be  8eciu‘o<l.  It  nlno  plain  that  with  the  road-bed 
aud  drainage  at  tbia  grade,  aiirfaco  chaining  of 
the  abutting  property  would  bo  enay.  To  any 
person  who  has  over  looked  at  a  road  so  made,  it 
needs  not  a  word  to  convince  him  of  the  greater 
character  and  elevated  condition  this  dropping  of 
the  roadway  proper  gives  to  the  land  and  resi¬ 
dences  on  the  line.  The  roadway  being  once 
supplied  from  a  fund  perhaps  ample  to  keep  a 
track  of  eighteen  or  twenty  feet  in  good  condi¬ 
tion,  but  when  expended  from  year  to  year  over 
a  width  of  forty  feet  is  insufficient  even  imder  the 
best  of  management. 
Fig.  2  shows  a  sketch  of  a  street  on  wldob  a 
little  improvement  has  been  made  by  defining  a 
line  for  the  street  shades  and  keeping  the  side 
one  thousand  dollars  an  aero  to  a  high  rate  per 
foot,  it  seems  important  that  Houiothing  moi'e 
than  hai>hazard,  thonghtless  roadway  making 
should  bo  instituted.  There  is  much  more  to  be 
said,  and  after  others  have  said  something  I  will 
again  write  a  word. 
VILLAGE  AND  SUBURBAN  ROADWAYS, 
Ik  a  late  number  of  tho  Ruual  you  gave  a  pe¬ 
tition  to  the  Logislatnro  of  yoiu'  State  on  the  sub¬ 
ject  of  Highways,  or  country  roads.  This  is  well, 
for  there  is,  as  you  say,  great  need  of  reform  in 
the  matter.  But  a  great  many  of  your  readers, 
who  live  in  villages  and  the  suburbs  of  cities, 
anil  do  Init  little  traveling  except  by  rail,  are 
most  Intorostcd  In  city  streets  and  village  and 
snbui-han  roadways,  'nicrofore,  while  advocating 
tlio  improvement  of  country  highways,  please  do 
not  forget  that  there  is  abundant  room  for  re¬ 
form  elsewhere,  especially  in  village  streets  and 
roadways.— A  MicniOAS  Yili.aoeb. 
Our  coreespondent  Is  right.  There  is  room 
for  improvement  in  village  and  suburban  road¬ 
ways.  as  well  as  in  country  roads,  and  wo  trust 
reform  in  both  will  ore  long  bo  instituted.  Per¬ 
haps  we  cuunot  better  rosjjond  to  tho  abovo,  at 
present,  than  by  giving  tho  following  lllustrutod 
article  on  Village  and  Suburban  Itoadways,  orig¬ 
inally  contributed  to  tho  Rub.c,l  by  P.  R.  Ei.liott 
of  Oliio,  We  hope  its  publication  will  elicit  dis- 
enssirin  on  the  .subject,  and  lead  to  marked  un- 
jaov.  incuts  in  many  localities  during  the  easuing 
si'ason : 
A  largo  amoimt  of  labor  and  money  is  yearly 
expended  on  tho  constniction  of  roadways,  plant¬ 
ing  of  street  trees,  etc.,  but  rarely  is  it  done  with 
any  thought  relative  to  the  future,  or  even  the 
pre.sent,  lmprove<l  value  of  the  abutting  property. 
In  tho  rural  distriots  the  control  of  what  shall 
<li)no  from  year  lo  year  is  loft  vritli  the  Roadma.s- 
U'r,  ur  Bupervisor,  us  he  is  termed,  while  tho 
suburban  iXiiuls  of  eities  are  generally  lined  and 
ttio  work  directed  by  the  City  Civil  Engineer.  I 
will  not  preteud  to  say  these  officials  are  all  ig¬ 
norant  of  the  ti-ue  system  of  rood-ujukiug,  or  that 
they  are  void  of  any  appreciable  effective  results 
lliat  may  Ihi  made  to  ocorue  from  tlieir  dii’ection 
of  the  expenditure  of  labor  and  money ;  but  I  do 
say  that  too  many  In.stariccs  are  U)  bo  met  with 
when,  had  more  thought  of  Uie  present  wants  of 
the  people,  tho  economy  of  road-making  and 
keeping,  etc.,  been  exercised,  tho  results  would 
have  been  different. 
There  are  several  points  in  road-making  that  to 
me  appear  all  important — these  are,  first,  lo  se- 
oiue  a  dry  road-bed,  and  at  tho  same  time  so  ar¬ 
ranged  that  its  diiiiiis  may  serve  to  drain  tho  sur¬ 
face  of  the  abutting  proiierty.  Second,  to  con¬ 
sider  the  jirobablo  wants  of  travel  and  make  tho 
road-bed  no  broader  than  is  really  nocessai'y. 
