FENCING, WALLING, HEDGING. G3 



down a foot apart, along the boundary line, and twisting willow 

 sticks between them, after the fasliion of nmking\a basket, but 

 in a coarser "way. This kind of fence is rather perishable, 

 and is often adopted when a hedge is planted ; so that it is 

 calculated the hedge will be ready to resist intruders by the 

 time the wicker fence has worn out. 



Another method of fencing is. to drive stakes sloping into 

 the earth six inches or rather more apart, and then to drive a 

 second row sloping the other w^ay, and nailing or tying these, 

 at the places "where they cross, at least at some of them, to 

 keep them firm and strong. These, how^ever, are fences that 

 will not last manj years ; they would endure W'hile a brier or 

 thorn hedge is growing, and that is as much as they would. 

 They take as little room as anything can, and so far they are 

 better adapted for enclosures than banks and ditches ; for if 

 there be any cattle loose near ditch and bank, they soon 

 tread down the sides of the ditch into the bottom, and are 

 not long, if neglected, before they make their way into the 

 enclosure. 



It is always a great point achieved if we can adapt the fence 

 to the growth of trees, because it seems then to be of value. 

 A close fence, too, is always a great protection to the borders 

 on two sides of a garden ; and w^arm borders are always 

 valuable. The question of whether you will have a ditch 

 outside your fence or not, is also a question of whether you 

 will waste a certain quantity of ground or not. If, however, 

 it be desirable, for the sake of draining, it is another ; because, 

 as you must have the ditch, it is better outside your fence than 

 inside ; for your border is of far more value when backed by 

 a close fence than at the edge of a ditch ; and no one w^ould 

 think of a ditch inside a fence. Then, however, comes 

 another question. If there be no ditch, your fence should be 

 four or five feet high at the least ; but if there be a ditch on 

 the other side, a three-feet fence vrould be as effective as the 

 five-feet one would be without the ditch, though it would be 

 less useful for trees ; in fact, it would be of no use at all in 

 that respect. 



As an internal fence, merely to preserve a portion of ground 

 from the intrusion of cattle, nothing is so cheap as fir poles 

 and posts, which can be had very reasonably. Cut the fir- 

 poles into any given lengths, that there may be some uni- 

 formity, and drive, or rather plant, strong posts in the ground 



