AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
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Entered according to Act of Congress, In June, 1873, by Orange Judd & Co., at the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
VOLUME XXXII.—No. 7. 
NEW YORK, JULY, 1873. 
NEW SERIES—No. S18. 
ROAD M 
In the above engraving Is represented a scene | 
of very common occurrence in the majority of 
country districts. Working out the road-tax is 
generally made an occasion for mingling a little 
work with a good deal of good-natured gossip, 
some politics, and much discussion ns to the’ 
propriety of this way or that way of filling up 
a mud hole or repairing a ditch. If this should 
be looked upon in a way that would occur to a 
person of the amiable disposition of Mr. Grad- 
grind, he might object to such a method of do¬ 
ing business as far from economical, and as a 
waste of time. But Mr. Gradgrind was no 
fCOPYRIGHT SECURED 
E IT D I N G.— Drawn and Engraved for the Ainer 
farmer, and never worked out his tax. We 
have done so, and we know how much a man 
feels better all over after an hour’s shoveling is 
followed by an equal amount of rest, and 
moreover it always turns out that the road¬ 
work is “done,” even though it should need to 
be done over again in the same way next season. 
But yet it did sometimes occur to us that this 
was not quite the way in which work was done 
at home, and the question “Does this pay?” 
came up occasionally for consideration. We 
confess to thinking it did not, and still hold to 
tiiat opinion, and have little doubt that in 
'lean Agriculturist. 
country road-making unci mending, as well as 
in almost all other things, “old things are pass¬ 
ing away.” If there is one thing more than 
another in which we need to mend our ways it 
is in regard to our country roads. The better 
the roads the more valuable the fai ms alongside 
of them, and ibe greater the value of every 
pound of produce carted over them. This is 
true without a question. Then it becomes a 
serious matter to have roads built so that 
they may lie easily passable, and be kept so 
without needing the annual outlay of several 
days’ work to each farmer in repairing them. 
