National opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1865-1874, 1872-04-26
Country Roads.

Ons OF tho greatest grievances that
, landholders have 10 bear, seys the Ap.s'-
ich Farmsr, 10 the want OF good roads.
IHyca are generally high for tho very
purpose Of keeping the country roads in
repair, but there 10 u want Of capacity
II the part 81 those who undertake thf
6orl. 10 do il systematically, or with any
! degree Of scientific skin. We do not
know that We can throw any light upo.
the subject in the brief space which we
can ut present spare IL il, and We refer
TO II now to put upon record Il hint
which we find in tho GeimMli0WA TIE
graph, from Mr., W. Brown, 81 New
| Hampshire, which We hope may be taken
hold Of and improved upon 10y public
spirited citizens in every locality where
there il an opportunity TO show humani-
tartan principles. We will tell it IN Mr..
Browns own words;
"a stone which had baiiled number
of highway surveyors, being directly in
the horse path aud being OF such shape
that horse was liable 10 sustain serious
injury, yet no one cared 10 attempt its
removal. A groat deal OF labor was
spent in covering il up, hut IN a short
time it would reappear rs bad as ever.
The land around was underlaid with
ledge, and here il came to the surface.
Only by great expense il was thought
could il be removed. Ono morning |
took n man with me, with powder and
drills, and n firm resolution TO remove
il ut any expense. We succeeded in
our undertaking. at cost OF eight cents
TO the town we removed boulder Of
slate stone weighing about five hundred
pounds. | give this instance to STOW
how little labor will remove some OF the
worst Instructions which have besn Al
lowed 60 remain because no one had
attempted removal in good earnest
A crow bar could be used 10 advantage
in raising n stone out OF the bed OF the
road, but no one seems TO consider it
his business to do it; the road.mender
never dreams that it is in his contract to
attend to it and, consequently, year
after year the stone remains, endanger-
ing the lives OF passengers by the Stun
bling OF their horses and the wear and
tear to carriage wheels is very serious.
Another very serious grievance Is noted
by the same writer as prevalent in his
lhul Oh lItt running al UApc "
cattle upon the highways. This il
sore evil elsewhere, as farmers in this
section can fully prove. All roads are
made on land either donated to the pub
lie, or sold or condemned for that ex.
press purpose, and it has been decided,
we believe, in our courts of law for that
purpose oAy-the landholder from whom
the body OF the road has been taken is
still the sole owner Of the soil for all
other purposes and, whist be cannot
do augh, to interrupt the freest traye'
upon 1t, yet any or all other privileges
belong to him, and no one has right to
turn their stock upon the road to feed
it upon the grass which belongs to an
other. The evil would not be so grev-
Gus were it not for the fact that the
cattle, being thus left to roam about,
when finding their supplies becoming
scan!y on the roadside, begin to Jump
or knock down the fences to get into the
more tempting fields before them, while
Che hogs roofing under the best Of post
and rail fences, will in a single day on
nigh. do more harm to lho crop than
their carcasscs are worth.