The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-06-06
Stock Law No. 3.

Alamance. it is due TO the fact that
it costs too much to grow u sta
ple products, corn, wheat, rye, oats,
tobacco and hay. Now, 1t Is a
significant fact, that Il Of tie
greatest costs Of production bear
Ing so heavily upon the agriculture
OF AIamance lies in It's fences.
Let us take for illustration, Mel
viii Township, that has perhaps, as
good a population OF enterprlslng
citizens, possessing as much VIM
and spirit for Improvement, with
as good natural soil as any town
ship in the county, and apply a
few facts from the record and see II
it won't set them to thinking serI-
ouslv upon the subject under con-
sideration. Eleven men have reg
istered 1888 dollars worth OF stock,
and &c. 600 panels Of fence worth
at 20 cents a pannel, 1920 dollars,
showing that they enjoy the glorl-
Gus privilege (f there is any glory
in it, Of paving 9 dollars for fenc-
inc for every dollars worth of stock
they own. This might be termed
glory withou5th the hallelujah. Again
1872 men sd women have listed
156 head - cutie, worth i, 53G dol
lars, LBS head of hogs, worth T.
G?6 dol...r5. 691 head of sheep,
worth Lose dollars, 3 goats worth
3 dollars, aggregating s, 101 dollars,
with 222.05O panels Of fence worth
at 20 cents Il panel s44,4l0. Sup
posing Melville to be an average
township and we multiply the So
2O1 dollars worth of stock by IL,
which | believe is the number of
townships IN the county, we would
have in Alamance 90,21l dollars
worth of stock. and to multiply
the 222,05O panels of fence by the
same number would give 2,44f,55O
panneIs or 24.442, 300 rails, worth
at 20 cents a pannel, 1890 dol
lars nearly half Il million OF non
productive capital invested III
fences. The interest on this amount
at 6 per cent, would be S29,3l0,
more than would be required to
build three separate fences 10 rails
high round the county. Let Us
make Il few figures to sustain tins
assertion.
Surprising the distance round
! the county to be 20 miles estl-
mating $40 rods to the mile,
we would have ., 400 rods, count
ING 20 rails to the rod would re-
quire 4fS. 900 rails, these at 20
cents a panel or 10 cents a rod
would be worth IS, 800, deducting
this amount from the S44S. $40 %
invested in fences and you will have
balance left of 439,550 dollars to
build all necessary inside fences,
an amount amply sufficient think
to satisfy the most incredulous and
skeptical upon this question. De-
duet 20 per cent. of this amount
which | think would be amply suf-
ficient for all necessary pasture and
lot fences. and we would still have
Il balance Of 1898, 600. Now if we
will adopt the stock law and use
this amount III giving our children
Il generous, liberal, industrial, bus
mess education to prepare them Tor
the active and important duties OF
after life. we will do more for them
than all the free schools has done
for twenty years past. or may yet
10, under their present progress and
management for the next hail cen
turv. 1t is alleged that to adopt
the stock law would be to Cypress
the poor. | take it that the land
holders 7 at present more
in the power Ct the tenants and
renters, than the latter are III the
power of the former. The custom
of renting with lis has been; that
the tenant or renter Is required to
make rails. build and keep IN re-
pair all the fences on the farm or
lands he cultivates. Now when Il
stock law is in force, he would get
rid of this surplus labor and eN-
pense on his part, and his time
could be used in production, MAX
ing composts and improvement of
the lands he cultivates, and the
owners of the lands can afford to
pay better wages for labor, than
under the present system. | have
a letter n my possession from a
very enterprising, intelligent, in
fluential and observing farmer,
from Mecklenburg county, stating
that N the sections where the stock
law had been III operation for sew
eral years, the poorer classes,
both white ard black. who had OPP
posed and voted against its adop-
ton at first the latter is So well
pleased with it now, that they al
most without exception, petition
the last legislature to enact the pres
ont stock Inv for that cauntE md