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trees were bent over or lopped to one side,—hence the name 
“lop fence.”’ 
In only one instance have we found trees other than oaks 
used. In that case a clump of beech trees was in the direct path 
of the fence and instead of cutting them out, the fence builder 
added them in a crude manner, some of the smaller trunks being 
slashed to the ground. These, however, had died, forming a 
tangle of dead wood. This gives an explanation of the fact that 
lop fences were made almost exclusively of oaks, for oaks are the 
only trees in the region that can withstand this harsh treat- 
ment. 
These right-angle trees on the main highway caused so much 
family and neighborhood discussion that various exploration 
Figure 1. Example of right angle tree at Martha’s Vineyard. 
trips were made throughout the island on old country roads, 
confirming the fact that the lop fence had at one time been in 
common use. 
When we discovered this fact, we naturally believed that 
such fences could be found in other parts of the East where the 
same sort of scrub oak and pine with their ever-accompanying 
blueberry bushes are dominant features. We were therefore not 
surprised to find remains of lop fences on Cape Cod between 
Plymouth and Sagamore, near the Cape Cod Canal. Doubtless 
the early settlers of Plymouth and Duxbury learned to make 
fences in as quick a way as possible by using growing trees in- 
stead of split rails. 
On Long Island, the Middle Island Road which stretches for 
miles and miles through scrub growth of pine and oak, wild 
tapevines and berry bushes, makes any lover of Martha's 
