HINDRANCES TO SUCCESSFUL FARMING. 91 



very picturesque in the far distance, but very unsightly and 

 very expensive to the poor man who contemphitcs them from 

 the standpoint of his own premises. 



"Wliore a division fence is necessary, and there are plenty 

 of stones handy, there is nothing equal to a good doul)le 

 stone wall. A balance wall will do, but it is everlastingly 

 tuml)led down by hunters, berry-pickers, nut-gatherers, and 

 that kind of cattle. A good double wall stands forever, 

 and serves a double purpose, of absorbing the stones and 

 boulders from the fields, and of a protection to crops. It is 

 expensive, but as the farmer, Avith his own men and team, 

 usually takes the time to do this when other work is not 

 pressing, and when he thinks of the comfort of mowing the 

 adjoining fields without being constantly obliged to dodge 

 the rocks, he estimates the cost but lightly ; though, if every- 

 thing was put on a cash basis, it might cost him five or six 

 dollars a rod, if he had fiir to haul his stones. The old- 

 fashioned Yiro-inia fence is, I believe, no longer laid in Mas- 

 sachusetts ; chestnut trees, from which alone they were split, 

 are too valuable for railway ties, posts and plank, to be 

 wasted in a fence like that. Posts and rails come next, but 

 a fence of these is also expensive, as is also one of posts and 

 narrow boards. The average cost of each is something over 

 a dollar a rod, and neither of them is very durable.' The 

 fence which comes to the front at the present time as the one 

 which of all others is the cheapest, most efi'ective, and the 

 most durable, which thoroughly restrains animals, is- un- 

 affected by snow or w^ind, and easiest erected and maintained, 

 is the barli w^ire. 



The ordinarily fenced field is better with a jungle of weeds ; 

 the stone wall is the inaccessible fortress and resort of the 

 enemies of the crops. All manner of insects and the smaller 

 animals make their homes in these old stone walls. The 

 farmer fights at long odds and great disadvantage with the 

 enemies of his crops, when he establishes and maintains for 

 them coverts alongside his fields. The existing fence system 

 presents the expensive maintenance of a troop of minor evils 

 and wastes, the enemies of and the hindrances to successful 

 farming. 



The perfect fence should be a defensive barrier, strong 



