486 
Essay upon Fences. 
outlet, than would be the case where the drains are long; and con- 
tinuous, and fall into one common ditch. An argument ma}' 
here be adduced against this system, on the ground that it would 
tend to make the drains of too great length, thereby preventing 
their proper working ; but this might be easily obviated by having 
a ditch by the side of those roads or carriage-ways, which are ab- 
solutely necessary, even in the one arable field. But of course 
this will vary with the difference of situation ; and therefore upon 
this point no general rule can be laid down. Again, by getting 
rid of the excess in number of hedges, the headlands would be 
ploughed in common with the rest of the field (in fact there would 
be no headlands), and those headlands, which very commonly in 
enclosed situations do not grow above one-half of the average pro- 
duce of the field, would then produce the same. 
I do not think that, since, as I have before stated, there are upon 
hill farms, in many parts of the kingdom, evidences of the practical 
working of the one-field system, and the advantage resulting from 
the destruction of the excess in number of hedges, it behoves me 
to say more upon the subject, except to endeavour to meet an ob- 
jection which is certain to be here raised, and that is the follow- 
iqg. It will be said that land lying cold and exposed will, during 
the frosts of the winter and the cold bleak winds of the spring, 
suffer more by exposure, and more damage would be done to the 
growing crops, than benefit would result by the free admission of 
the sun and air in autumn and summer. But the question is pro- 
perly between lands lying in the same situation, and not those in 
a level compared with a hilly district ; and without assuming that 
a plantation upon the most exposed side of a hilly farm would not 
be found most advantageous, I yet submit, that upon two farms 
of a level description, lying contiguous, the farm without fences 
would completely beat the one in small fields; while even in the 
most exposed situations, were land thorough-drained and kept 
perfectly dry, the damage suffered from exposure would be coun- 
terbalanced by the numerous other benefits obtained. 
But to come to the last part of the points mooted by the So- 
ciety — " Tlie over -abundance of timber contained in the hedge- 
rows." There are many reasons why the over-abundance of 
hedge-row timber should be seriously injurious to the farmer. 
The principal way in which it is so, is in the damage which it 
causes to the growing crops in the adjoining fields. In many 
fields in enclosed and thickly-wooded districts in the kingdom,, 
the damage caused by hedgerow timber is very great indeed ; and 
in some fields (1 will say for argument) of 5 or 6 acres, the grow- 
ing crops upon the outside acre will not yield one-half of the aver- 
age of the whole field. From the time the corn begins to grow 
away in the spring, the part round about and beneath large trees 
