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should be sown, trees planted, and a side path or walk be prepared for
the use of pedestrians, especially women and children, going to and
coming from church, school, and places of business and amusement.
Country roads can be made far more useful and attractive than they
usually are, and this may be secured by the expenditure of only a small
amount of labor and money. Although such improvements are not necessary,
they make the surroundings attractive and inviting and add to the value
of property and the pleasure of the traveler.

If trees are planted alongside the road they should be far enough back
to admit the wind and sun. Most strong growing trees are apt to extend
their roots under the gutters and even beneath the roadway if they are
planted too close to the roadside. Even if they be planted at a safe
distance those varieties should be selected which send their roots
downward rather than horizontally. The most useful and beautiful tree
corresponding with these requirements is the chestnut, while certain
varieties of the pear, cherry, and mulberry answer the same purpose.
Where there is no danger of roots damaging the subdrainage or the
substructure of the road, some other favorite varieties would be elms,
rock maples, horse-chestnuts, beeches, pines, and cedars. Climate,
variety of species selected, and good judgment will determine the
distance between such trees. Elms should be thirty feet apart, while the
less spreading varieties need not be so far. The trunks should be
trimmed to a considerable height, so as to admit the sun and air. Fruit
trees are planted along the roadsides in Germany and Switzerland, while
mulberry trees may be seen along the roads in France, serving the
twofold purpose of food for silkworms and shade. If some of our many
varieties of useful, fruitful, and beautiful trees were planted along
the roads in this country, and if some means could be devised for
protecting the product, enough revenue could be derived therefrom to pay
for the maintenance of the road along which they throw their grateful
shade.

The improvement of country roads is chiefly an economical question,
relating principally to the waste of effort in hauling over bad roads,
the saving in money, time, and energy in hauling over good ones, the
initial cost of improving roads, and the difference in the cost of
maintaining good and bad ones. It is not necessary to enlarge on this
subject in order to convince the average reade