562 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



Removing Fences. &quot;We would recommend to all farmers the maintaining only of 

 such fences on the farm as are absolutely necessary for the safety of the crops, and the con 

 finement of the stock, and the removal of all such as are not essential. Unnecessary fences 

 on a farm are an expensive nuisance. 



In England, where hedges have been used quite extensively during the past, they have 

 to a certain extent, during the last decade, been undergoing a process of extermination, and 

 there are at present thousands of miles of hedges less than there were formerly. In this 

 country, as previously stated, in those sections where needless fences have been removed, a 

 great improvement has been effected in the general appearance of the farms, as well as the 

 convenience of cultivation and the reduction of the expenses of the farm. In the removal of 

 useless fences, but little labor, comparatively, will be required for those constructed of light 

 materials, such as rails or boards. The removal of the stone- walls, however, that are found 

 in many parts of New England, would involve much labor and expense, and in some instances 

 it is questionable whether their removal would pay for all the expenditure of time and labor 

 that would be required to accomplish the object. This would depend upon the locality of the 

 wall, the improvement and convenience secured by its removal, and the use to which the 

 stones could be appropriated, or the facility with which they might be gotten out of the way. 

 Many of these walls have been built for a century or more, and have been kept in repair 

 from generation to generation. They were appropriated to this use, originally, partly because 

 the fences were considered a necessity, and partly as a means of getting rid of the stones by 

 which the land was encumbered. &quot;What to do with the stones, in removing such fences, would 

 be the question to be considered. The best and most practical way of disposing of them is 

 to use them where they will be a benefit in drainage. On nearly every farm there are wet 

 lands that require drainage, and by using these incumbra,nces of the land for this purpose, 

 acres of new or virgin soil may be secured for cultivation that might otherwise be nearly 

 worthless for agricultural purposes. 



Ravines and swales may also be filled with stones, while many may be utilized for the 

 foundation of farm buildings, and thus in one way and another they can be disposed of in 

 a manner that will increase the value of the farm. 



Mr. Starr, the former proprietor of the famous Echo Farm, settled the perplexing ques 

 tion of what to do with the stones in clearing his fields of them, in a manner that may be of 

 advantage to some other farmers to imitate who have this difficulty to meet. 



Selecting an untillable spot in a field in which there were one or two natural mound-like 

 hillocks, a large pile of stones was made, consisting of several hundred loads, and, as an 

 experiment, this pile was covered with tussocks of coarse swamp-grass, which are hard of 

 decomposition. These were inverted, covering the stones. On this foundation, a light dress 

 ing of soil was placed, and grass-seed sown. 



This experiment proved a success; the grass soon -? 



grew over this artificial mound, which appeared to 

 bear the protracted droughts even better than the 

 natural ones, while the first showers made them con 

 spicuously green. 



From time to time these mounds have been 

 extended and multiplied, and in all cases proved a 

 success. The object was not to form new land, but ^3 

 to dispose of the stones. Whenever practicable, 

 natural depressions may be made use of for deposit- 



T&amp;gt; , ^ i STONE HEAPS. 



ing stones. By such means the surplus stones may 



be gotten rid of without being an encumbrance to the land, or marring its appearance, and 



also without being a place in which noxious weeds, briars, and shrubs will find refuge. 



