The L'Anse sentinel., 1924-02-22
WITH THE
HIGH SCHOOL
CLASSICS
By MARGARET BOYD

1culties that attended fenclns a~garuen
Or field before the days of wire fenc-
ing; yet one does not need TO be very
old TO remember when the first woven
wire fences were pu; up.
Before the days of wire fencing, the
common fencing materials were rails.
boards, pickets. stumps, stone and
hedges.
The most popular fences for inclos-
ing fields before the days OF wire
fencing we're rail fences; while board
fences or picket fences were common
ly used for incloslng gardens or lawns.
Building rail fence was matter
of great skill and NO little labor. The
trees that were TO be used for rails
were first cut into logs Of the desired
length, and the logs were then split
into rails. Oak and chestnut were the
favorite woods for rails in the country
where i grew up. but hickory and
walnut and hard maple and the othef
hardwood trees were also used. Well
built rail fences would last for half
century or more, increasing in pictur-
esqueness as they became weathered
and oyergrown with moss and lichen-
Old rail fences were a fayorite haunt
Of the striped chlpmunk and the lizard
ana the fence corners of such fences
were usually grown up with blackber-
ries, sassafras, sumac and the like.
Up through Michigan, Ontario and
other parts OF the northern country
one often sees stump fences-the
weirdest possible objects especially in
dim twilight. The stumps are usually
great things several feet In diameter
and are hauled out of the ground
with several feet OF roof fringing them
the whole way around. They are ar
ranged on edge around the field, ordi-
narily with the bottom Of the stump
facing the road and the top of the
stump facing the field and with the
roots interlocking in the air like the
tentacles Of great octopuses.
Stone fences are commonly found In
the hilly and mountainous sections Of
the eastern and southern states. They
were built by farmers who knew of
no other way to dispose of the stones
that they picked up when clearing
their fields, and grow higher from
year 10 year as each plowing turns up
more stones. They are very often
overgrown with grapevines and poison
Ivy and Virginia creeper and briars
and are the most picturesque Of all
fences when these plants wear their
autumn colors.
"FiIIed with water from a neiohbor.
ing stream."-lvanhoe.
In earlier days houses we're built
near streams wherever possible in or
der TO insure a plentiful supply OF
water for household use. Those not
fortunate enough to have springs and
clear streams on their land Were com
PEELED to dig wells; but those who had
springs rarely bothered about wells.
Whatever the respective merits Of
streams and wells as sources OF water
for washing and cooking and the
like, there Is no question as to which
Is the more satisfactory 20 children.
Every normal child longs 10 play In
water, and a tubful of water drawn
from q well Is poor substitute for
stream with minnows and crawfish
and other living things in II.
To those who did not spend large
part of their childhood playing in
streams, 1t Is surprising how many
things live in even small brook.
There are the caddis flies, for ex-
ample. with their amazing houses
with the wonderful netting over the
entrance.
Fishing for minnows with a bit of
cord and bent pin is far from being
despicable sport, even though one
never lands minnow. Fishing for
crawfish with piece of cord and a
pebble for a sinker is even more OK
citing, however, for the dextrous
can often manage to land the craw-
hsh. The greatest Of all sports. though,
Is to catch crawfish by hand. To
find them you must turn over the
stones in the bottom Of the stream
When you lift stone the mud Of the
stream bottom is stirred up enough IN
cloud the water. Smell boys usually
plunge their hands right into the
muddy water and grab for whatever
may have been under the stone.
The most terrible looking of the
small streams denizens is the hellgra.
mite. 1t is truly ferocious-looking and
only the value set on Il as a bait for
bass fishing would lead the average
child to interfere with II. The saIa-
manders. red and gray. that are to
be found wherever a bit Of brush and
leaves check the streams current. look
dangerous to the city bred. but the
country child knows they are harm
less.
All sorts OF other life is to be found
In Sream--polllwogs and tadpolea,
wiggletails and water Nbeetles. snaIls
and wee clans, and even leeches and
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