News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1890-07-31
A Plea From the Summer Roarders
STOWE. Vt. JnlV "a. 1890

STOWE, Vt, July "a, 1890
EDITORS News AND CITIZEN:
SIRs:-I hope you can find space
for al protest against the local habit
of moving bare the roadsides of this
beautiful region, thereby destroying
in great part the charm of riding or
driving over it's many and naturally
attractive roads. The habit seems
to be spreading, and probably it
arises from an uninstructed taste for
neatness and trimness-a taste in it.
self highly commendable, but like all
tastes requiring cultivation. What
| should like to point out is that by
cutting down the strawberries, clumps
of flowers and intricate tangles of
clematis and other graceful vines, the
effect of neatness and trimness is not
produced. Instead of that is only in
PRODUCED, in place of one of the most
beautiful forms of abundant life,
picture of death and desolation. Let
anyone drive over one of your by
roads in the earlier summer, while it's
edges are in their native, untouched
condition, and then again few weeks
later, after the hand Of the ''improv-
er" has been laid heavy upon them,
and note the difference. He will find
that almost the whole charm of the
place has disappeared. Instead of
beauty he sees only destruction; the
long, feathery lines of trimming which
had bordered the road on either side.
covering all therudenesses of the sur
face, and concealing every unsightly
object, have been converted into with
ering, foul-smelling heaps of decaying
heritage.
In all the cases | have observed, no
advantage to the adjacent farms can
result from this practice; on the con
trary, the thickets of Canada thistle,
which really ought to be cut down
and destroyed are almost certain to
be left standing. On the question of
taste, if anybody doubts that this
treatment of roadsides is a gross Of
fence, he may be referred to the au-
thority of Sir Walter Scotia very
high authorityindeed in all questions
concerning rural beauty-who had a
particular love for this way of giving
what he called IAN eyelash to a
road. This phrase hits the point
exactly. To shear away from a coun-
try road the wild natural growths
which make it's borders beautiful is
exactly the same kind of act it would
be if a woman were to cut off her eye
lashes by way of making herself beau
tiful.
Now it happens that this question
of mere taste about your roads is
one of great practical Importance to
this neighborhood. The people who
come here from distant places to en-
Joy their summer leisure are attracted
hither, of course, by nothing but the
delightful natural aspects of this
beautiful part of Vermont. So far
as you destroy those aspects, so far
you directly diminish that attraction
and thereby go directly against an
important local business interest.
and one which | believe might be
made one of the most important.
There are many places in New Eng
land not more beautiful than this
where the summer boarder" indus
try leads all others, brings in most
money and pays the most profit If
you could have 1000 additional
boarders brought into Lamoille coun-
ty next year, the effect of it would be
felt in every farm in the county. 1t
would mean that not less than $780,
900 of outside money would be
brought in and left here in exchange
for the products of your own citizens.
The farmers life is not so easy that
he can afford to throw away such
chances for a good market at home
But the summer boarder industry
never can be built up if the people go |
on spelling the beauty of their roads
by cutting away their decorations of
shrubs and vines and flowers, which |
are the very things that the summer
boarders come up here to see and en-
Joy. Very truly, X.