PRACTICAL PAPERS—STOCK ON THE FARM. 
181 
have spent half the forenoon in chasing after teams or young 
stock which were “ turned out.” Here is a serious loss of time, 
and just when most needed, in the cool of the day or morning 
—the best time for work. Also in looking after cows, which 
failed to come up at night, there is a great loss of time and 
walk, with more or less injury to the cows. There is scarcely 
a farmer who has not suffered from this fact, and does not 
know its truth. The system here proposed profitably saves 
all this loss and vexation. 
COST OF FENCING. 
Fences are a heavy cost to the farmer, which may easily be 
dispensed with. To illustrate: Take a farm of only 160 
acres, a quarter section, which is half a mile square, one side 
of which lies on the highway, the other three sides joining other 
farms, whose owners are supposed to make half of the “ line 
fences.” To enclose this, the owner must make the road fence, 
160 rods, and half of three other sides, 240 rods—in all 400 rods; 
and this only encloses his farm ; but with our plan this is all that 
would be required, except a little to enclose yards, garden, &c.; 
while on the common plan of pasturing, about as much more 
would be required for cross-fences, and to lay off separate 
fields. This fencing will cost, atthe^very least, one to two dol¬ 
lars per rod—say five hundred dollars—without any allowance 
for after repairs—enough to feed the usual stock for years ; 
nearly or all of which, by our plan, would be saved; or, if 
expended in additional labor and seed, would return annually 
at least five times that much in produce—enough to pay for 
feeding all the stock, in this pleasant, quiet way, and leave a 
large margin of profits to the operator, above what he could 
realize under the usual manner. Besides, there is no 
loss of time, and space by the frequent “ turn-abouts,” in 
plowing, and dragging, and harvesting smaller fields, caused 
by many division fences, and in opening and closing bars, 
gates and gaps—hindrances which all farmers know, but do 
not usdally take into account, yet which will tell by consuming 
time during the best seasons and weather for work. So much 
