OF FENCES, AND GATES. 45 



on a farm, a high fence is desirable, for the sake of promo- 

 ting moisture, which is favourable to the growth of grass; 

 and hedges, and hedge-rows, as Mr Kerr well observes, 

 give a rich and sheltered appearance to a country, while 

 the want of that ornament occasions many fertile and high- 

 ly cultivated districts to appear neglected, cold, and deso- 

 late.* 



The sort of fences chiefly known in Scotland are : 1. 

 Open drains, which, incidentally at least, answer the purpo- 

 ses of a fence; 2. Stone walls; and, 3. Thorn hedges. 



1. Open drains sometimes answer the double purpose of 

 dividing fields, and of freeing them from superfluous water; 

 and they are not liable to some objections, which have been, 

 urged against other sorts of fences. Where stock, how- 

 ever, are pastured in fields thus separated, unless accustom- 

 ed to that sort of fence, as in Carse-lands, they sometimes 

 fall into the ditches, and are killed or materially injured ; 

 and if any paling is erected to prevent such accidents, it sel- 

 dom lasts long. 



2. Stone walls are of various descriptions. They have 

 one advantage, that, according to a common saying, 

 " They are major from their birth ;" or, in other words, 

 are in their greatest perfection as soon as made. They have, 

 however, this disadvantage, that they are getting worse 

 every day. The propriety of erecting such a fence, de- 

 pends much upon the nature and quality of the stone, the 

 vicinity of the quarry where it is dug, and the possibility of 



* Berwickshire Report, p. 132. Others contend, that a former is not 

 bound to attend to appearances, but to the real advantages of a system ; 

 and that where sheep are pastured as stock, moveable fences of hurdles 

 or flakes might supersede hedges on dry soils, in the four-course hus- 

 bandry. Others contend, that hurdles are a very unsafe and expensive 

 sort of fence, only fit for temporary purposes. 



