1849. 



THE GENESEE PARMER 



139 



the Mibj< ct as I can b ■ > personal < 



■ , / caanot j race, distinguish- 



ed and preferable to all oth 'dairy qualities." 



Now, Mr. Editor, if il . which arc 



i ntitled from a varii ty i com iderat i the high- 



i submit to your 

 i jury of intell 



ant us in paying or a ■• Durham 



" or whether in d arcow e would be much 



ent." 

 ten,*. V. V., April, 1849. 



R.RAURK8. — The writer of the above will observe 

 d one or two sentences, and mod- 

 which contained some remarks foreign to 

 iry in a friendly discus 

 In discussions of this nature, it is important to keep 

 cool, and produce fact? and figures which bear upon 

 ;. It is not surprising that well informed 

 fanners Bhould honestly differ as to the relative mer- 

 its of the various breeds of cattle, horses, Bheep, fee. 

 Of cattle the Devons, Durham.--. Herefords, and Ayr-" 

 shins, as well as our Native breed, each have their 

 advocates — and every person can furnish a v * why and 

 wherefore" for his preference. On another page of 

 this number we speak somewhat highly of Devons, 

 and yet we are not prepared to say that they are su- 

 perior to some other improved breeds. For the dairy 

 good cows may be found among all breeds in this 

 country, native and foreign — and it is, as a general 

 rule, best to secure deep milkers wherever they can 

 be found, without regard to origin. — Ed. 



HEDGES vs. WIRE FENCES. 



Messrs Editors: — I see much said in your valua- 

 ble paper about wire fence, and have been expecting 

 to see in every number for some time, some one step- 

 ping forward to prove the superiority of hedges to 

 every other kind of fence — especially when there are 

 no stone for walls. That wire may be profitably sub- 

 Btituted for rails, I have no doubt, and that hedge 

 plants may be as profitably substituted for wire, I 

 have as little doubt. 



The average cost of wire fence, taking our coun- 

 try as a whole, may be fairly put at 60 cents per rod. 

 One of your correspondents says, that farmers should 

 be satisfied if they can build a durable fence for 50 

 cents per rod. But allow 7 me to ask if farmers should 

 be satisfied with a wire fence, at a cost even of fifty 

 cents per rod, if they can build one much more dura- 

 ble and beautiful for considerably less than that, sum ? 



I believe it is universally conceded that the Nor- 

 way Spruce will make a strong, imperishable and du- 

 rable fence — combining splendid appearance with 

 perfect ability to resist all the encroachments not on- 

 ly of brutes, but of rude boys and men. Small 

 plants may be had at the Mt. Hope Garden and Nur- 

 series at ^J 11 per 1000. These may be set 2 feet 

 apart, which, if I am rightly informed, will answer 

 very well, if trimming is deferred until they have at- 

 tained a height of two feet. One thousand plants 

 will set about 120 rods, which would cost, exclusive 

 of labor, less than 50 cents per rod. There might, it 

 is true, be somewhat of a drawback in a failure of 

 some of the plants to live, but not enough we appre- 

 hend to make it any very serious objection. 



If, however, the Honey Locust should be preferred, 

 the cost per rod would scarcely exceed 25 ce 

 And, taking into account its ability to bear trans- 



planting, ,■ - and rapid growth, it might bo 



more desirable than the Norway Spruce ; b 

 in my opinion, would be cheap r, much more l>> 

 ful and durable, and a more effectual barri 



wire. 

 The time is not distant when log 



boards must be displaced by eomethin • able, 



the sooner the practicability or imprai 



ke the place of .-ill other kinds of 

 fence is demonstrated, the better will it ' 



try. I find are many, : irticular 



this western country, who would like I 

 ject discussed in the "Farmer" — as we re 

 ially, as the standard of Agricultural ( ) 

 The citizens of our villages enclose their grounds 

 with fences that cost from $2 to $6 per r . 

 they might substitute the Italian Privet. Arbor Vitffi, 

 Red Cedar or Norway Spruce, at a much less cost — 

 besides furnishing something exquisil q] as 



. A. T. — CoUtoater, 

 Mirk., May, 1849. 



Wk would like to hear from other correspondents 

 on this subject — particularly those who have had ex- 

 perience in growing hedges. — Ed. 



ALARMING/ DECREASE OF FORESTS. 



Hopelessness of tlie success of Hedge Fences — Nature's pro- 

 vision fur Heat — Immense Storehouse of Coal, SfC. 



Mr. Moore: — Many thinking persons who are 

 aware of the millions of cords of wood consumed 

 annually, by its profuse use by our entire population 

 — steamboats, railroads and manufactories — become 

 alarmed for its results to posterity. So far as it 

 applies to fencing and building materials their fears 

 are justly grounaed; especially in those sections of 

 country where live hedges are a forlorn hope, owing 

 to their destruction by mice during the period of 

 heavy snows and drifts — an evil which it is impos- 

 sible to overcome. But on the score of fuel, if they 

 will consider that there is a single coal formation in 

 the region, or basin, drained by the Ohio, of more 

 than 50,000 sq;;are miles in extent, of an average 

 workable thickness of 20 feet, their fears must 

 subside. 



This single mass which is already accessible to 

 railroads and canals, would give over three tons 

 annually to every man, woman and child in the U. 

 States for 20,000 years to come. It would form a 

 pyramid that would shame the ancient worshippers 

 of the sun, with a base 10 miles square and 30,000 

 feet high. What a vast and luxuriant vegetation of 

 tropical, vascular and cryptogameous plants must have 

 flourished, during that remote period of the earth's 

 juvenility, when condensed, charred and almost chrys- 

 talized, to have formed this immense bed of coal, of 

 which it is only one of a half dozen of nearly the 

 same extent in the United States. All the coal 

 fields- of Europe might be taken from ours, and not 

 - 



What a wonderful provision of an al!-wi 

 for the comfort and happiness, industry and wealth 

 of a thankless race; who are far from appreciating 

 their superiority over all created things, or the bles- 

 sings provided for their exclusive use ! 



Have none but good implements — keep them in 

 good repair, and under cover when not in use. 



