FENCES A DIRECT TAX TO THE FARMER, ETC. 
87 
should be sharpened to a point, so that it may easi¬ 
ly be thrust into the ground. When the shank of 
this implement is firmly inserted into the earth, or 
in a block of wood, the peeler sits down, taking a 
rod or twig by the small end, in his right hand, 
and puts a foot or more of the thick end between 
the prongs of the instrument, which he then 
presses together with his left hand, while with his 
right, he draws towards him the rod. By this ope¬ 
ration, the bark of the large end will, at once, be 
separated from the wood; and by shifting or re¬ 
versing the ends of the rod, and drawing it through 
the fork, the peeling will be complete. 
The rods, when whitened or peeled, are usually 
tied up in bundles, the bands of which are 3k feet 
long. In a peeled state, they will keep better to 
wait a market, than if left with the bark on; for 
it is stated, that they never fail to produce a greater 
return, notwithstanding the cost of the labor of 
peeling, than when sold immediately after they are 
cut from the stool. In Germany, and also fre¬ 
quently in Scotland, the osiers, after being cut and 
tied up in bolts, are stacked, or kept in an airy 
shed ) and, when the bark is removed, it is effected 
by steaming, or boiling them in water. Rods thus 
prepared, are considered to be rather more durable 
than when the bark is separated, in consequence of 
the rising sap : and they may be worked up di¬ 
rectly after cutting, instead of remaining for several 
months in a useless state. 
FENCES A DIRECT TAX TO THE FARMER. 
In reading Mr. Bacon’s article on this subject in the 
August (1847) number of the Agriculturist, there 
was one sentence, in particular, which I thought 
ought to be printed in large type and stuck up at 
every rod of fence in the country. It is this: 
“There must, indeed, be a horrid lethargy pervading 
the mind of the body agricultural while they go 
calmly, and indifferently, and drudgingly on, and 
voluntarily submit to an evil for whose existence 
there is no pretext or excuse.” 
Farmers! turn back to page 252 and read this 
article of Mr. Bacon’s again. Think of that town¬ 
ship of land, only four miles square, that requires 
one hundred miles of road-side fence ! Recollect 
that this is not an extraordinary case. The whole 
of the great tract of country in the north part of 
Ohio, known as the Western Reserve, is laid off - in 
squares almost as exact, though a little larger than 
the squares of right-angled Philadelphia. And in 
Michigan, and perhaps some others of the western 
states,.every section line is a public highway by 
law. This gives seventy-two miles of road, and 
one hundred and forty-four miles of road-side fence, 
for every congressional township of land, six miles 
square ; besides the occasional “ cross roads,” and 
those which do not follow section lines. To fence 
the roads of such a township with an ordinary rail 
fence will require four hundred and sixty thousand, 
tight hundred rails; all of which must be re¬ 
newed every few years. Count these rails at only 
one cent each, and the cost is $4,608, which at six 
per cent, interest, is $276.48 ; while the annual 
decay and cost of repairs, is at least, as much more, 
making an annual tax of over $500 for road-side 
fences in each township. And all for whatl I 
beg of every reader to repeat the question. And 1 
this view of the case is not exaggerated. In many 
other states, the cost of fencing materials is more 
than four times as much, and roads equally plenty, 
to say nothing of division fences through the farms 
and between neighbors, the great cause of half of 
the neighborhood quarrels and vexatious law suits, 
besides the enormous amount of cursing bad 
fences and breachy cattle. 
And yet men “ voluntarily submit to an evil,” 
the cost of which is beyond calculation. If every 
man were directly taxed for the cost of the Mexican, 
war, we should have an outcry louder than the 
din of battle; and yet that tax would not amount 
to a tithe of the enormous annual fence tax of the 
United States. 
“ Farmers, think of it!” Reason upon the sub¬ 
ject. Do not scoff at it as the vagaries of “the 
crazy advocates of the nonfencing system.” If I 
rightly understand the creed of all those who advo¬ 
cate this system, it is this: That every man 
take care of his own animals —and not compel his 
neighbor who keeps none, to build miles of costly 
fence to guard his crops from the depredations of 
his neighbors’ cattle and hogs, which he turns out 
to roam at large without a keeper, or care where 
they forage their feed. 
I cannot better conclude this article, than by quot¬ 
ing the closing paragraph of Mr. Bacon’s, and at the 
same time assure him that “ I go the whole hog,” 
as we say out here, against the worse than fool 
ish fencing system. u Oh ! when will the agricul¬ 
tural public be sufficiently awake to their interest, 
comfort, and those of the travelling public, to re¬ 
move these appendages from their premises, [the 
road side], and rid themselves of a grievous bur¬ 
den V’ Echo answers, “ Oh ! when.” 
Solon Robinson. 
Lake Court House, Crown Point, la., ) 
January 1 5th, 1848. ) 
POTASH A PROPER FOOD FOR GRAPE VINES. 
Having, last year, seen it stated in a paper, that 
the ashes of grape vines contained a large amount 
of potash, I caused three vines, of the same size, 
to be planted in boxes filled with equal quantities 
of earth, in which I noted the following results :— 
No. 1, was supplied, when necessary, with pure 
water, and in a given time, iCincreased 6 inches in 
length. 
No. 2, was watered with a solution of whale- 
oil soap and in the same length of time acquired 9 
inches of growth. f 
And No. 3,1 watered with a decoction of potash, 
and within the same period as above, it grew 18 
inches in length ! 
By the beginning of November, No. 1, and No. 1 
2 , dropped their leaves and showed no signs of 
fruit; whereas No. 3, retained its leaves three 
weeks later, and in the course of the season shot 
forth several bunches of fruit, which, of course, were 
not suffered to grow. This shows the importance 
of knowing what kinds of salts go to form wood 
and fruit, in order that we may apply such manures 
to the soil as the vine or fruit trees require. ! 
I wish we could have full analyses made of our 
great staple, Indian com, including the grain, cob, 
j stalk, and blades. Roswell L. Colt. 
' Paterson■, N . Janury 14/A, 1848. 
