126 THE YEAR-BOOK OF AGRICULTURE. 



is the most effective. The lever E can be depressed and the teeth thrown out of operation by 

 moving the end of the bar F to the position shown in dotted lines ; this operation drawing 

 the stop / out of the recess g. The position of the teeth when elevated, or out of operation, 

 will be seen in the lower dotted lines, and their position, when in operation, in full lines. The 

 lever E rests on the shoulders i i of the bar/, when the teeth are not in operation. The teeth 

 of the implement are forced into the manure, and the sled is drawn over the same by hand 

 or horse-power, the former, as the latter is drawn forward, taking a firm hold upon a large 

 portion of the manure, and loosens and separates its particles ready for shovelling. 



What it Costs to Fence the Country. 



THE amount of capital employed in the construction and repair of fences in the United 

 States would be deemed fabulous, were not the estimates founded on statistical facts which 

 admit of no dispute. Burknap, a well-known agricultural writer, says: "Strange as it may 

 seem, the greatest investment in this country, the most costly productions of human indus- 

 try, are the common fences, which divide the fields from the highways, and separate them 

 from each other. No man dreams that, when compared with the outlay for those unpretend- 

 ing monuments of art, our cities and our towns, with all their wealth, are left behind. You 

 will scarcely believe me when I say that the fences of this country cost more than twenty 

 times the amount of specie that is in it." 



In Germany, and many other parts of Europe, no fences are seen for miles, either between 

 the highlands and fields, or between the lots occupied by different individuals. In some dis- 

 tricts, the boundaries of each proprietor are required by law to be marked by trees, and the 

 owners are compelled to plant fruit and ornamental trees upon the line of highways against 

 their land, at prescribed distances, and kept constantly growing. Public officers, at stated 

 intervals, examine and survey the streets and public ways, and report to the public authori- 

 ties any failure of compliance with these legal provisions. In some parts of Germany, the 

 highways are lined for miles with rows of fruit-trees, bending with fruit over the passing 

 traveller, adding grace and beauty to the landscape, and refreshing him with grateful shade. 



There seems to be in this country a mania for fences. Not only are our fields and pastures 

 enclosed, but divisions and subdivisions of our farms are made, and in addition to these, 

 small yards and gardens close about our buildings are often multiplied till they mar the 

 whole beauty of the homestead. This is particularly noticeable about old establishments. 

 The first occupant enclosed a small garden, and after it had grown up to trees, he fenced off 

 another for his vegetables. Then, from time to time, a small yard for poultry, another for 

 the calves, and another for the house, a barn-yard, and so on, not omitting a front-yard, 

 follow, until an acre or two of the best part of the farm is cut up like a chequer-board, hav- 

 ing neither utility nor beauty to commend it. By-and-by the old farm changes hands, and 

 the old rubbish is cleared away, and a sudden and almost magical change occurs in the 

 scene. We see at once that system has taken the place of accident and caprice, and good 

 taste has triumphed over conformity to old-fashioned notions of convenience. 



We believe that, as a matter of economy, a great change is required in the matter of 

 fences in New England. Fences are for two purposes, protection from cattle and sometimes 

 unruly boys, and shelter from the wind and cold. In the first place, we believe that nearly 

 all fences between the highways and our fields might be dispensed with. But what, then, 

 shall protect us from cattle wandering at large, and from droves passing to market, and to 

 and from pasture ? 



As to droves of cattle, they are soon to cease. The railroads convey them nearly all, and 

 if they are still to travel by means of their own locomotives, how muclrenore reasonable 

 would it be to compel their owners to drive them in yokes, or secured by ropes, or otherwise, 

 than to insist that the owners of land shall fence them out a road from the place where they 

 are raised to the market-towns. As the cows and oxen kept for use on our farms, they 

 might easily be conducted in the same way to and from their pastures. Our pastures must 

 still be enclosed. There is much rough land that can profitably be used for no other pur- 

 pose. But the saving in dispensing with the fences about fields would be immense. No 



