, 1872-11-11
THE FARM AND GARDEN.

The New Stock or Non-Eencing Law
Will Farmers do Without Fences ?
Must We Have Highway Fences =
The Need of a Dog IaN-smaA1
Elocl1s OF Sheep, and Their Value 20
the Farmer.
From Our agricultural Correspondent.
CHAMPAIGN, ILL.,, Nov. O.
The new Stock law vent into operation the lss
day of October. No farm stock is now allowed
to run at large. The penalty is not less than
three nor more than ten dollars for each offence.
This is but reafhr1ning the common law, that
gives each person the right to use his own land
as he may please. Should he not wish to pasture
any domestic animals. he is then at liberty to
cultivate his land without first having to protect
it with costly fence. It is certainly q reason
able law, so far as parties not joining farms are
| interested, and to which they can take
/ no exception. As between adjacent own-
ers, experience will no doubt
show that further legislation is required. Our
Fence laws have always been crude and ILL.,
digested, depending more upon the opinion of
the Supreme Court than upon the law itself, as
! no two farmers could agree upon its literal
| meaning. The law as it now stands is simply
rebuke to the Supreme Court in constituting the
rights under the common law; for, in fact, We
had no statutory provision beyond the 1egula-
ton OF line or division fences and that is all ne
| need. But,
WILL FARMERS DO WITHOUT FENCES?
In the cities there is no occasion for Fence
laws. No animal is q free commoner, and per-
sons trespassng are liable: and yet no one in
the city thinks Of dispensing with fence.
There are some Western towns where fences are
not common; but in those the system Of irriga-
ton makes new condition Of things, and the
water-courses along the streets mark the bounda-
ries OF the several owners. II ! apPrehend tnat
number OF miles Of fencing 80 yerY greatly ?33 az
many suppose put one OF us gooa e1eets WI
be to give parties tune, and to leave them to
judge how much 1encihg tney WILL construcs,
ana the e Oh u; r. be care - of ~" doas atso
tic animals. Had thus law peen pc N 1ofce from
the first settlement OF the ne, western 5tateg, It
would have saved many mi1nons OF oolars tnas
are now a total LOSS !; ana, wnat 1 ID more, ouF "
groves and river forests haYe peen s~eRt OF
their most valuable timber, such as oak, Lime,
poplar, and even black walnut, which went TO
protect the prairie farms from tne nerds OF
cattle and hogs that we're permitted to run at
large. 1ess IMAM one-oaA VI tA1s outl4y "ouio
have sutflced to have lnclosed the farmer ssock,
while the large herds should nave peen m charee
OF helder, as ls no" the case on tne plallls
west OF the great river. ,
MUST We ;I HAZE M q a1GAwAx 121a % FENCES: .,
@t~s 0o-3-1%3
| the highway, and 1t Is the duty OF tle owner to
see that they do not trespass beyond its bounds,
| and, should he neglect thus, or nus cattle Dreak Pre-
| away from hun a. a9d 40 any damage, ne ls liable
| to highway and other fences that it detracts
it destitute of fence along the highway and
it is probable that, n al cases where tue Usage
| orange WI thr1Ve' We may look 1or neoges alons
the roadside.
| Then the farmer must have pasture for hls
stock, at least IN part, Tor labor Is TOO dear to
admit OF solllng IN az cases. especlaily Wnen We
can have cheap pasturage. But tnsfe a:31 rs, ls no 40
large amount Of soi1ing in the course Of few
all similar cases: Il wishes to pasture his
land adjacent to b, and b prefers to GU,
! tivate, there is no reason why B should
be compelled to make his part OF tue division
fence but, should be pasture the adjacent
| land, it ID then night That he shond maintain
his proportion OF the fence There are several
| towns in this county that have, under the
closure, and the farms in all such towns have
been at premium, simply because stock Was
not allowed to run at large There is no danger
ne ioy tho Seqa od n n7 state WILL vote go
Stock running in the highway, for the pur-
pose of pasturage is q great nuisance, and often
leads to,trouble OF serious nature. 4 great
many years ago. had planted row OF shade
LEEG5 lhIA u AAA0 4oAt35 "@!A NPP@a@A tAtss
we're out of the way Of ordinary stock, and
moved the fence to its proper place, leaving the
road four rods wide, with tue line Of trees eight
feet within the bounds Of the road a neighbor
purchased three or four yoke Of oxen for the
purpose Of breaking prairie. On Saturday
nights he would come home, and
turn these animals into the
highway; and. in month, in spite OF my yigi-
lance, more than half the trees we're destroyed.
The only redress that bad was to reset the
fence 2 dozen feet into the road m bounds and, @
the following spring, replant the trees. The
man-Id do not call him neighbor--never planted
= shade tree, and could not be brought to see
that his cattle annoyed me-. He had no pasture
lot for his oxen, and he said they must run in
the road, where they had
night to e. Ine ;t iesuis H. was n;ahha thaS ne
man BECAME diseustea VIII tno nelgnoo1hoou,
and sold his farm. OF course, no such man ever
makes good farmer, 1or g9oa farmer nm ..;5' Is
almost invariably good nelghoor; nnt tnls
class OF men cannot see the value Of peasant
home, and they must g1ve place to those , VINO do'
apd move on towards .,,tt the 5 frontier , Ihs 1S
true picture and one that has been repeated ~
thousand nelghborhoods IN this state some