Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1880-01-14
Fencing and Fences.

lnlS lnlpOItdllt ouOJSO1 SOi'~"
home to everG owner Of farm or OF
a village lot that requires enclosure.
At a meeting of New Hampshire
farmers, several gentlemen publicly
offered to sell their farms for less
than what the existing fencing on
them had cost. In arccent address
at an agricultural Convention, Mr..
A. w. Cneever. editor IN. E. Far
mer." said he had carefully gone
over the statistics of farms, animals
crops, and cost of fences, and found
that sit takes, on the average for
the whole country, Sl.74 worth OF
fences to keep $1.65 worth of stock
from eating up S2.45 worth OF
crops"
Nine year ago the statistic, gath
cred at Washington showed that
the fences then in existence, had
cost 81, 747, 549, S3l. The add
tons since have raised the cost OF
the present fencing OF the country
to fully S2,OOO,OOO, 900. A mill
ion dollars is a pretty large sum to
count. or even to conceive of, 1--WE
cannot count one million in the
working days of a month, counting
one a second and 10 hours day,
but here are two thousand such
millions. The Unrest and repairs
amount TO over S3O0,00O,OOO a
year, and the rebuilding of decay
ing fences nearly as much more,
making our annual fence tax far
more than the entire cost OF the
Army, Navy, the General Govern
ment expenses and pensions,toge
er with the interest on the public
debt.
In N. Y. State, for example,
there are some $4,000 miles Of
roads requiring 10000 miles OF
fencing, costing over 100000
and the total fencing in this single
State has cost not less than $780,
100000.
During SO years past the"Amcr-
lean Agncultnrist'' has had not a
little to say as to the uselessness Of
a good deal of the fencing. But
much will be needed wherever live
animals are kept, and we propose
now to direct some effort to reduc-
ing the cost Of fencing generally,
If this one item in the United
States can be reduced only one
fourth, the saving will amount TO
S5OO,O0O.OOO. In the older States
there are an average OF about two
miles Of fenciog for each 1OO-acrc
farm. costing about 81 a rod, OF
S64O, If, in building new fences
and replacing old ones, we can
erect them at & to : the cost of the
present fences, and have those that
will last two, three, four or more
times as long,and require but small
annual repairs, the average value Of
farms will be enhanced some hun
dreds of dollars at least. fla mar
row effective fence can take the
place of the ordinary "worm fence,
there will be a great decrease in TIC
production of weeds and foul plants,
Two miles of such fence on a farm,
occupying strip 81 feet wide will
its projecting corners, wastes two
full acres OF ground, worth $3.50, Oh
more. The cost of Iron, and recon
tly of Steel, are greatly reduced
and they have come into very large,
ly increased use in ship-building,
house-building, etc. Why SHOULD
they not take the place Of wood il
all varieties of fencing, both fol
posts and rails ? Such change Is
already rapidly taking place.
More than 100000 miles Of
Barbed Wire Fence have been re
Gently erected, Whether this style
OF fencing is best, or desirabiei
whether 1t is too barbarous or not,
for general adoption over our vast
timberless prairies at the West,
and what forms can be adopted il
in our more thickly settled regions,
for highway fences, for village LOT
enclosures, ETC., will be exam inet
and discussed in future paper s.
american AQjiculturist,