305 FEN 
FEN, /. [penn, Sax. venne, Dut.] A marfli ; low flat 
and moift ground ; a moor ; a bog.—Mexico is a city that 
Hands in the midft of a great marfh or fen. Abbot. 
Like to a lonely dragon, that his f n 
Makes fear’d and talk’d of more than feen. Shahefpcare. 
A long canal the muddy ftn divides, 
And with a clear unfuily’d current glides. Addifon. 
The fen-lands in England are very extenfive, and abund¬ 
ant in cattle, (heap,, and wild fowl. It is truly obferved 
by Camden, that in Lincolnfhire, and generally in all the 
fen-countries, the churches are fair to look upon, and 
built of ftone, though the country thereabouts, for many 
miles, fcarcely affords a pebble. The hi(lory of draining 
thefe fens by a fociety of gentlemen called Adventurers ; 
the feveral local laws for fecuring and preferving the 
banks, and dividing the lands; how they were, by the 
extraordinary conflux of waters from all the inland coun¬ 
ties of England, frequently, overflowed, and fometimes 
laid under water moft part of the year; how all the wa¬ 
ters in this part of England, which do not run into the 
Thames, the Trent, or the Severn, fall together into thefe 
),ow grounds, and empty themfelves into the fea by thofe 
drains; and how thefe adventurers, at a prodigious ex¬ 
pence, have cut new channels, and even whole rivers, 
with particular drains from one river to another, to carry 
off the great flux of waters, when floods or refreflies came 
down, either on one fide or the other; and how, notwith¬ 
standing all that ha-nds could do, or art contrive, fome¬ 
times the waters frill prevail, the, banks break, and whole 
levels are overflowed together; all this, and much more 
that might be faid on fo copious a fubjeft, though it 
would be fifeful to have it fully and geographically de¬ 
scribed, yet it would take up fo much room, that we can¬ 
not think of entering any farther into it, than juft to men¬ 
tion, that an aft of parliament was parted, to enable the 
adventurers, owners and proprietors of the taxable lands, 
and the owners and proprietors of the free lands in Deeping 
Fen, Pinchbeck, and Spalding South Fen, Therlby Fen, 
Bourn South Fen, and Croyland Fen, See. in the county 
of Lincoln, containing in the whole about 300,000 acres, 
to raife a competent Aim for the more effectual draining 
and future prefervation of the faid fens, according to their 
agreement in that behalf, dated February 23, 1737, and to 
carry the faid agreement into execution. Thefe fens of 
Lincolnfltire are of the Lame kind with, and contiguous 
to, thofe in the ifle of Ely, in the counties of Cambridge 
and Huntingdon ; and here, as well as there, we fee pro¬ 
digious numbers of cattle, which are fed up to an extra¬ 
ordinary fize by the riennefs of the foil. Many are the 
methods of draining thefe levels, throwing oft' the water 
by mills and engines, and curing the bogs in an effeftual 
manner. See the improved method of thus curing fenny 
and boggy lands, with plans of the drains and implements 
employed, and alfo of the water-engine, augurs, &c. un¬ 
der Draining, vol. vi. p. 54. 
, Hemp is planted in great quantities on the Norfolk and 
Cambridge (ides of the fens; and which, if rendered more 
extenfive, would be a vaft acquifition to the Atpply of 
cordage required by our navy. The cultivation of the 
fen lands depending entirely upon the fecurity and per¬ 
manency of its dikes and banks, rendered extremely ne- 
ceftary the (bit. 27 Geo. II. c. 19 ; by which it is enafted, 
that any perfon conviTed of malicioufiy cutting or deftroy- 
ing any bank, mill, engine, flood-gate, orfluice, for drain¬ 
ing the lands in Bedford-level, (hall be guilty of felony 
without benefit of clergy. By 11 Geo. 11 . c. 34. 14Geo.lI. 
c. 24. 21 Geo. II. c. 1S. the fecond offence in fetting fire 
to, engines for draining the fens mentioned in thofe ads is 
alfo made felony without benefit of clergy. By 22 Hen. 
