The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1875-05-06
From the Yorkuilk Enquirer.
Fences.

The man that undertakes to break an indi-
vidual from long formed habit, or to change
the manners and customs of people, engages
in difficult task. Success will only partially
crown his efforts and he will most probably be
hissed as setter-f forth of strange doctrines by
those whom he will fail to reclaim from bad
habits and by those whose long-establshed
customs he will not be able to change. A large
number of every community are, with respect
to their customs, as it was with the laws Of the
ancient Medes and Persians. They never
change. They build their houses, cook their
food, sit down and get up, eat and sleep, as did
their fathers The world moves forward, but
they stand STILL The theory that "circumstan-
ces alter cases" is, by this class of individuals,
regarded as totally false in theory, and they
feel at perfect liberty to treat it with absolute
contempt in practice.
The custom in this country-we mean in the
State of South Carolina-for the past hundred
years, has been to fence the crop and let the
stock run at large Now, the individual who
ntimates that he doubts the propriety OF con-
tinuirg this practice, may expect to incur the
upon circumstances. The question, however,
like the "Impending Crisis" about which we
all heard SO much some years ago, must come.
Circumstances which no single man can con-
troll, will force the question upon the country.
We predict that when the present fences which
enclose the planted fields of South Carolina rot
down, they will never be rebuilt. We have,
we think, good and solid reasons for making
this prediction. In some section there is not
timber to fence the fields. Absolute necessity
will force those residing in these sections to
fence in their stock and turn their crops out.
Partially, this is the case now. In some sparse
y timbered sections of the State there are not
enough rails on the farms to enclose one-tenth
of the land cultivated. All the division fences
have been removed, and so also have been the
fences which separate the farms of different
individuals. There is now only turn-row,
Again. the Legislature of adjoining States
have partially passed what is known as fence
law. Some portions of Mecklenburg County,
North Carolina, have no fences around their
crops. The farmers of those sections are de-
lighted with the working of the system. They
say it is cheaper and more advantageous IN
every respect. The system will gradually pass
from one section to another until the fences
will all be removed from around the planted
field.
1t is clear that such are the circumstances of
this country at present. that farmers must
either entirely give up the practice of raising
stock, or put their stock in enclosures. AS
tock-raising is carried on at present, large
per cent. of the stock bred dies of neglect. Of
that raised, large per cent is stolen; and the
remainder in multitude of ways and from
multitude of sources is ruinously abused. In
this section, so we'll adapted to stock-raislng,
farming cannot be conducted profitably with
out raising stock sufficient for home consump-
ton.
The objectors to change in the present sys-
tenn will be mainly those who have COW or q
pig which they contemplate raising out of
either the cribs or the fields of their neighbors.
They will claim that their COW and their pig
have an inalenabe right to root and browse
wherever their instincts may direct them.
These individuals will claim that their stock
have rights guaranteed.to them by nature, and
perpetuated to them by law, to 60 into every
field that is not enclosed with fence eight
feet high, and so close that a ground-squirrel
cannot crawl through the chinks. These indi-
viduals will claim this privilege for their stock
nm the ground that the world owes them liv-
ing. and it does not matter how or from whom
they get it. ,.,. n,,o
who buys forest is entitled to all its advan-
tapes. The grass and canes which spring up
upon it are as much his as the trees. They
are as much his, and he has as much right TO
say how they shall be used, as the corn that
grows in his cultivated fields. Change the
present fence system, and the number OF stock
will be reduced, but the quality greatly in
creased. Stock will then be regarded as prop
erty, and not as it now is-a nuisance.
yUL,, y oot e;prc flooc cho not fo II on