400 INDIANA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 



except they first dig a ditch, whether the land is wet or 

 dry. The best style of fence upon these banks would be 

 palisades, which might be made as follows: — Cut the 

 stuff four feet long, of lasting wood, and split it the size 

 of rails, and sharpen the upper ends ; set these in the line 

 of the centre of the bank, and throw the dirt around 

 them. This is done by one hand to put them, one at a 

 time, in place and hold them, while another throws dirt 

 enough around to secure them. They should stand about 

 four inches apart, and project above the top of the bank 

 about two and a half feet. No animal will ever climb 

 over such a fence from the bottom of a ditch, nor vice 

 versa. The fence will be better, if a strip of board is 

 nailed along the face of the stakes, about four inches 

 from the top as that prevents any one piece being re- 

 moved out of place. Perhaps a wire stretched along and 

 nailed to each stake, would be cheaper than wood strips. 

 This kind of fence will be found to be a very cheap and 

 good one, wherever the owner has, or will dig a ditch. It 

 takes less timber than a rail fence, and will last as long 

 with less repairs. I would recommend gentlemen who 

 are troubled with cattle pushing through hedges, to 

 stretch a wire along through the limbs, or perhaps two 

 of them. Generally speaking, the Virginia fences are 

 very good, and in such abundance that they are a most 

 enormous tax upon industry. Solon Robinson. 



Sketches of Canada. 



[New York American Agriculturist, 9:307-9; Oct., 1850] 



[August 19, 1850] 



On the 13th of August, I left Buffalo for a flying visit 

 into that terra incognita to many of your readers, now 

 known as "Canada West," a designation that, like many 

 other improvements, does not improve greatly upon the 

 ancient and well-known name of Upper Canada. But 

 we won't quarrel about names until after "annexation," 

 and then we will call it "the State of Ontario." 



