DISCUSSION ON FENCE LAW. 29 



cise ordinary or extraordinary diligence. But on the question of 

 what constitutes ordinary and what extraordinary diligence a 

 jury would very likely disagree. 



With regard to the law in relation to road-side fence where the 

 adjacent land is field, there has never been any absolute repeal of 

 the old statute, yet the declaration of the Legislature that stock 

 shall not be allowed in the highway repeals it inferentially, and I 

 suppose the court would take that view of it should it ever be 

 brought before our highest judicial tribunal. The Legislature 

 ought to make a law on the subject so that the farmers of the 

 State may know exactly how to govern themselves in the prem- 

 ises, and so that there may be no misapprehension as to the 

 meaning of the statute. 



Mr. Bailey of Bath expressed his dissent from the views of Dr. 

 Tuck, as to the expediency of feeding fields in the fall, holding 

 that if there were such a thing as a surplusage of grass it was 

 better to mow fields than to feed them, as in feeding the animal 

 tears up the grass roots. 



Gen. Merrow of Bowdoinham. Tradition has handed down 

 to us these road fences and let us adhere to them. If I go 

 through tlie country and see the fences down it looks bad to me — 

 like a drunkard's house with hats in the window. I want to know 

 when I go to bed that my field is safe, and if I have a good fence 

 it is safe. If your fences are down and a wild cow gets in your 

 field it takes three or four hours of your time to get her out. 

 Good fences make good neighbors. There are a great many miles 

 in our town where there are stone wall on both sides of the road. 

 It would be more work to move them than they are worth, and 

 whore are you going to put the stone ? 



Mr. Tenney of the Brunswick Telegraph. As to road fences 

 makijig good neighbors, if I can't live peaceably with my neighbor 

 without a big fence between us, he or I has got to move. I know 

 of people who fence themselves in with fences as high as their 

 windows, but they are not the right kind of people, and don't 

 make good neighbors, citizens or anj'thitig else that I know of. 

 Look at the fences by the side of the road in this town. They are 

 most abominable, — stump fences, and Virginia fences, and stone 

 walls out of repair. Now I don't think that there should be road- 

 side fences, but there should be something as a guide in the 

 winter, and that brings to mind the statement made by Prof. 

 Carmichael yesterday in regard to the apple trees planted by the 



