The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1866-01-27
HIGHWAYS should be Ornamental.

.. A ,,rost imnroyement would be made in the
anTe9r1T c. THE country If our highways were
nIantad wi h ornamental trees, and kept in
neat condition like landscape gardens. The
laws of the State of New York, passed in 1852,
exc u in domestic animals from public roads,
renders this ofeomparatlveiy easy attainment
They need not now be rooted up nor disfigur-
d ed by swine nor polluted by the droppings of
cattle. Trees need not be injured or killed by
animals rubbing against them. Roadsides
should be rendered smooth in surface, both
for the purpose of improving their appearance
and rendering then capable OF being easily
moved with the scythe or moving machine
the hay thus obtained will be more valuable
than the pastura9e, if cut but once or twice in
a season. They must be cut oftener where it
is desired to maintain high polish, IKE that
az a finished lawn. Were this treatment
adopted generally in any considerable portion
or district of country, it would not only rem
der farms of higher value in market, but
would have civilizing and refining influence
on the community. ,..,.r
We are sorry to observe, in many places,
that highways are regarded as receptacles for
all kinds of rubbish and refuse matter. We
recently had occasion to ride through one of
the streets of large village, reported as one
of the neatest and most respectable in the
State In distance of thirty rods in length
we observed the following materials, which
we copy from a memorandum made on the
spot: Dirt from celler, coal ashes, straw
from beds, rotten pieces of plank, a broken
saw horse, a deftlnct wheelbarrow, rotten cab
bage and cabbage stumps, trimmings of trees,
rose prunings, hoop-skirts, stones thrown out
of an adjacent garden, barrel-hoops, boots and
shoes, and old tin-pans bent in all shapes by
passing wheels. A ride through the country
was scarcely less interesting. One farmer had
piled along the roadside the trimmings of his
apple orchard, amounting in all to several
wagon loads, among which burdocks and net
ties had grown up in profusion; another had
made long pile of cord-wood the preceding
winter, a part of which had fallen when the
snow melted, and obstructed the track; anoth-
er had carried out load of old plaster and
broken lath and discharged in addition into
the middle of the track a large pile ofrotten
potatoes; and fourth, for the purpose OF
economizing lard, had set his barn on the
edge of the road, SO as to make his barnyard
in it, and had then variously filled it with frac-
tured waggon-wheels, dismantled carts, rusty
1l)ughs, decayed rollers, superannuated har-
rows, piles ofold barrows, scattered cord-wood,
sleds with broken runners, empty barrels, un-
carted manure, and some old boxes. lh ts
We passed to another neighborhood, where
the people had from the first enforced the cat
tie law. The roads were smooth and neat,
: trees had been planted along their margin, the
grass had been moved for hay, part of which
had been drawn off, leaving the sides of the
carriage way smooth and green, and in other
places the hay yet remained in cocks. AL
though there was considerable room for i'm
provement it was not difficult to decide which
neighborhood would be chosen by any pur-
chaser of a farm, or which would bring the
highest price. nt
5aM Villages, of all places in the world, should
not be infested by animals running at large.
We have recently made careful estimate of
the amount of pastlirage in one of the vii
lagos of this State, with which we have been
familiar The aggregate length of its streets
is about two miles. The only grass growing
in them is strip averaging about four feet
. wide on each side of the carriage track, and
between the latter and the flagging-or eight
feet in breadth for each street. The more ac-
tive business streets have no grass. Eight
feet wide and two miles long forms an area
equal to two acres--not better than one acre
of good pasturage. In order that few va
grant cattle might gnaw this thin grass, the
@. the following annoyances were submitted to
T. ere the cattle were excluded: The constant
watching of at least one hundred garden and
door-yard gates all hours of the day, and their
careful security at night-the occasional loss
of fine patch of cabbages in some poor mans
ground, who could not afford so strong fence
as his neghbors-the scattering OF the flag
gings with cow-droppings, greatly to the an
noyance of every well-dressed lady, and
the terror of little children on their way to
schools at the sight of animals on the path.
The compensation for all this annoyance is
{ one acre of pasturage-equal to the keeping
q of single COW. 1t will not be difficult to say
on which side the balance lies.
The definition of areed has been given as
a plant growing in the wrong place. We
want another word to apply to animals rum
ming where they should not, much greater
nuisance than weeds, as the latter may be re-
q moved quietly and without trouble, while the
3 former must be watched, chased down, and ex-
q cluded. at heavy expense of time, strong
fences, and secure gates, costing thousand
per cent more than the whole value of the
animals.-Coaatry Gentleman Il