Tld)'(J,  to  cousidei’  the  pi>sition  of  the  abutting 
proptwty  and  judge  at  what  grade  the  road-bed 
should  bo  to  give  it  the  most  commanding  or  ele¬ 
vated  appearance.  Fonrtii,  at  what  distance  from 
the  center  of  the  roa<l  sliould  trees  Imj  planted  for 
sU'cet  sbades. 
It  is  a  common  practice  to  form  tlie  road  ac¬ 
cording  to  tho  natural  Hurfa<ie  of  tho  ground, 
making  it  narrow  in  some  places  aud  wide  in 
otlicrs,  and  then  tho  occupants  along  tho  lino 
plant  shade  trees  according  to  their  fancy  ns  to 
distance.  Figure  1  shows  a  street  according  to 
this  common  practice — a  street  that  has  no  defin¬ 
ite  character  in  appearance,  and  whoso  road-bed 
i.4  rarely  in  condition  to  drive  over  without  wind¬ 
ing  about  from  sido  to  side  in  order  to  avoid  the 
various  mud  holes  that  are  there  as  a  necessity, 
because  either  tho  breadth  of  tho  road  is  too 
great  for  the  manner  of  drainage,  or  possibly 
there  is  no  definite  drainage  lino  constructed. 
Tho  actual  roadway  here  allowed  varies  from 
forty-five  to  fifty  feet,  but  has  in  fact  but  one  track 
about  eight  feet  wide  over  which  there  is  travel; 
this  line,  however,  being  changed  from  time  to 
time  during  the  year,  according  as  it  is  passable 
or  uhpassablc,  until  tho  whole  breadth  has  been 
broken  and  needs  repair— a  need  that  has  to  be 
AMERICAN  APPLES  IN  ENGLAND 
The  Editor  of  the  London  (Eng,)  Garden  ac¬ 
knowledges  ths  receipt  of  a  collection  of  apples 
from  Messrs.  Eli.wanokr  A  Barry  of  Rochester, 
N.  Y.  We  omit  tho  descriptions  of  varieties  well 
known  hero,  but  the  conimonts  of  the  Editor, 
compai'ing  American  varieties  with  those  grown 
on  English  soil,  are  decidedly  interesting.  Ho 
says : 
Several  of  them  are  varietios  well  known  in 
this  country,  but  tho  majority  and  tho  best  are 
strangers  to  iis.  In  size  these  Apples  do  not 
sm’pass  what  one  may  seo  among  fahly  well- 
grown  fruit  hero;  in  color  they  ai’o  much  high¬ 
er  than  ours,  several  of  the  kinds  being  a  deep 
purplish-red;  in  flavor,  tho  really  essential  iwlnt, 
they  are  very  remarkable,  and  far  beyond  our 
own  fruit.  At  tho  iirosent  season  in  Loiulon, 
after  Cox's  Oratige  Pippin,  the  Ribston,  and  now 
and  thr  u  the  Oomish  ('lil)ilhnver,  we  have  no 
Apples  that  can  compare  with  the  high  and 
delicato  llavor  of  tho  best  of  those  sent  to  us . 
whether  tliis  is  owing  to  a  sunnier  and  dryer 
cUniato  or  to  any  inherent  peculiarity  in  tho  fruit 
itself  being  much  influoiicod  by  tho  season,  situa¬ 
tion,  Ao.,  it  is  likely  that  a  sunnier  auddryier 
climate  niiisl  have  an  effect  on  flavor.  Tho 
present  st-aaon,  wbicli  has  been  an  unnsually  wot 
one,  has  had  a  cousulorable  effect  in  altering  the 
keeping  qualities  of  British  Apples— tho  Ribston 
Pippin  for  example,  which  often  keeps  good  until 
(.'hristmas,  is  now.  at  tlie  cud  of  November  quite 
done;  but  the  Uiijston  Pippins  received  from 
Rochester  are  finn,  juicy,  ami  delicious.  It  is 
not,  therefore,  unlikely  that,  in  attempting  to 
cultivate  some  of  tho  fine  vaiieties  hereinafter 
tnentioinal,  wo  in  England,  might  fintl  a  falling 
off  in  flavor.  On  tho  other  hand,  our  own  varie¬ 
ties,  such  as  tho  Ribston,  seem  to  improve  under 
tho  conditions  to  wliich  they  are  subjected  in 
tho  Now  World.  Home  of  Uio  Afiples  scut  belong 
to  the  diviniou  which  American  growers  term 
“sweet,'’  and  are  tho  fti-st  saniples  we  have 
tasted  of  these.  In  Ainerk-a,  largo  nimibers  of 
A)iplos  have  been  raised,  and  are  in  cultivation, 
in  which  tho  sugar  so  greatly  |>rcponderatos  over 
tho  aeidnloii.s  principlo  of  tho  fruit  that  tho 
flavor  of  sonio  varietios  seems  to  au  English  palate 
to  bo  that  of  a  now  fruit.  Apples  aro  classified 
broadly  into  suimner,  fall,  and  winter  kinds; 
and,  in  each  section,  there  aro  Apples  termed 
sweet  and  sour. 