VIII. c. 11, cutting down and deftroying the dikes in 
Norfolk and Ely is made felony. And by 10 Geo. II. 
c. 32, removing the materials of fea walls, or banks, in¬ 
curs a forfeiture of twenty pounds. 
FEN 
FEN-CHOUI, a town of China, of the third rank, in 
the province of Tche-kiang: twenty-five miles north- 
north-weft of Yen-tcheou. 
FEN-Y, a town of China, of the third rank, in the 
province of Kiang-fi : twenty miles eaft of Yuen-tcheou. 
FENCE, f. [from defence. ] Guard; feci irity ; out¬ 
work; defence.—There’s no fence againft inundations, 
earthquakes, or hurricanes. L'Ef range. 
Let us bear this awful corps to Casfar, 
And lay it in his fight, that it may ftand 
A fence .betwixt us and the vi Tor’s wrath. Addifon. 
Inclofure; mound; hedge; fortified boundary.: 
Shall I mention make 
Of the vaft mound that binds the Lucrine lake ? 
Or the difdairiful fea, that, fliut from thence, 
Roars round the ft rnciure. and invades the fence? Dryden. 
Employ their wiles and unavailing care, 
To pafs theybicos and furprize the fair. Pope. 
The art of fencing; defence..—I bruifed my fkin th’ other 
day, with playing at Avoid and dagger with a mafter of 
fence. Skalcfpearc. —Skill in defence : 
I’ll prove it. on his body if he dare, 
Defpight his nice faice and his a6tive practice. Shakefpeare. 
To FENCE, v. a. To inclofe; to fecure by an inclo- 
Aire or hedge. See Hedge. —He hath fenced tip my way 
that I cannot pafs, and fet darknefs in my paths. Job, xix. 
8.—Thou haft clothed me with fkin and. fiefli, and haft 
fenced me with bones and finews. Job,x. 11.—He went 
about to make a bridge to a.ftrong city, which was fenced 
about with walls. 2 Mac. xii. 13.—To guard; to fortify : 
With love to friend, th’ impatient lover went, 
Fenc'd from the thorns, and trod the deep defeent. Dryden. 
An afiion on the cafe or trefpafs lies, for not repairing 
of fences, whereby cattle come into the ground of another, 
and do damage. 1 Salk. 335. By flat. 9 Geo. III. c. 29, 
deftroying fences fet up.for inclofing commons is made 
felony, but within benefit of clergy. See the article 
Inclosure. 
To FENCE, v.n. To praclife the arts of manual de¬ 
fence; to pradtife the ufe of weapons.—He having got 
fome iron, flnould have it beaten into (words,- and put in¬ 
to his fervants’ hands to Jcnce with, and bang one another. 
Locke. —To-guard againft ; to aft on the defenfive.—Vice 
is the more (tubborn as well as the mere dangerous evil, 
and therefore in the firft place to be fenced againft. Locke. 
—To fight according to art, by obviating- blows, as well 
as giving.—A man that cannot fence mult keep out of 
bullies’ and gamefters’ company. Locke. 
A beauteous heifer in the. wood is bred ; 
The flopping warriors aiming head to head, 
Engage their clafning horns; with dreadful found 
The foreft rattles, and the rocks rebound ; 
They fence and pufii, and, pufhing, loudly roar, 
Their dewlaps and their Tides are bath’d in gore. Dryden „ 
FENCE MONTH, \_menjis fanationis, ifejifis prohibitio¬ 
ns, or merfs vetitus, Laf.] The month wherein female 
deer in forefts, &c. caff their fawn, and therefoie it is un¬ 
lawful to hunt in forefts.during that time; which begins 
fifteen days before Midfummer, and ends fifteen days af¬ 
ter it, being in all thirty days. 20 Car. II. c. 3. Some 
ancient forefters call this month tne defence month , becaule 
then the deer.are to be defended from being diflurbed, 
and the interruptions of fear and danger; as there are 
certain defence months for lalmons, as appears by flat. 
Welfm. 2. c. 42. 
FEN'CELESS, adj. Without inclofure ; open : 
So the wind roars o’er the wide fcncelefs ocean, 
And heaves the billows of the boiling deep, 
Alike from north, from fouth. Rowe - 
' FEN'CERj 
