The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1870-03-23
.esggafnl1tund 9ispatth.
The Fence Law.

On nil questions touching the material
Interests Of Virginia men naturally turn
for information to the columns of the DIS.
patch. and vet what should be the foremost
subject Of State economy has thus far failed
% win the distinction of editorial comment.
The subject to which al'nsion IL maze
tmore imrortant even than all the railroad
wa.ar-powcr, and canal schemes that have
vet been hroached) is the question OIL
don't IDOL, at the d" waste basket my gooo
friend-fcnce laws
Yonr corresrondent will not burthen you
or weary himself, however, with an eiaoo-
~,tn dissertation on the matter. Dollars
and cents have an eloqucncc pccuiiarly
their own, and hence n few bald statements
should serve the present purpose.
lis A fact that m average farm can W
hourht for much less money than would De
Wooded to fence il for nine or even for fiVe
field rotation. and it is probable that farm
.bus fenced to-day would not sell to-mor-
row for the cost of fencing alone. Does
this prove too muchs Certainly not. 1t
simply indicates that farmers themselves
have no adequate conception of the value
If their own labor Friend Thompson says
lis fences cost him nothing. because he
"maScs en- himself" Thomson is the
genius who paws, in labor about $40 per cord
for his wet, sohhy, half-rottcn fuel, while he
sells 81 superior article at $l.75. But you
can't convince Thompson. lie once made
e. 80 on hog, and his success on that oc-
casion makes him, like other successful
Thompsons, exceedingly tenacious of his
orinions. When Betsy Jane was about
fourteen years old neghbor gave her
sucking pig. Mrs. Thompson fed it on
milk. (which cost nothing" until it was
old enough to crack corn, which Thompson
raised himself" During the summer
BETSY Jane crazed it, and the staple occu-
patton of the family during autumn was to
gather acorns for winter consumption. AZ
eighteen months Thompson sold 1t for
$3.50" all clear profit"
Bu; the Thompsonian school Of agricul-
turists are, like pocts, born, not nude
hence it hehoovcs US to leave those favored
ones Of nature to the protection OF the gods,
ard devise some measure OF relief for the
ploddin" rank and file.
According to the United States statistics
the average profits of farming are 50 per
acre. The annual cost of maintaining
tw"ntv-acrc enclosure is fully S. per acre.
Thus it appears that fencing absorbs 200
per cent. of what is or-as the Dispatch
woNld say. GSS per cent. Of what should
he--thc legitimate profit. No other interest
could exist under such burthen, nor could
farming in any country but this. If the
best agricultural regions of Europe were
compelled TO enclose with perishable mate
rial, lands would yield no proprietary rent
unless their products were protected by the
most stringent corn laws. 1t is idle to
l55k forward to the time when Virginia
farmers will be able to replace their Old
enclosures Such an act were il possible.
would he public calamity, inasmuch as 1t
w0u!1 lie diversion Of q great Industry
into channels not adequately productive.
If the farms of the State we're under fence
to-day their cost for annual repairs would
oxceed the assessed value of the city Of
Richmond. There is vast amount Of land
now living Idle that might he worked at Il
cool profit but for this all-devouring
..I.oul-;hr fence tax.
The great want Of the agricultural inte-
resi- il condition Of affairs that would
emll1 require the farmer to fcRce in his
"wl. rtocI; without havin. to .ts',ce OIL that
e tie nci-hborhool and to gecurc this de-
..iG,r't'm tho existing fence law OF the
Conn ouwealth would be Of incalculab!e
yn!ue were it not for the trifing fact that
liz provisions destroy its purpose. 1t is
10 cumbersome, too hyperiudicial, 100 cir
ra,nlpcu;oly, to accomplish the object III
view.
laharrlv, there arc some men whose
...l2s are so constituted as to render them
,y:o!,.,clv incapable Of deriving gratitca-
;.yu from an exercise of the duties OF Il
,ucriT's officer in poor ncighborhood, and
others who would rather see their cabbages
i.u,hlessly destroyed than request neigh
bo.. for the seventeenth time, TO ''chlnk
M the gap in his pig-pen, under penalty oi
law" And, even when your nmlablc man
has crown weary of contemplating the gas
tric feats of wandering cow III his corn
hcid, aud turns pcnsively away to seek less
narrowing scenes, but only, alas to find
he'd Of hogs RECALLING themselves amid his
asparagus, or q few stray sheep nipping TO
the ground his choice exotics; even then,
with feelings wrought up to the executive
pitch, with the war-cry on his lips,-in-
,tomntv for the past, security for the fu-
riro--what Is his satisfaction 1t Is need
lc>s to trace it, A flushed countenance, n
hearty exlletive, hat and gloves, boot and
saItle: and then-the sober Sec4ad thought :;
pl,siyy despair, Il low moan, and the feeble
wish that some kind friend would throw
him into horse-pond, that he might be
peacefully nibbled to death by ducks.
And low the remedy for this grievance
nbsurdly simple and monotcnously eiiec
tive. Ire peculiar merit, too, lies III the
fact that there is nothing new about it. Ii
has been III practice elsewhere since hoary-
headed Time was n little hoy, and has been
ionna to give universal satisfaction in
every instance
lie; pounds - on "EcIl-loldS - be estab-
lishcd at suitable points, and pound keep
crs appointed whose duty it shall he 10 in
clrccratc stray or trespassng stock. The
,ees, regulated by law and collected from
the owners, have the three-foli effect Of
rendering the Office self-surporting, stiinu-
!ating the o.hcer to an exercise of virtuous
vigilance, and inducing the stock to
give some attention TO gates and gaps. The
Ices might be scheduled thus, or there
nhouts
Per Head. Fed PER hay. I"tsa.
SaHy horscs.." % 'v'' % %!
.tTa I'll tp....;
stray horned
s-ray hugs.......T.3 W q 70
Of course instances would occur in which
the enforcement of such a law might seem
somewhat oppressive still there was true
philosophy in the remark of the old lady
who, being expostulutel with for whipping
her children whenever an accident occur
red, replied, Bless your heart, yes. !
low it's unjest; but then, you see, 1t
makes accidents mighty skace."
Advocate this scheme, my friend, anu
immortality, hat in hand, awaits you.
WAUZEE.
4 nississiDpi negro worked on shares