58 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Feb. 
THE FARMER’S MOTE HOOK. 
Unenclosed Lands. 
Messrs. Editors —In the December number of the 
Cultivator, you allude to the fact that along the valley 
of the Connecticut, in Massachusetts ■, “ there are large 
portions of territory unenclosed, yet there are thou¬ 
sands of acres under cultivation,” &c. 
Now we are proud to have such a paragraph as the 
one above cited and those that follow it, written of 
Massachusettss; for it is to the honor of any State to 
have such things said of them, and most certainly very 
much to the comfort of the population to have them 
exist; for within the last week an intelligent man has 
remarked, that it was “'worth ten dollars a year to 
any farmer to have the streets keep clear of animals.” 
Another, who has been proprietor of a small farm since 
1842, says that this public guardianship has been worth 
more than $100 to him in the six intervening seasons. 
But let us look at the contrast which a few years 
have effected in this matter in our ancient, and in j>ome 
things we hope wise, Commonwealth. Previous to the 
revision of the statutes of 1836, by the law it was 
left discretionary with towns to say at their annual 
meeting, whether “ swine and neat cattle should be per¬ 
mitted to run at large under certain restrictions.” 
Very naturally, every town adopted the course which 
their supposed interest and inclination prompted. In 
many places, especially in the western part of the state, 
the usual course was to let them ramble at discretion. 
The consequences were, that our streets were so 
commonly plowed by the long-nosed swine of those 
days, once at least in a season, that large crops of va¬ 
rious unsightly weeds sprung up along the wayside to 
illustrate the beauty of the thorns and thistles over¬ 
growing the vineyard of the man void of understand¬ 
ing. Large herds of cattle were seen rambling in 
every direction. These, one might suppose from their 
general movements, were acting in the capacity of 
fence viewers , for unless barriers were erected between 
the highway and the adjoining crops, almost high 
enough for the walls of a fortified city, they were sure 
to find the discrepancy, which they took for an invita¬ 
tion to “ walk in,” and partake, in such quantities as. 
their voracious appetites demanded, of the good man’s 
labor. Oh! what vexations arose when these pilfer¬ 
ers, licensed by owners who had forgotten the law of 
love for their neighbors, and the-law of right in their 
dealings with their fellow men, had broken into the j 
meadows, and were perhaps trampling down the corn¬ 
field whose luxuriant growth had promised a bountiful 
harvest, or, perhaps, wading through wheat ready for 
the sickle, and which, but for lowering skies, might 
then have been in the reaper's hands, instead of being 
garnered into the capacious stomachs of the wandering, 
starved, sacrilegious herd of trespassers, sent out to the 
daily task of highway robbery. Then, what care was 
necessary, that every gate and bar should be kept shut, 
for as sure as they were left for a moment unsecure, a 
host of quadruped Philistines were ready to enter in 
and spoil the land. It was not strange in such a state 
of things, with every temptation before them, that 
could be offered to educate them in wrong, driven by 
starving necessity one day, and invited by sumptuous 
prospects another, that cattle became unruly in their 
propensities, and ungoverned in their habits, or that 
they were induced to wander off, frequently to the an¬ 
noyance of their owners, and sometimes as if to give 
a lesson of instruction, a total loss to them. But there 
were further evils, which are not wholly unimportant, 
attending this loose and illiberal state of things. If 
any one was so fortunate as to have a watering place 
by the wayside, near his residence, he was sure to re¬ 
ceive a double portion of the visits of congregated 
groups of thirsty animals on a warm summer’s day; 
and then wo to his crops, however lofty the barriers 
that separated them from the “ long pasture,” herded 
by a whole community. Perhaps a shade tree threw 
its spreading arms from his premises (it may be from 
his door yard, and around his front gate) over the high¬ 
way. Under a cluster of such trees we found they 
were sure to make their nooning, and the appearance 
of the soft sward, and the effluvia round about, we 
leave others to imagine rather than describe. 
The convention that revised our statutes in 1836, 
saw these evils, and perfected a plan for their remedy; 
and we have no doubt that the benefits of the single 
enactment relative to prohibiting animals from running 
at large in the highways and on unenclosed lands, have 
already been sufficient to defray the expenses of their 
whole session, and yet the first fruits of their labor are 
hardly beginning to be enjoyed. They gave us a stat¬ 
ute expressly in this matter, and which cannot be mis¬ 
taken in its import. In its first application it runs 
thus:—“ The field drivers shall take up at any time, 
all sheep, hogs, horses, or neat cattle found going at 
large and without a keeper, in the highways or on un¬ 
improved lands;” and the field driver is sworn like other 
officers to the faithful discharge of his duty. So it 
will be seen there is no ground to parley in the matter, 
no discretionary power. If afield driver does not con¬ 
strue the law in its plain and simple meaning, it im¬ 
plies at once that he is blinded by prejudice, or led 
astray by mistaken motives. 
After the liberal construction and discretionary 
power given by the former law, it was in no way 
strange that one so stringent in its application as the 
present, should find opposition in every community. 
This was truly the case we believe, more or less, in 
every section of the Commonwealth. In some places 
severe threats were given, in case men did their duty, 
when they had solemnly sworn to do it. In some, it 
may be, summary acts were committed on the property 
of such individuals who dared to do as the law of the 
land said they must do or perjure themselves before 
high heaven, and become guilty and untrustworthy in 
the sight of their fellow men. 
But the progress of the matter has been onward, 
and as you have lately had an opportunity to witness, 
its triumphs in some places have been complete. In 
others it is approaching that desirable position, and in 
all, even our most “ secluded nooks and .corners,” it 
augurs well of its triumph. “ Public opinion,” that 
tribunal which will scarcely allow an appeal from its 
decisions, is growing stronger and stronger in its ap¬ 
proval of the letter of the law, and individual preju¬ 
dice, which is so prone to take root in the unbroken 
ground of self-interest, is yielding in its favor as a 
mpans of accomplishing its own ends. As you truly 
related, the state of things in our Commonwealth' is 
essentially improved by the existence of this law. The 
farmer pan now retire at night with the reflection that 
his crops are safe from highway depredators of all 
classes, except lawless bipeds, which no fences can 
stop, and law seldom restrain. He can plant trees 
along the wayside, and sit quietly and comfortably un¬ 
der the shadows of them—if convenience require, he 
