16 The Pence Question in the South. 



that has invited imitation by English speaking people ; among whom the " no 

 fence theory " has made little progress. Advocates of this "no fence " theory 

 refer to tke common law, of which we have already spoken, and insist that 

 we should return to it. But England is the home of the common law. It is 

 the pride and boast of her people. With all the protection which it is flip- 

 pantly claimed, the common law gives to open fields, the people of England have 

 more thoughtfully and effectually fenced their grain fields, their pasture fields, 

 their orchard paths, gardens and towns, than any other people in the world ; 

 and the fence derived from English custom and practice in the past three hun- 

 dred years, and in no degree diminished to-day, marks and measures the love 

 of home that characterizes the English born, and the countries to which they 

 have carried English traits. 



FENCE BURDENS. 



The burdens brought by the system of fencing were presented in the figures 

 given at the outset of this discussion, and are well summed up by the secre- 

 tary of the Iowa State Agricultural Society in the following statement. 



It is declared, even in states where timber of the best quality is abundant, so much so that 

 it is an object to get it off the land, that the cost of fencing: their lands exceeds the cost of the 

 buildings for the comfort of the inhabitants. How much greater must be the cost of fences in 

 s tates where most of the land is entirely destitute of timber. (Iowa State Ag. Report 1863.) 



For many years past the question has been a pressing one, what shall we 

 do for fences ; and what better economy can be found for their construction. 

 The fence of rails, pole, or brush, however cheap the material, represents a 

 large outlay for labor in erection and repairs ; to be effective it must be cum- 

 bersome ; it occupies and holds out of use a large amount of arable land. 

 It is subject to rapid decay. It is easily destroyed by fire. Its material 

 is easily stolen and carried off. It is easily thrown dowa or broken down. 

 Floods carry it off. In regions of quick growths it is a jungle of weeds. 

 The fence most widely in use in the South is the worm fence, the rails laid 

 with their ends resting on each other, occupying and rendering useless a strip 

 four feet in width on each side. "Every mile of such fence occupies and 

 wastes nearly two acres of ground. The.loss by such fences in the State of 

 New York is estimated at three hundred thousand acres of good farming- 

 land. (Register Rural Affairs, 1860.) In English fencing, as may well be 

 believed from what we have before written, the loss in land area from old sys- 

 tems of fencing is even greater than this. An eminent English Agriculturist 

 estimates that hedges in many districts in England occupy one-fifth of the soil. 



For many reasons the attempt for the universal adoption of the hedge in 

 American fencing, very actively made many years ago, most entirely failed. The 

 hedge is practically out of discussion by our American planters and farmers, 

 for reasons urged long ago for their eradication in England, lovely as are the 

 hedgerows of England in memory and in song. "We quote from a standard 

 source, this English indictment against the hedge. It is equally applicable 

 to this country. 



" 1. Hedge fences are injurious, and that to a great extent, because they harbor and are a 

 protection to all sorts of weeds. 



" 2. They harbor and protect snails and slugs and other enemies of the crop. 



" 3. They harbor a great many birds, and afford them every encouragement in building nests. 



" 4. They are highly objectionable on account of their size. 



" 5. They are injurious because they drain and impoverish the soil in their vicinity, amount- 

 ing to a serious lo^s to the farm area of England, when the number and extent of the hedges is 

 considered . ' ' (Journal English Agricultural Society 1844. ) 



If common luinln-r lu- the resort for fence material as it has largely been, 

 the forests are rapidly wasting away, and it is becoming each year more costly. 



