The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1871-09-12
evening State aoitraaI.
TUESDAY EVENING. SEPT. -, 1871.
The Cost OF Fenccs---A Startling Exhibit---
now to Save Large Outlay.


A writer in the Illinois Agricultural Re
port for 1864 says: "The fences of tn
United States have cost more money thar
the houses, cities included more than tn,
ships, boats and vessels of every descrip
ton, which all the ocean, lakes and rivers
more than our manufactures, of all kinds
with their machinery; more than any one
class OF property, aside from real estate
except, it may be, the railroads of ou,
country. This may seem like an exagpe.
rated statement, but little estimate will
show that it is not extravagant as would al
first appear.
The first cost of the fences of New York
State was between one hundred and one
hundred and fifty millions of dollars.
Robinson gives it at $l44, 000, 900. As
Stunning this to be approximately correct.
and estimating the first cost of the fences
of other States on the same basis, we have,
as the total first cost of the fences of the
whole country, the vast sum of 81 1885,
100000
This requires to be renewed once in ten
years, giving 1929, 900, 900 as the annual
cost, to which should be added. however.
at least half as much more for repairs
making the aggregate sum of S194 400 900
as the annual national EXPENSE sum we
believe below the actual figures. vet quite
beyond comprehension. James Il. WORTH
ington, of Ohio, says there are Is. DOC. 900
of acres of land in Ohio. enclosed within
40 1000 miles of fences, at a prime cost of
Sl!o,ooo,ooo, and yearly expense for re-
pairs, etc., of $7,6S0,OO0.
:. III roadside and boundary fences can be
dispensed with, half the cost of fencing will
be saved. That cost is now an annual tax
OF SI.50 on every acre of improved land in
the United States-the ''fence tax, being
twice or thrice as great as the aggregate Of
the state and local taxes combined.
why cannot large portion of this out
lay be saved for some profitable invest
ment! Every dollar rescued from fences
may be added to productive wealth.
Fences are dead capital they pay no in
terest, and are constant drain upon the
pocket. AS Mr.. Greeley says: "We poi
son our land with fences, they are a shelter
Tor weeds, as well as vast and useless ex-
pense. The indirect cost which thcy IN
iilct is almost as great as the direct. A
Virginia zigzag fence occupies five acres for
every hundred enclosed, thus imposing a
five per cent. tax on the market value of
the sofia tax which would be felt to be
oppressive If it was for the payment of the
national debt instead of for the shelter of
growth of weeds.
Shall we fence stock out or in? There
IS no doubt that our people now expend
1our times as much money to fence stock
out as would be required to fence it in.
Olr present custom, which requires uni
versal fencing, is the worst blunder the
practical American people ever made.
Enterprising and original in many matters.
they are here following slavishly, genera
ton after generation, the habit of the
earliest English settlers-following it.
though very expensive and mconvenient.
because it is "the'good old way" Europe
has learned more rational way. There
are ten times more fences in Illinois than |
in Germany; and Duchess county in New |
York has more than all France. In France. |
Germany and Holland, farmers hold their
land in common, with only narrow paths
between them.
The immense cost of sustaining fences;
the inconvenience of having them always in
the way Of thorough tillage, and of easy
egress and ingrcss to the premises the ini-
passlble snow drifts accumulated by them
the shelter they afford to weeds and briars;
the protection they afford to many of the
worst animal pests of the farm, and their
1nslghtly appearance generally throughout
the country, as the receptacle of Stone
heaps, piles of brush and dead leaves, to
say nothing of the countless acres rendered
worse than useless by their occupancy,
would seem sufficient reasons for disposing
Of fences where not indispensable for pur-
poses of pasturing."