The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1885-07-10
The Removal Of Fences.


The Removal Of Fences.
A Maine farmer is reported as put.
ting the case thus strongly in favor Of
the abolition of fences: If l had my
way l wouldn't have a fence on my
farm. There are over $4,000 farmers
in Maine. These farms have in the
aggregate over $4,000, 900 rods of fence
or rising l31, 900 miles. This is out
side of ornamental fences and does not
include some 5000 miles or more
of railroad fencing. There are 1900
rods OF highway fencing, 100000
rods of partition fences, and some l5,-
100000 rods of division fences. Esti-
mating the cost of these fences at 81
per rod, and that would, think, be q
fair estimate, and the total cost of
fences in Maine is over S42,000,O0O.
This is nearly as much as all the farms
and their buildings are worth. 1t
is more than twice and half the value
of all our live stock and nearly as
much as the entire capital OF the State
invested in manufactures.
We have no means of verifying the
statistics here presented, but it is fair
to presume that they are measurably
correct. The immense saving to agri-
culture that would follow the removal
Of fences, as suggested in the forego-
ing remarks, is surely matter worthy
of consideration. A work of this kind
has been going on for some years in
small towns and villages where froot-
yard fences have been discarded,
and often the rear and side fences as
we'll. In most States the laws in re.
gard to cattle and other animals found
ct large, if enforced, are sufficient to
protect unenclosed grounds from depre-
dation from this source. Ifit came to be
the general practice to trust to these laws
entirely and promptly punish violations
of them it would soon be quite unnec-
essary to 90 to the expense of build
ing fences around lawns and gardens.
The expense of keeping cattle in
bounds, or compelling them to be kept
there, would be insigni6cant in COM
parison with the amount spent in build
ing fences mainly for the purpose of
protection. While it seems idle to talk
Of dispensing with fences altogether,
it appears as though it would be entire
ly practicable to do away with them
except for the purpose of limiting the
range of domestic animals. If the
grazing lands, yards and pens for cows,
sheep, ETC., were securely guarded there
would seem no longer any need of div
ision and highway fences, nor of parti-
ton fences intended merely as such.
The farms in many parts of the
country are divided up 10 much
greater extent than is necessary in any
case. In places where the ground is
very stony, about the only way to dis.
pose of the surplus rocks and cobbles
is to build them up in walls, and this
may sometimes afford a sufficient ex-
cuse for cutting up farm into a great
number of small enclosures. But
where such reasons are not to be ad-
duced, it appears like waste of time
and labor to divide up q small farm
into three and FIVE and ten acre lots.
1t costs money to obtain the material
and put up the fences; it costs to keep
them in repair, and last but not least
it costs time and labor to let down and
put up pair of bars every few rods 10
going from one part Of the farm
10 another. And then there is the
waste of land that always goes with
fences. If the farmer who computed
the statistics we have quoted had ad.
ded to them the amount, in acres, of
land rendered useless by the proximity y
of fences, and thus practically with
drawn from the area of tillable soil, the
results Of his computation would have
been still more astonishing. Espec-
tally solwould they be in district where
the zigzag rail fences are still in fash
ion. But even with the best construc-
ton and the most skill and care in
cultivation, there is always a wide
border of land along every fierce that
is practically wasted. And TO these
items are to be added the trouble and
annoyance of cultivatiug small enclos-
ures, the difficulty of ploughing them
properly, following all the turns and
sharp corners, and the damage to such
crops as corn and potatoes that is
almost unavoidable where the rows are
short and crooked and the plarting
done close up to the fences Where a
horse cultivator is used in such small
fields the growing crop must always
suffer more or less damage by tamI lins.
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