172 FEEDING ANIMALS. 



The interest on original cost at 7 per cent, would be $50.40, 

 and the 10 per cent, for decay and repair, $72 ; making 

 $122.40 as the annual expense for fencing a pasture for 30 

 head of cattle. We shall see, under another head, that this 

 is more than the cost of labor for soiling the 30 head of 

 stock. Mr. David "Williams carefully prepared the fence 

 statistics of Walworth County, Wisconsin, and after de- 

 ducting for waste lands in ponds and lakes, and one-half of 

 the division fences, he makes the annual cost for the whole 

 county about one dollar per acre. Mr. Prince, of Maine, 

 goes into an elaborate calculation of the cost of fences in 

 that State in 1860, and the result does not vary much from 

 an annual cost of one dollar per acre. The late Ezra 

 Cornell took a great interest in studying this question, and 

 gave his views in an address before the State Agricultural 

 Society of New York, in 1862 ; and he arrived at the con- 

 clusion that the average cost of fencing for every acre 

 inclosed in that State is one dollar per annum. If, then, 

 we take this as a fair estimate in the older States, every 

 acre of the farm must be charged at this rate, or a farm of 

 300 acres, which usually keeps about 60 head of cattle, 

 would pay a fence tax of $300 in labor and material. The 

 smaller the farm and the smaller the lots, the greater the 

 cost of fences per acre. 



Mr. Quincy dispensed with 1,600 rods of fence on his 

 farm when he adopted soiling. Mr. F. S. Peer says his 

 farm required 1,000 rods of interior fence, and the interest 

 on its cost paid for the labor of soiling his stock after 

 adopting soiling. 



3. SAVING FOOD. 



When the feeder has his animals and their food entirely 

 under his control, he becomes culpable for any waste that 

 may occur. Under the soiling system, food may be given 

 in such quantity and condition as to be wholly eaten. All 



