The Portland daily press., 1880-03-16
AGRICULTURAL.
Fencing and Fences.


This important subject comes home to ev
cry owner of a farm or of a village lot re-
quiring enclosure. AT meeting of New
Hampshire farmers, several gentlemen pub
licly offered to sell their farms for less than
what the existing fencing on them had cost.
In a recent address at an Agricultural Con-
vention, Mr.. A. W. Cheever, editor of the N.
E. Farmer, said he had carefully gone over the
statistics of farms, animals, crops, and cost
of fences, and found that: 1T takes, on
the average, for the whole country, STA
of fences to keep $1.65 worth of stock from
eating S2.45 worth of crops"
Nine years ago the statistics gathered at
Washington showed that the fences then in
existence had cost $1,747, 549,931. The ad-
ditions since have raised the cost of the pres
ent fencing of the country to fully $780,
100000. A million dollars is 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
ten(hours day., but here are two thousand
such millions. The interest and repairs
amount to over $200,000,000 year, and the
rebuilding of the decaying fences nearly as
much more, making our annual fence tax
far more than the entire cost of the army,
navy and general government expenses and
pensions, together with the interest on the
public debt.
In New York State, for example, there are
some 5000 miles of roads requiring $50, 900
miles of fencing, costing over $50,000,000,
and the total fencing in this single State has
not cost less than $3.50, 100000.
During 80 years past the American Agri-
culturist has had not little to say as to the
uselessness of a good deal of fencing. But
much will be needed wherever live animals
are kept, and we propose now to direct some
effort to reducing the cost of fencing gener-
ally. If this one item in the United States
can be reduced only one-fourth, the saving
will amount to $500,000,000. In the older
States, there are an average of about two
miles of fencing for each 100-acre farm,
costing about 81 rod, or $640. If, in build
ing new fences and replacing old ones, we
can erect them at two-thirds to three-fourths
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 hundreds of dollars at least.
If narrow, effective fence can take the
place of the ordinary ''worm fence" there
will be a great decrease in the production of
weeds and foul plants. Two miles of such
fence on a farm, occupying strip IA feet
wide with its projecting corners, wastes ta o
full acres of ground, worth $3.50, or more.
The cost of iron and recently of steel, are
greatly reduced, and they have come into
very largely increased use in shipping,
house-building, etc. Why should they not
take the place of wood in all varieties of
fencing both for posts and rails? Such a
change is already rapidly taking place.
More than 100000 miles of Barbed Wire
Fence have been recently erected. Whether
this style of fencing is best or desirable /;
whether it is too barbarous or not for gener-
al adoption over our vast timberless prairies
at the west, and what forms can be adopted
way fences, for village lot enclosures, ETC.,
will be examined and discussed in future
papers.-America Agriculturist.