74 
SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
these be bound to take care that they do no damage be- 
yond their legitimate range"? Why protect bylaw an 
hundred dollars worth of property in hogs at a cost of one 
thousand dollars worth of fence in the precint or district"? 
Such practice is based neither on right, nor on common 
sense Ten thousand dollars in grain and cotton should 
not be jeoparded, if not fenced, that one thousand dollars 
-in stock may live very much as wild beasts subsist. We. 
>.respectfully urge the principle that, after a community 
ihas made considerable advancement in civilization, and 
wisely desires to make still farther progress, this colonial 
system of keeping stock should be discontinued, simply 
because it has ceased to be adapted to the condition, and 
to the wants of society. The garments that fit and be- 
come a child in infancy cannot be worn after it is an adult. 
It is time the planters of Georgia put off their pin-a-fores, 
and prepare themselves to do at once and successfully 
whatever their present circumstances demand, regardless 
ofpreiudices and traditions which had their origin under 
an entirely different state of things. Relieve the great 
planting interest of Georgia of the oppressive tax of fenc- 
ing crops, and the latter will soon be doubled in value for 
the almost equal benefit of the whole population of the 
State. The varied fruits of tillage feed all and clothe all ; 
and all should unite to render Tillage productive in the 
hi^^hest degree. It should not be burdened with unneces- 
sary taxes of any kind ; and if the labor and money now 
expended on frail and rapidly decaying fences, were wise- 
ly applied to the production and purchase of manure, hill- 
side ditching, reclaiming swamps, and deeper Rowing, 
the benefits that would result are incalculable. The cul- 
tivators of the soil constitute a large majority of the voters, 
and may easily dispense with the tax of fencing against 
hogs in a part of the State, as an experiment, if they see 
fit so to instruct their law-makers at the next session of 
the Legislature. No harm that we can discover is likely 
to arise from the free discussion of this Fence question; 
and in case nothing is done to lessen this grievous tax, 
then we shall suggest the propriety of cultivating a few 
acres of black or yellow locust, on every farm for fencing 
purposes. The writer has had some experience with this 
very durable tree, as fence posts and bars ; and regards it 
as the cheapest timber that can be grown m Georgia for 
the uses indicated. It grows readily from the seed ; and 
a grove often or twenty acres will yield, in a few years, 
much rail timber, and trees large enough for railroad ties, 
fence posts and bars. Late years, we have ceased makirig 
zig-zag worm fence, preferring posts and bars in a straight 
line, on many accounts. We use chestnut posts when 
-neither cedar or locust can be had. 
population. To meet this growing demand, land-holders 
should save all valuable forest trees from waste in needless 
fencing, and from destruction in many other ways, L. 
BARN YARD MANURE VS. GUANO. 
Messrs. Editors — It is gratifying to an amateur of his 
profession to see a spirit of progression pervade the ranks 
of his brethren ; and whilst it is to be regretted that the 
tillers of the soil have been the last to see and feel the im- 
portance of departing from the old beaten track the last 
to avail themselves of the improvements of the age and 
the advantages of scientific research it is gi’atifying to 
see that they too are becoming alive to the importance of 
a change in their farm economy. 
One of the important means of improvement is in re- 
turning to the soil, in some form, a little more of the fer- 
tilizing elements annually than are consumed in the pro- 
duction of the crop tilled. How to do this in the most 
economical manner, is the great desideratum to be attained 
by the practical Agriculturist. 
That much is being effected by the use of the various 
concentrated and other manures, is a fact known to all in- 
telligent men. Never having used any manure but of 
home manufactory, I cannot speak experimentally ; but 
from what I have seen of the experiments of others, and 
have been able to gather from various sources, I have been 
impressed with the importance of using a while longer a 
home manufactured article. 
If it be true that Guano does not produce but one crop, 
it is very questionable with me whether it will p^y be- 
yond the garden, orchard, or turnip lot, at present prices, 
with the high freights many localities have to pay. 
One thing we do know, that stable and lot manure, well 
saved and sheltered, pays well for the labor bestowed, 
when properly distributed. The manuring system in the 
planting States is in its infancy, and is neither understood 
nor appreciated as it should be. But the time is near at 
hand when the making of manure upon every well regu- 
lated farm will be a “fixed fact,” and the planter or over- 
seer who neglects it must sooner or later pay the penalty 
annexed, w^e believe, to the violation of a moral obligation. 
If, we, as republicans and philanthropists, are bound to 
transmit to posterity a good government, are we not under 
still greater obligations to our children and families, to 
leave them a homestead improved and beautified, which 
shall be to them a rallying point, around which will cluster 
many pleasing reminiscences and associations of early 
life, and may be the means of restraining and bringing 
back the prodigal son to the home of his youth, where 
the kind admonitions of friends may yet reach and reclaim 
By growing locust for posts and making straight 
fence and using only three bars to a pannel to turn cattle, 
Ynot fencing against hogs) the expense ol maintaining an 
adequate protection against stock is greatly reduced. Any 
reduction of cost in this matter v/ill be acceptable to ap- 
•culturists ; and the way to diminish taxation in this line 
is to provide in advance a fair supply of the most durable 
fencing timber. It is not likely that all fences will ever 
be dispensed with, and good materials should be grown 
on every plantation where they do not already exist. 
Chestnut trees grow with uncommon rapidity, and are 
easily split into rails. The nuts or seeas should be plant- 
ed before they become dry, and soon after they are iipe. 
A dry seed rarely, if ever, germinates. 
Forrest-culture, as well as the cost of fencing improved 
land, has been too much neglected in this ^ountij. A 
aittle care and timely labor may save thousands of dollars 
40 the next and succeeding generations. Not only our 
-fences, but our wooden dwellings, stables, and out houses, 
dast only a few years, and must be renewed or abandon- 
,€d. The annual consumption of timber and lumoer is 
, enormous, and constantly increasing with the increase of 
him"? . ^ 
You will please pardon me for digressing from tne 
subject. It was not my intention to write a moral lec- 
ture, but simply to pen a few thoughts upon practical Ag- 
riculture. ^ , 
The saving of manure is so simple and easy, that it 
would not seem necessary to give any plan. And yet 
how few take the time and trouble to make as much as 
they can distribute on their farms annually. We should 
have regard to the quality as well as the quantity we 
make. It does not pay to haul to a distance manure that 
has been exposed to the leaching rains of winter, and any 
one who will take the trouble to save and shelter the ma- 
nure from their stables alone, one winter, will, not, we be- 
lieve, be found leaving it exposed again to the weather. 
It would be economy, even in hauling, which would be a 
minor advantage, compared with its value as a fertilizer. 
The writer has found, by using leaves and 6 traw freely 
in and about the stalls and lot, that it contributes greatly 
to the comfort of stock, whilst it preserves their droppings, 
and if taken up as soon as well saturated, and another 
layer of the same material spread, will make a quantity 
