208 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



in all the older States ; but the provision is even more uni- 

 versal, that to entitle the land-owner to damages he must be 

 shown to have maintained a legal fence, the height of which 

 varies from four to four and a half feet in the Northern 

 States, and five feet in the States of the South and South- 

 w^est, wood being the almost universal material, and the 

 worm fence so commonly emplo3^ed as to have been termed 

 the national fence. 



We fence by law, by custom, and by a recognized neces- 

 sity. 



But let us now review some of 



THE FENCE EVILS. 



These come from original cost of material and construc- 

 tion, and from features inherent in fences of the old con- 

 struction. If you had the patience to turn with me the farm 

 journals and farm reports since the first years of this cen- 

 tury, you would be astonished at the bulk and frequency of 

 complaints at these features of the fence burden. The first 

 settlers east of the Alleghanies found wood and stone plenty. 

 It was with them only a question of labor. So it was in 

 the deep clearings of the first settlements in the valley of 

 the Mississippi. But in the new prairie regions, where 

 there was no timber for fencing, and in the older States, 

 where waste of timber began to tell, the cry was heard in 

 farm discussions years ago, " What shall we do for fences? 

 We must have some other material." The consumption of 

 wood in fences built of rails is strikingly shown in the Ken- 

 tucky State Agricultural Report for 1878, before referred to, 

 as follows : — 



"For the 75 million rods, chiefly of the old worm fence, have been re- 

 quired 2,000 millions of rails, and not less than 70 million rail-trees. 

 To keep this fencing in repair will demand a yearly consumption of 280 

 million rails, and the destruction of ten millions of timber trees." 



THE HEDGE IN AMERICA. 



The hedge was given a liberal trial early in this century, 

 and through many years following. It was continued 

 through more than one generation of our farmers. It was 

 liberally and expensively tried. It failed. The indictment 



