is very commonly injured or 

 wholly prevented, from the want of proper culverts under roads. 



The writer has often been told by Western farmers, living on 

 lines of railroads, that they had at first been opposed to the 

 roads crossing their lands as a serious damage, but that they 

 had found that the drainage effected by the cuttings in the soil, 

 more than compensated for the damage done by dividing up 

 their fields. The building of a road, if properly managed, need 

 at least be no injury to the drainage of lands, and in many case^ 

 should be a benefit. 



Any person who has ever had experience in travelling upon 

 our roads in their worst condition in the spring months of the 

 year, will be thankful for any plan, within the public means, of 

 making it comfortable ; and when the people of the State be- 

 come convinced that the evil of bad roads is not necessarily in- 

 surmountable, a remedy of some kind, more or less effective, 

 will be applied. If it were possible to present the contrast be- 

 tween the present imperfect roads and well-made ones to actual 

 view, no one would hesitate to accept any practicable method of 

 insuring the well-made ones. Could the people have a trial, for 

 a day, of perfectly good roads, they would never again do with- 

 out them, if means and skill within reach could command them. 



The plan proposed in this paper is believed to be the best that 

 can be offered, and is submitted with confidence to the consid- 

 eration of the people and law-makers of the Commonwealth. 



The State of Massachusetts is usually foremost in the march 

 of improvement, and it is to be hoped that she will head the 

 advance in this new way of progress, which so plainly leads to 

 an increase of prosperity and a still higher grade of civilization. 



The work lies straight ahead ; and with the leadership of His 

 Excellency the governor, and the ready response of the leg- 

 islature, there is a fair promise that we shall soon achieve one 

 of the greatest and most needed of public improvements — a 

 grand and complete system of really good common roads. 



Dedham, January 28, 1870. 



