The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1877-05-30
Fence or no Fence.

brighter unto the perfect day of Gods
everlasting glory.
Fence or no Fence.
Whether we should enclose our crops
and "turn out" the remainder Of our
farms, or fence up the pasture and leave
the cultivated portions unprotected by
any kind Of fence save the law of the
land, are questions that have now and
then agitated Che minds of the people of
every ono of the States Of this nnion.
Firm adherents can be found to both
sides of the question. We confess to
having never become clearly settled in
our opinion upon this subject.
When we see our noble forest felled an
nually by the thousands of acres to pro-
cure fresh land to cultivate after we
have, by a most slovenly system, CALLED
and impoverished rs many more fertile
acres; when we know that far moro
economy could be practiced upon the
farm by avoiding the necessity of having
so many thousands of rails mauled every
winter; when we know that almost ev-
cry farmhouse burns as much wood in
each fireplace as ought to supply dwell
ing, and kitchen, and w~ashhOusc, dur
ing the cold eeason when we know that
a strip of land ten feet wide running
around every side of the field, and this
frequently the best land in the field, is
lost to cultivation because Of the fence ;
when we show that every. negro in the
South will have a cow, and never thinks
he is a freeman until he can tie his, Owl
cows horn to her fore foot to KEEP her
from jumping the fence that he won't fix
up; when we think of the thousands of
dollars that are lost to the intrinsic
wealth Of the country by the mauling
and hauling and buildidg and repairing
that is necessary to keep up the fences
around our farms when we think of the
provocation to say hard words when fox
hunters, tramps, jumping cattle or 9TH
er n%uisances make gaps in fences,
and cannot be punished for it when we
think how easy it would be to make a
fat COW out of a poor one, a profitable
COW out Of an expensive one, if the own
er was simply compelled to keep it up.
take care Of it, feed it, treat it rs the re-
turns would prove it should be treated
when We think it is the crop that brings
in the money and enriches the country,
and not lief forests or pasture lands, and
are therefore the more worthy Of lawful
protection on that account; when we
think how much better one good COW Is
Gldll q hCio '" pOol OilCS WHICH,
we think how easy it is to herd cattle and
sheep and even hogs together so that
they will need but the care of a single
person a few hours each day to prevent
their strolling out of sight; when VIC
think what a pleasure it is, what a real
luxury to sit and watch improved herds
and flocks pasturing and grazing over
luxuriant meadows and fields; we say,
when we think Of all these things, we
can but wonder legislation has not long
since required our farmers to set about
improving their stock by abolishing the
existing fence law and allowing our
broad acres to be cultivated without the
miles and miles of hideouu worm fences
everywhere seen.
But then, when we have looked at the
other side Of this question, and thought
how ignorant most OF our people are,
even Of the old established law upon this
subject, and how sparsely settled our
country is, and how much easier it is to
enclose the cultivated field than it would
be to enclose all the remainder of the ma
iority of Southern farms, and how every
farmer would think he was bound to
fence in all the balance of his lands if he
were permitted to throw out his fields,
and what a small proportion of the labor
llE uSo bhO oooLl tlC
landowners, (even though every one
that can owns a cow and that class arc
opposed to a stock law, because they
think that all the unenclosed pasture
lands are, by a natural right, as free to
their COWS as to the Owner of the pasture,
and of what mlnor Importance to our
farmers the care of stock is when conf
pared to the intatuation they have for
the "cotton PATCH" an1 what wonderful
social and Industrial revolution it would
make to establish u took law and abol-
ish our fences, We have halted between
two opinions. Much can be said on both
sides of this question, and moro on the
other, look ut it as you will.
Absence Of fences is an evidence Of
progressive farming. When we go into q
city, a town or village, land there arc
some Of these last in the United States)
where the roses grow, as it were, "out.
DOORS" and the vegetable gardens are not
enclosed, we at once know there is All Or
dinance there preventing stock going al
large, and with this idea is also immedi.
ately coupled the thought that the cow
there arc carefully housed and well fed,
and, in consequence, the people have
plenty of milk.
But if we see a village with its streets
and pavements filthy, and the lots all en-
closed, or even a farm with high ''staked
and ridered" fences, we are not long in
coming to the conclusion that idlers and
d~epredators, four-tooted and horned, are
round about.
We once heard q man say O traveller
could 20 alone from northern Missouri
into Iowa and tell, without being inform
ed, when he entered the latter State, be-
cause all the farming evidences were 50
much more progressive and thrifty !; and
he attributed it all to the fact that tho
stock were enclosed in Iowa and the
crops were not whilst in Missouri the
reverse was the case. We have been
told, too, that in North Carolina, where
the option was given to counties to vote
'fence or nc tence,'' wherever mo fence
ciled to it, farms have been improved, cat
tie have increased in number and value,
and the farmers would not, if they could,
return to the "old rut." We have also
heard grumblers at several places where
we have seen the 10 fence law in force,
but we did not regard their complaints
because the thing seemed chronic, and
we oil know there are some men who
would suffer torture if they had no op-
portunity to grumble.
Fences are by no means universal
throughout the Union. Several of the
Northwestern States require owners to
enclose their stock. Inportions of North
Carolina, Virginia and ono or two north
eastern States, the ain law prevails.
In one or two of the southwestern States
the effort has been made, but without
success, to abolish fences.
In Europe land is too valuable to be
appropriated to fences. In England
hedges superseded fence, and now hedges
are considered Objectionable because their
roots monopolize too much land
Throughout France and northern Italy,
and central and northern Europe, fences
are almost unknown. Often the divisions
Of land do not appear at all. Wire fences
were even abolished, and the only land
marks are stone posts at tho corners of
the land to designate it's outlines.
This question of "Fence or no Fence"
will, in all probability, come before the
Legislature at its present session for &C.
ton, a the State Grange appointed n
committee to memorabilia that body upon
this subject, and we trust they will per-
form the duty imposed upon them. The
committee consists of Messrs. lredel
Jones, Of York; J. N. Huffman, of Rich
land +; and R. G. Carlisle, of Newberry,
practical men who understand the subject