annual report—Miscellaneous. 
4 1 
public good to the amount of one hundred and twenty millions of 
dollars of principal, and of principal and interest of more than 
five hundred millions of dollars, or ten millions annually. I be¬ 
lieve this saving can be made by the building or planting of live 
fences. The first cost of preparing the land, planting, with 
care and labor required for three or four years in cultiva¬ 
tion and trimming, need not exceed, if equal, the first cost of 
building the common fences of the country, and annual repairs 
thereon. At all events, the live fence for twelve years cannot 
cost more than the common fence for the same period, and the 
former is then ot little cost during the life of the person planting 
it, and probably for an hundred years, while the common fence 
must be immediately rebuilt at a cost of forty millions more. If 
this snug little sum of ten millions annually, on an average, in 
fifty years can be saved to the farmers, it would stimulate and 
build up business enterprises throughout the state, improve the 
farm houses and their surroundings, infuse new life and vigor 
into the agriculturist, and generally better the financial, social 
and intellectual condition of all our people. 
Experiments are being made in several localities of the state 
with fast growing timber, and the prospect is promising that a 
good and substantial fence will be the result in a few years. After 
giving this matter some thought and investigation, I am prepared 
to say that the best of live fences can, in my judgment, be grown 
from the yellow willow, white or soft maple, box elder or ash- 
leafed maple, Lombardy poplar, cottonwood, and acacia or honey 
locust. These trees are all hardy, will thrive vigorously in any 
part of the state, and if planted sufficiently close, say eight to 
twelve inches, will make in a few years, with proper care and at¬ 
tention, a good fence. Some may think that they will not grow 
so near together and be strong and healthy, but they will. Those 
with the widest spreading branches, like the maple, may want ail 
occasional trimming between the trees, but they will grow finely 
and make a fence so strong and so tight that no animal can pass 
it. If made from the soft maple, or box elder, they can be tapped 
at the age of seven or eight years, and the trees thereafter made 
to serve the double purpose of fence and sugar tree forest. This • 
fence cannot be grown without thought, patient care and prompt 
