December 8, 1906 



HORTICULTURE 



619 



The Fence 



Away back about twelve or fourteen years ago we 

 heard a great deal about abolishing fences, especially 

 those on suburban streets. I am indeed sorry that the 

 agitation has gone to sleep, and very little has been 

 done since then. At that time, such men as President 

 Charles W. Eliot of Harvard, Lyman Abbott, Minot J. 

 Savage, Phillips Brooks, Edwin Arnold, took part in 

 the great controversy. 



Why not open the discussion again? Let us see if 

 we can't get rid of some of the abominable fences that 

 are on our best suburban streets. At this season, when 

 vines and climbers, trees and shrubs have lost their 

 leaves there is nothing left to hide the ugliness of these 

 so-called fences. 



In a city like Cambridge, Massachusetts, which is 

 largely occupied by cultured people, one would expect 

 such fences would be an eyesore to most of the inhabi- 

 tants. Yet the thing does not seem to trouble them, 

 and the structures stand there from year to year. Even 

 on some of our best streets one can find a dozen or 

 more different kinds of fences of all shapes and sizes. 

 There are streets here that I pass through almost 

 daily which, if given to a landscape gardener to clear 

 out all fences and obstructions, then allowing him to 

 plant the whole of the streets with system, the proper- 

 ties there would advance thousands of dollars in value. 

 Although I mention Cambridge, many other suburban 

 towns are in just as bad condition. 



There are many useless excuses given for retaining 

 these fences, such as protection from dogs and boys, 

 and they are good for training vines on during the 

 summer. I have not yet seen the fence that will keep 

 out a boy if he wants to get in. And for training vines 

 a temporary structure could be built which could be re- 

 moved in winter, that is if the vines were needed after 

 the fence was removed. 



We have one street in Cambridge where there are no 

 fences. On this street the grass is better and the trees 

 and shrubbery look healthier than they do on the 

 streets where fences are used. If we must have a boun- 



dary line, why not use a low liedge such as Berberis 

 Thunbergii ? 



When I see a fence between two pieces of property I 

 always imagine the people have a disagreement and that 

 the one does not want the other to step on to his prop- 

 erty. 



People get into the habit of doing things, and they 

 have been building fences for such a long time that it 

 is hard to break them off the habit. We are more civ- 

 ilized now and do not need so many useless fences. The 

 only purpose the old fences serve is harboring insects, 

 that are injurious to vegetation. I know of no more 

 tempting place for the gypsy moth to lay its eggs in 

 than in the crevices of an old fence. 



There are certain places where we can't do without 

 fences, but these notes are principally written to call 

 attention to the inherent ugliness of the useless and 

 unsuitable fences we see in our beautiful suburbs. The 

 only people who have mastered the art of building 

 fences are the Japanese. Travellers who have been in 

 that country have told me that they show wonderful 

 artistic taste, ability and clever craftmanship in build- 

 ing their fences. Their smallest gardens are fenced in 

 by charming paling, the general character of which is 

 simplicity itself. 



If there is any one who does not believe what I have 

 said, let him take an hour's walk anywhere in the sub- 

 urbs and see if my statements arc not correct. I hope 

 Horticulture will take up this matter and let us hear 

 from New York, Philadelphia and, in fact, from all 

 over the country as to what they are doing to abolish the 

 objectionable fence. Every one who is interested in 

 horticulture should try to do something to make this 

 country more beautiful. Our civic and suburban im- 

 provement societies should hammer away at this sub- 

 ject until something is accomplished. 



The Sportsman Spirit in the Exhibition 



Editor Horticulture: 



.Your editorial in issue of Nov. 17th on the unsports- 

 manlike action of some florists who have not sufiBcient 

 of that essence of stamina, "sporting blood," to stay in 

 a contest they have entered, but "quit cold," is touch- 

 ing upon a very important subject, for it certainly has 

 got to be quite a proposition for the conductors of 

 shows to know just where they stand, there being no 

 way to estimate on number of competitors in the vari- 

 ous classes, for no longer is the prize money the main 

 object, but the advertising value seems to have over- 



shadowed what little sport was once enjoyable to so 

 many; the display at the show suffers in each instance 

 where there is a forfeit, and of late there have been too 

 many such. Something must be done; this quitting 

 lias got to be stopped. The proper and good spirit is 

 the one that is tinged with just enough sporting blood 

 to stick in a fight when once entered, until the end, and 

 then defeat will not appear near as bad as though the 

 white feather had been shown. 



I have been thinking of remedies and two come to 

 mv mind as noteworthv: first, that a fine of $.5.00 or 



