132 TRAVELS IN THE CONFEDERATION 



not but be astonished at the inventive genius of the in- 

 habitants. But in every case, the device shows that 

 more care has been taken to avoid trouble than to save 

 wood and space or to build durably. Commonly the 

 fences are but dead enclosures, either light poles or 

 split logs, bound together in one way and another, laid 

 the one over the other, or, it may be, upright stakes 

 worked in and across, and so forth. The so-called 

 ' worm-fences ' are the commonest, and for this pur- 

 pose chestnut wood, if to be had, is used because of its 

 lightness and because it lasts well, barked. Kalm took 

 the trouble to give drawings of several sorts of worm- 

 fence, but they deserve imitation nowhere. 



Live hedges are extremely rare, only to be seen near 

 certain towns ; they find the planting and the attention 

 too troublesome. However, in many regions a live 

 fence is very ingeniously managed. In order to enclose 

 a piece of land they choose out the younger trees, and 

 if a sufficiency is not found in the line, they plant others 

 so as to fill up the row the trees must all be soft and 

 and pliant and stand together as much as possible. 

 Then, a deep cut is made in the trunk, several feet 

 above the ground, and the sapling is bent until it lies 

 horizontal, making a right angle with the butt. In this 

 way the row is gone through, one sapling bent over the 

 other ; the cut heals, and this part of the trunk be- 

 comes a good knuckle for all manner of growth. For 

 the rest, the trees thrive, the branches spread, inter- 

 cross, and together with the sprouts coming up from 

 the butt and the roots, form a pretty thick and lasting 

 enclosure. This sort of fence is seen especially in cer- 

 tain parts of Long Island. 



From Rocky-hill the road, ascending, leads into a 



