No. 7. 



Temporary Fencing. 



231 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 Temporary Fencing. 



Sir, — At our last week's meeting at the 

 6tore,* the last number of the Cabinet was 

 examined and approved. The article at page 

 •205, entitled " Farmers' visits," is exactly 

 calculated to interest practical men, and 

 called forth much interesting conversation 

 and remark ; all had participated in the reflec- 

 tions there expressed, and could bear testi- 

 mony to their correctness — indeed we were, 

 ourselves, living witnesses of the justness of 

 the sentiment, " iron sharpeneth iron," for, 

 amongst us, it had received a peculiarly 

 striking elucidation. 



By many, the recommendation of sheep 

 husbandry on a more extended scale, was 

 highly appreciated, for several of the mem- 

 bersfhad long contemplated the measure, but 

 had been deterred by the trouble and diiri- 

 culty of making those preparations which 

 would be necessary before the attempt could be 

 carried into execution, the most important of 

 which seemed to be the peculiar kind of 

 fencing required to keep a sheep from roam- 

 ing abroad, all having often felt the truth of 

 the observation, that "a sheep without food 

 soon grows small enough to pass through a 

 very small hole." A proper succession of 

 crops, and a plentiful supply of roots and hay, 

 for winter use, were quite within their power 

 to provide ; these labours had, therefore, no 

 terrors for them, as they had already en- 

 joyed the advantages arising from such a 

 system, and were prepared to enter upon an 

 extended scale of that species of cultivation 

 at the first opening of the coming spring ; 

 having long since detected the fallacy of the 

 doctrine, that " green crops pay no rent." 

 The chief difl^culty, then, is in the alterations 

 necessary to be made in the disposition of 

 tlioir fields, and especially with regard to the 

 state of their fences ; and here your corre- 

 spondent's plan of temporary fencing came to 

 their aid. And when I pointed out the mode 

 of separating the largest fields, in a very 

 short space of time, by means of these, which 

 I had often adopted with complete success, 

 they were surprised that the simple plan had 

 not been known and practised in this coun- 

 try many years ago. I described, as well as 

 I was able, the system of close folding, prac- 

 tised mainly for the sake of the dung of the 

 flock, as well as that of open folding — a 

 more open and extended fold, by which large 

 fields are temporarily subdivided, to prevent 

 the flock from roaming over the whole, and 

 treading a great portion of their pasture to 

 waste, to and from whence they can be re- 

 moved from time to time — urging upon their 



See page ISG of the Cabinet for December. 



notice the almost inconceivable advantage 

 the adoption of the latter course would be 

 found to have, in a country where the com- 

 mon article used in permanent fencing — 

 especially the worm-fence — is not only ex- 

 pensive, but vastly troublesome and wasteful, 

 the angles serving as nurseries for weeds of 

 every description, and constituting an object 

 of disgust to every good manager. But as 

 example is far more intelligible than precept, 

 and much more easily followed out, I pro- 

 mised, the first leisure time I had, to do my 

 best at making models of those temporary 

 fences which had been described, and which 

 in England are called " hurdles," for their 

 inspection ; and, as " nothing is impossible to 

 a willing mind," I soon found that I could 

 make leisure, either by night or day ; so, as I 

 indulge in the pleasure of keeping a small 

 work-shop, at the back of the store, a model 

 set of four hurdles were soon made, by which 

 a close fold was formed ; and having, since, 

 added to the number, a large space can now 

 be divided into squares, angles, or oblongs, 

 with a facility that is surprising ; showing 

 iiow a large field can be subdivided into suit- 

 able compartments, according to the size of 

 the flock, and from whence they can be ex- 

 changed in a few minutes of time, by means 

 the most simple imaginable. All is, there- 

 fore, now ready for the inspection of the so- 

 ciety, and, as a very full attendance of mem- 

 bers is expected to-day — for great interest 

 has been expressed by them on the subject — 

 I may possibly have to add something to this 

 communication, after the meeting, in which 

 case I will forward it, in the hope that you 

 may deem it worthy of notice in the pages 

 of the Cabinet, 



Wednesday morning. — After the meeting 

 of yesterday had been called to order, the 

 attention of the society was drawn to the 

 model set of four hurdles, for the temporary 

 division of large fields, on the adoption of the 

 improved system of sheep husbandry on an 

 e.vtended scale. The members were struck 

 with the simplicity and feasibility of the plan, 

 and decided, by a unanimous vote, that the 

 models should be forwarded to the Editor of 

 the Farmers' Cabinet, soliciting that an en- 

 graving of them might be made, for publica- 

 tion in its pages, for the benefit of the agri- 

 cultural community generally, satisfied that 

 the mode of folding by these means will be 

 attended with the most beneficial results to 

 the country. 



Several of our most intelligent farmers 

 entertain the idea, that by means of these 

 temporary fences, much of the internal sta- 

 tionary fencing of their lands might be dis- 

 pensed with ; it is, therefore, their intention 

 immediately to construct some, with this 

 view ; and the consideration of the subject 



