Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1885-09-09

miles, This is outside Of ornamental
fences, and does not include some z, 600
miles or more of railroad fencing.
There are II, 200 rods of highway fences
10000, 900 rods of partition fences, and
some Is, 900, 900 rods of division fences.
Estimating the cost of these fences at
81 per rod, and that would think be
a fair estimate, and the total cost of
fences in Maine is over $4,000, 900.
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 foregoing
remarks, is surely a matter worthy of
considerations. A work of this kind
has been going on for some years in
small towns and villages where front
yard fences have been discarded, and
often the rear and side fences as we'll.
In most states the law in regard to cat
tie and other animals found at large if
enforced, are sufficient to protect unen-
closed grounds from depredations from
this source. If it came to be the general
practice to trust to these laws entirely
and promptly punish violations of them
it would soon be quite unnecessary to
60 to the expense of building fences
around lawns and gardens. The ex-
pense of keeping cattle in bounds, or
compelling them to be kept there, would
be insignificant in comparison with the
amount spent in building 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 entirely practicable to do
away with them except for the purpose
of limiting the range of domestic ami
mails. If the grazing lands, yards
and pens for cows, sheep, etc., were
securely guarded there would seem no
longer any need of division and high
way fences, nor of partition fences in
tended merely as such. The farms
in many parts of the country are
divided up to much greater extent than
is necessary in any case. In places
where the ground is very stony, about
the only way to dispose of the surplus
rocks and cobbles is to build them up
in. walls, and this may sometimes
afford sufficient excuse for cutting
up farm into a great number of small
enclosures. But where such reasons
are not to be adduced, it appears like
a waste of time and labor to divide up
a 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 in going from one part
of the farm to 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 added to them the amount, in
acres, of land rendered useless by the
proximity of fences, and thus practically
withdrawn from the area of tillable
soil, the results of his computation
would have been still more astonishing.
Especially so would they be in a dis
trict where the zigzag rail fences are
still in fashion. But even with the
best construction and the most skill
and care in cultivation, there is always
wide border of land along every
fence that is practically wasted. And
to these items are to be added the
trouble and annoyance of cultivating
small enclosures, the difficulty of
ploughing them properly, following
all the turns and sharp corners,
and the damage to such crops as corn
and potatoes that's almost unavoidable
where the rows are short and crooked
and the planting done close up to the
fences. Where horse cultivator is
used in such small fields the growing
crop must always suffer more or less
damage by trampling. Other reasons
than these might be given why fences
are often positive loss to the farmer
and great hinderance to the success
full cultivation of his land. Without
going so far as to say, with the Maine
farmer, that fences should be discarded
altogether, it certainly seems as though
it would be a measure of wisdom and
economy to have as few of them as
possible and restrict their use mainly
to enclosures for stock and gra ling
purposes.