LITTLE GARDENS 



in our part of the world means advancing so- 

 cialism; yet here, in the stronghold of the faith, 

 were the assertions of individual right in prop- 

 erty. I asked the reason. " Sure, you don't 

 suppose we could raise anything in our yard," 

 came the answer, " if it wasn't for the fence? 

 The people next door keep hens." 



Yet there is little need for fences unless it is 

 where cattle abound. A low wall will keep them 

 out, and the wall can be covered with vines. The 

 hedge is a still better safeguard against cows and 

 tramps, unless it is so savory that the cows eat 

 their way through it; it grows stouter instead of 

 weaker every year; it is handsome and grows 

 handsomer, while the fence grows rickety; the 

 advertising fiend can not misuse it, and it merges 

 the surrounded property into its rural environ- 

 ment. Wire fencing has the merit of unobtru- 

 siveness, but if you expect to go to heaven do 

 not use barbed wire. I am not punning when I 

 say it is barbaric. Let your fence be a hedge, 

 thin and tall, low and chunky, according to your 

 neighbors and your tastes. The Englishman 

 likes his high. He demands privacy. He will 

 erect a stone wall inside his hedge, if need be, 

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