The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1877-08-16
THE FENCE Law.
Essay read by Mr. y. +. Graytom before
the State Grange, upon the subject Of the
neW Fence Ld,o.

Progress and improvement is the order
of the day. We see It at every turn.
We neither SOW nor reap as our fathers
did. Change is seen in everything save
the fencing around our fields. This
alone is prncticed rs il was two hundred
years ago, and there is no change that
has been made by an agricultural people,
when change is so imperatively demand
cd ard so easily pointed out. To state it
would seem to be all that is necessary :
to argue it would only be to confound.
The proposed change in the fence law
consists in this, and this only, fence or
inclose stock and turn out crops.
The arabic or cultivated lands il about
ten times as great as is necessary for pas.
ture. My observation IL that one acre ia
sufficient for each head of cattle, and
that hogs pay best when confined in
small pens | find by the returns in the
Auditors office of this County that the
average farm is forty acres. This Is Just
ten times as much as is necessary for the
pasture, as no farm of that size should
keep more thnn four head of cattle. As.
suming these returns to be correct, and
TO inclose the farms Of the C0unty in ten
acre fields, which, | believe, ~ above the
average size. it would require, estimating
rails Mt $l.O0 per hundred, near $400, 900
to pay for the fencing of this County. l
believe II Is generally conceded that ten
them in repair. Think of this $40, 900
annually spent in repniring fences-a
sum sufficient to- pay our State and Coun-
~ taxes. If 30, can farmers prosper
under such management.
Prude:ice and economy CRY aloud for
;;;.o chiamsV. With With riiF frurrsi iund re.
duced more than three fourt:is in forty
years, and our population increased ive
fold in the same time, how long will it
require, at this rate, to destroy the bal
ance Of the timber? l think we should
leave some tn postcrity, Mt lcast enough
to show the kind of timber TINT formerly
grew in this country. 1t ia argued bv
aome that this change in the fence law IL
demanded alone by the large land-ow,.-
ems. / contend that the reverse is true.
prudent man with tract of fifty acres
will retain one-hnlf in forest, whilst a
tract of one hundred acres will require
a:ne-.h!::!, tree. cf enc thousand cs:: &c
kept up with one hundred acres, or ten
per cent. As you will readily perceive,
the larger the premises, the lorger the
fields, the smaller number of rails per
acre Will be required to enclose them.
This being tine case, the poor man, on
fifty acrea, has one-hnlf locked up or
dead capital; the middle man, on his
ole hundred acres, has but one-si,iitl
productive; and tho party with one
thousand can bring all into cultivation
but one hundred, thus reserving but ten
per cent. 1t may 30 urge1 that the
change will reduce tine nnmber ,f cattle,
II 20, good will be accomplished, M this
ia not grazing country, and Ms yo,,
diminish the number you improve the
quality. Far better they be- kept on
email pastures and soiled, thus improv-
ing. the manure heaps, and saving time
by having them at hand instead of cours
ing them by the bell, to 10 driven up at
night or. what is wczse, suffering them to
remain ont. Again, it Is argued that by
the proposed change we lose tbe CLEAN.
ing of the fields. I think it is generally
conceded that more injury is dono the
land and subsequent crops, than benefits
derived by the stock. All good farmers
know the great injury done to our fields
by the hc0f in wet weather, and yet how
few keep them off. / cannot see how
any sane man can Insist for the present
custom, when everything cries aloud for
the change.