Essay upon Fences. 
481 
amply repaid the trouble and expense. The land acquired was 
the first year planted with potatoes, and since that time has been 
cultivated with the rest of the field. I do not think it will be 
necessary to go further into this part of the subject, except to 
remark, that if any farmer who may be similarly circumstanced can 
prevail upon his landlord to cut down the he<lgerow timber, and 
will then set to work to reduce his fences within proper dimen- 
sions, in the manner I have described above, I feel certain he 
will be amply rewarded for his outlay in every shape, and will 
confer a great benefit upon his landlord's property as well. 
Secondhj. — " Hedges for grazing-ground." I do not think 
there are any fences which answer so well for this purpose upon 
sound dry land as quickset hedges. Let them be raised and 
managed in the manner I have recommended for arable fields, 
except that these hedges for grazing land should be suffered to 
grow 8 or 10 inches thicker, and G inches higher, than those for 
arable fields, as the cattle will not then be so liable to do them 
injury in feeding upon the young shoots. 
Upon wet grazing lands, or those subject to be flooded in 
winter, without entering into the question of ditches, which I con- 
ceive to be foreign to the subject of this essay, I may be allowed 
to remark, that hedges of willow or osier in some situations answer 
well : they may be planted upon an embankment raised by 
throwing out ditches on each side, of a depth and width which 
must be regulated according to the probable draught of water 
they will be required to carry off. From the dampness of the 
situation the willows soon take root, and grow rapidly, affording 
an excellent shelter to the cattle from the wind and rough wea- 
ther. The willow will require cutting once in eight or nine 
years, and will be found available for many useful purposes : in 
this neighbourhood they are principally used for hop-poles. In 
very exposed situations in levels or marshes, large belts of fir. and 
willow plantations may be tried, and will be found to make a very 
satisfactory protection for the cattle feeding on these levels. Of 
course there are levels and marshes lying contiguous to the sea, 
to which these plans are not at all applicable, and for which large 
open ditches and sluices are the only divisions that can be used 
with effect. 
I will now proceed to discuss the second part of the subject — 
How far the present fences in various parts of England are 
injurious to the farmer, whether by their size, their excess in 
number, or the overabundance of timber which they contain." 
I do not think that any person will be found to deny that the 
fences in many parts of England are injurious to the farmers, and 
that they are so by reason of those very facts which the Society 
have adduced. But before enlarging upon these points, I must 
