320 INDIANA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 

 Solon Robinson to Incog, about Hedging. 



[Chicago Union Agriculturist, 2:67; Aug., 1842] 



[June 30, 1842] 

 Dear Sir — I have long intended to make some reply to 

 Incog upon his remarks in the May No., accusing me of 

 inconsistency about hedging, &C., 1 but circumstances have 

 till now prevented. 



I do not wish to discourage any one from trying experi- 

 ments in hedging. I have no doubt that something will 

 yet be found to answer; but, after witnessing so many 

 failures with the thorn, why should I continue to believe 

 that they will prove otherwise on the prairie? I grant 

 there are several kinds that flourish wild in our country, 

 but will they flourish when trained in a hedge? I have 

 not tried them: who has? I still repeat, "that all at- 

 tempts at fencing, with sods or banks of earth, in such 

 a loose friable soil, is buying wit too dear." But I still 

 believe that a ditch can be made so as to form a good 

 fence, and not very expensive. So can a fence be made 

 by embankment, when the ground is well set in blue 

 grass. — This I have tried. For my own part, I cannot 

 see the 'discrepancy' in the two articles, written at dif- 

 ferent dates, which Mr. Incog sees. Neither have I 

 changed my views in regard to fencing since I first set- 

 tled upon the prairie, except to deprecate the use of 

 sods, and doubt the success of thorn hedges. 'The 

 grounds of my advice' have been already given ; and, for 

 still stronger grounds, I beg to refer Incog to the article 

 of 'Commentator,' page 78, of the last May No. of the 

 Cultivator, the author of which I happen to know to be 

 a man that never puts forth opinions at random. 



There is another view that I have about fencing which 

 I have often expressed, and now do so again ; and I ven- 

 ture to say that Incog, unless he really belongs to the 

 family of the Incogatives, will not attempt to deny. It 



'Chicago Union Agriculturist, 2:44. Incog was the title under 

 which M. L. Knapp wrote for each issue of the Agriculturist a 

 review of the preceding number. See post, 363 n. 



