for Five Dollars for«-arclc<l free of postage llic Caliinet Avill be furnislied for seven 

 years, coiuuienciug ^vitli the tirgt or any subsequcut volumca 



THE FARMERS' CARINET, 



Devoted to A<?riciiltiire, Horticulture, and Rural and Domestic Economy. 



Vol. IV.-JVo. 3.] 



October 13, 1839. 



[Whole No. 57. 



PUBLISHED BY 

 PROUTY, L.IBBY & PROTJTY, 



AT THE 



Agricwltnral Ware-House and Seed Store, 



NO. 8 7 NORTH SECOND STREET, 



PHIIADELPH I A. 



Price one dollar per year.— I"or conditions see last page. 



n^'Any gentleman remitting Fire Dol/ars wiU be en- 

 titled to the Farmers' Cabinet for seven years, com- 

 mencing with the tirst or any subsequent volume.— 

 The volumes now published can be sent by mail, in pa- 

 per wrappers; Postage, under 100 miles twelve cents — 

 to any part of the United States over 100 miles from 

 the place of publication, eighteen cents per volume. 



COMMUNICATIONS. 



Artificial Divisions of the Farm. 



Fences in rural economy comprehend in 

 general, every sort of enclosure that is em- 

 ployed for shelter — or designed for the protec- 

 tion of the lands thus enclosed, from the in- 

 trusion of cattle. They are of different kinds, 

 depending on the various circumstances of soil, 

 situation, the kinds of materials at hand most 

 suitable for the purpose, and the convenience 

 with which they may be obtained. Where a 

 country is entirely in tillage, it is of less im- 

 portance that farms be divided by artificial 

 barriers ; but wherever live stock is kept, this 

 is essential to the proper keeping of the ani- 

 mals, and to the profitable occupation of the 

 grounds ; and besides the purpose of retaining 

 and separating animals of different kinds from 

 one another.* Every person about to erect a 

 fence should have special regard to three es- 

 eential points, — durability, economy, and neat- 

 ness of appearance. 



" Poor fences are of incalculable mischief 

 to the farmer." They are frequently the 

 means of disturbing that good neighborhood, 

 which would, in many places, otherwise ex- 

 ist without interruption, if each farmer would 

 attend to having his fences well and substan- 

 tially made, and kept constantly in good order 



* Low's Elements. 



Cab.— Vol. IV.— No. 3. 



73 



and repair. Unless fences are made suffi- 

 ciently high and strong, there can be no safety 

 to the crops — the cattle, selecting the weakest 

 points are apt to break over them, and thereby 

 imbibe vicious habits. 



The descriptions offences and the method 

 of their construction, depend wholly upon the 

 soil, the various kinds of materials at hand or 

 most readily obtained. There are a variety 

 of kinds offences or enclosures used; the log 

 fence, the post and rail, the worm or zig-zag, 

 and the stone — which, when the materials are 

 on the ground, and the fence is properly 

 built, is by all means the most durable, eco- 

 nomical, and secure, — the ditch, the paling, 

 and the live hedge. But in whatever manner, 

 and of whatever materials they may be con- 

 structed, they should be frequently surveyed 

 with a critical eye, and all defects rectified 

 without the least delay. 



The growing and alarming scarcity of tim- 

 ber in the United States, renders the enclos- 

 ure of farms a very expensive item. It there- 

 fore is the interest of the farmer to preserve 

 his fences, now in good condition, as long as 

 possible in that state — and, in the construction 

 of new ones to exercise economy, by having 

 them erected, of whatever materials, in a most 

 substantial and durable manner. The saving 

 of a few dollars in the outlay, is only appa- 

 rent, not real. We must not be understood 

 as advocating extravagance in this or any 

 other department of rural afl'airs — but we do- 

 maintain that what is worth doing at all, is 

 worth doing well, and that, therefore, in the- 

 erection of fences, the best and most durable 

 materials should be selected ; and the whole 

 put together in a solid, substantial, and work" 

 manlike manner. 



Almost every individual has an idea that 

 he fully understands the process of making' 



