30 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Still another advantage of abolishing front fences is the assist- 

 tance such removal gives to the work of clearing up and having a 

 continuous expanse of clean lawn, from the door step to the 

 traveled way, with no obstacle to the scythe or lawn mower. 



As I am now dealing with the aesthetics rather than the econom- 

 ics of agriculture, I will not dwell upon the statistics of the 

 question, the valuable space gained, the increased ease of clean 

 culture in the corners, or the labor-saving advantages of large 

 fields. 



"In old times," says Donald G. Mitchell, "people built cities with 

 walls and did not consider them safe to live in if built in anj^ other 

 way. Now what if some disputatious person in that day had sent a 

 letter to the newspapers, or stated on the platform that it was 

 folly to wall in the towns, and that it would be much better and 

 cheaper to let every man look out for his own house. What a 

 stare of wonderment those old people would have put on. But of 

 what use are the multitudinous lumber devices with which the people 

 now-a-days barricade themselves? They keep out no thieves, for 

 thieves can climb them." They keep out no cattle in their usual 

 condition with gates wide open. " The}' keep out no scandal, for 

 scandal loves fences better than the open country." 



But if the fences are to remain for the present, keep them neat 

 and in good repair. A tumble-down, dilapidated fence, with the 

 gate hanging in shame at the shiftlessness of the proprietor, should 

 not be tolerated. A single rail, straight, and supported by posts 

 standing plumb, the whole neatly painted, will look much better 

 than a glaring collection of pickets, for the fence should not be 

 the conspicuous and most show}' part of the landscape. Its 

 theory is not inherent beauty, but protection. Nothing can be more 

 incongruous than a picture in nature's brightest, most luxuriant 

 tints, framed with a coarse, gaudy, or over ornamented result of 

 the carpenter or painter. The increasing use of wire fences is 

 doing much for aesthetics by furnishing a maximum of strength 

 with a minimum of display. These principles will also apply to 

 village common or other public grounds. Avoid a fence, if 

 possible, bat if it must be there make it as inconspicuous as possi- 

 ble. The common was not established to show off a fence. 



Though these little things to which I have called your attention 

 may seem trifles, a neglect of them will give one's estate a home- 

 sick, uninviting, discouraged appearance. One writer, speaking 