I  The  abovo  Apples  came  packed  in  a  ban’ol,  in 
I  tho  way  in  which  American  .\pplos  aro  sent  to 
oiu"  markets,  withont  Sjsjt  or  Injury  of  any  kind, 
i  Slessrs.Elhvangcr  A  Barry  also  .sent  us  a  coUeetiou 
of  Auieriean-gi'own  Pears.  Thoso,  as  regards 
size  and  appearance,  are  not,  aa  a  rule,  up  to  tho 
level  of  grsKl  Europi.’an  fruit.  Tho  Lawrence 
B<'omod  the  most  interesting  fruit,  a  large,  gold¬ 
en-yellow  kind  with  a  richly-fiavorcd,  melting 
tli  sli.  It  is  described  as  tho  most  valuable  of  all 
I  the  .\mcrican  early  winter  Peiurs,  and  the  apeci- 
mens  sent  were  such  as  would  compare  well  with 
flic  finest  lYonch  or  English  fruit.  A  batch  of 
.Josephine  do  Malincs  were  of  very  line  quality, 
I  and  Winter  Nelis,  of  average  size,  were  even 
'  richer  and  higher  in  flavor  than  with  up>.  Jones's 
'  Sisxlling,  a  very  small  Pennsylvania  variety,  is 
distinct  and  of  a  rich  flavor,  'i'ho  Pears  were 
j  packed  in  a  box,  and  did  not  travel  nearly  so  well 
'  us  the  Apples.  This,  however,  could  not  l>e  cx- 
ViLLAQK  RoAIjWAY8— No.  2, 
or  more  fe^  in  xvidth  is  raieiy  in  condition  to  bo 
driven  upon  iu  a  tnio  or  direct  lino. 
Having  shown  these  two  roads  as  they  are 
found  all  around  tho  oountiy  ami  in  the  suburbs 
of  eitifts,  the  first  figure,  1,  l>oing  the  primitive 
and  tho  second  an  improvement.  I  now  projxise, 
in  Figure  3,  to  shoiv  how  additional  improve¬ 
ment  may  be  made  witli  comparatively  little  extra 
expense  in  first  constructing,  and  far  loss  yearly 
cost  of  future  kooping. 
In  this  sketch  tho  road-bed  is  supposed  to  be 
tw'enty-six  feet  wide — abundantly  wide  for  tlueo 
carriages  to  pass  each  other — it  is  sunken  two 
feet  below  the  grade  of  the  property  abutting. 
the  froirt  or  road-bed  lino  of  Uie  sidewalk,  are 
ilesigued  to  be  fifty  feet  apart,  and  if  planters  of 
sti’cet  trees  would  select  elms  for  the  low'  ground 
lines,  maples  for  the  next  rise  of  grade,  white- 
woods  or  chestnuts  for  the  highest  and  drj'est 
lines,  tho  harmony  of  natural  association  wotdd 
he  measurably  retained,  and  perhaps  Imlicatc  to 
tho  improver  of  tlio  lots  adjouiing  somew’hat  of 
the  class  of  trees  and  slu'ubs  Ix'st  suited  to  tho 
location. 
I  should  be  glad  if  other  readers  of  and  con¬ 
tributors  to  tho  Rurae  would  take  up  this  subject 
of  improving  our  country  and  city  subimban  road¬ 
ways,  because  I  think  the  advanced  condition  of 
illViSfri 
^  j 
1  1 
— ‘ 
X 
Bl  a**-  1  gS 
VOL.  XXXIII.  No.  S. 
WHOLE  No.  1357. 
NEW  YORK,  AND  ROCHESTER,  N.  Y..  JAN.  29,  1870. 
PRICE  SI3C  CENTS. 
»!2.65  PER  YEAR. 
[Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  In  the  year  1876,  by  tho  Rural  Publishing  Company,  in  tho  office  of  tho  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington.]  j  1 
