FENCES 



363 



of the hedges in beautiful England, where they are valued 

 for their landscape effect, are mere weeds encumbering 

 the ground. Either a wire fence must be placed along- 

 side them, or else the fence must be used in a patched- 

 up way that makes it anything but efficient in restrain- 

 ing animals and far short of attractive. Besides, in the 

 end, they are nearly always expensive, since the labor 

 of caring for them is considerable. In many cases part 

 of the plants die out and form harbors for weeds. They 



Figure 248. Three-wire barbed cattle fence. 



require some land, and take some fertility from the ad- 

 joining fields into which they spread their roots. Hedges 

 should be used much more for ornament on the farm- 

 stead, but less for field fences, especially less for fencing 

 against live stock. Many theoretical propositions have 

 been presented to the American farmers by designing 

 hedge-fence companies and nurserymen who desire to 

 sell hedge plants; but nothing practical comes out of 

 these propositions. A hedge costs more to plant and 

 care for until large enough to serve as a fence than the 



