Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1875-12-09
THE FENCE LAW.

THE FENCE LAW.
Necessity knows no law. The time is fast
approaching when the laws of South Carroll
ma, respecting fences, must be altered. We
say must be altered, advisedly. In most sec
tions of the State the absolute necessity ex'
lists at present, and in few years the neces-
sity will be pressing and universal. The laws
now in force require the crops to be fenced
and allow the stock to 60 at large. The ext
gences of the times require the law to be re-
versed. The sooner this change is made, the
better it will be for all concerned. If it is
not done by legislative enactment, it will be
done by the people themselves. The time has
come, in at least, nine.tenths of the State,
when the farmers cannot fence their crops.
Some have not the timber; others are not
pecuniarily able, and it is too expensive for
any to fence the crop and permit the stock to
run at large. No one thing has, at present,
so powerful tendency to retard the farming
interests of the State as the fence law. 1t is
a continual drain upon the time and purse OF
every man who labors in the field, or owns
land. 1t is heavy rate Of interest which
the laborer has to pay annually, semi'annual-
ly, quarterly, monthly and daily, upon every
foot of land he cultivates. 1t is an expense
without any profit, which falls upon both the
land owner and the laborer; but most op-
pressive upon the latter. The laborer is
forced to build fences before he plants, and
repair fences during the whole time that his
crop is growing, and is liable, at any time, so
long as his crop is in the field, to have it des-
troyed by his own or his neighbors' stock.
This is clear loss. No one is pro6ted by it.
On the contrary, the laborer is poorer after
making crop than he was before. He has
been fooled. He spent the first three months
of the year in making rails and building
fences and in repairing old ones. A portion
of almost every day of the remaining months
that the crop was in the field was spent in
stopping hog holes, building up places of the
fence over which cattle had broken, or repair
ing water gaps. At least one hour in each
day is spent in this way, and in most cases
far more than this amount of time when the
crop is closely looked after. At the lowest
estimate, one-tenth of the laborer's time is
consumed in watching his crop, to say moth
ing about the winter work Of making and
hauling rails.
The present system imposes grievous and
useless expense upon the land holder. 1t
fixes an inconsistent value upon his lands.
Poor lands, with an abundance of rail timber,
are worth more in the market than rich and
fertile lands with no timber. Intrinsic worth
is not regarded. The timber sells the poor
land, whilst the rich land, without timber, is
almost unsaleable. If the present law con.
tinues in force for half another generation, the
best lands in the State will be turned out and
be known by the name Of cold fields" whilst
the poor barren hills only will be cultivated.
This will decrease the annual crops of the
State; decrease the value of land, and conse-
queutly the value of all other property.
This is not imagination. 1t is fact The
crisis is coming just as fast as old rails rot.
At present, there is scarcely decent fence in
the State. On all the large farms there are
scarcely any fences at all. The places where
the fence once was, is marked by small trees
and briers.
The change for which we are pleading is
simply this. Fence the stock and turn the
crop out! Those who desire to fence both
the crop and stock, let them do so but re-
quire all to fence the stock. We make no
sort of pretensions to prophetic knowledge
but such is not necessary to warrant any one
in asserting that change of the present fence
law must take place in less than ten years
During the expiration of that period, all the
fences in some sections will be so decayed thai
it will be utterly impossible to so repair them
as to make it at all safe to risk crop in the
fields Law or no law, the change we advo
cate will take place. If put into force now
it would save the people of the State vas
amount of labor and money; besides, it woulc
relieve the minds of farmers of care which
is oppressive. Let those whom this thing
most especially concerns think about it ane
speak out candidly.
SOUTH CAROLINA NEWS.
A drove of fifty hogs were recently sole
in Abbeville county at nine cents gross.
, The grading on the Cheraw and Chester
Railroad was commenced at Cheraw last week
Capt. Ellis has the contract from that place t(
Lynch's creek, which leaves a gap of only
seventeen miles on the whole line not yet con
tracted for.
A colored man in the Monterey section O
Abbeville county went off into trance
week or two ago in which he remained to'
several days On returning to consciousness
he was questioned as to what he had seen du
ring his sleep, and answered that he had beer
to heaven; but that he had seen no negroes
there.
- The annual communication of the Grand