A kind of dead fences have lately been introduced into practice in those parts of Scotland, where extensive plantations of Scots fir have been made; a loss of three quarters of an acre nearly, or about one seventh part of the whole. If it were divided into gardens of a quarter of an acre each, the lofs would more than one half of the whole. But say, that instead of one seventh, which may be nearly the proportion wasted in the richest and best inclosed grounds in the kingdom, the real waste upon the whole of Britain thus incurred should not exceed one twentieth part: as it is computed that there are above fifty millions of acres in Britain, this would bring the waste arising from this source to two millions five hundred thousand acres ; and as the produce of an acre of land well cultivated will maintain two persons for one year, the land thus wasted might sustain no fewer than five millions of persons!!! Nor is this the whole of the lofs accruing to the nation from living hedges; the destruction that is done by sparrows upon corn fields surrounded by live hedges is immense, and baffies all calculation. The labour too that is employed annually in making and repairing hedges, and the waste that arises from beasts breaking through such imperfect fences, if fairly estimated, would amount to a vast sum; all of which may be accounted a real waste, and a dead draught from the wealth and industry of the nation. These defalcations are not adverted to, because the abuses that give rise to them are of old standing, and have crept into use imperceptibly. But there can be no doubt, that in small fields of rich land thus inclosed, the average produce that might be obtained from them, were the live fences entirely removed, and others of the sort recommended in the text substituted in their stead, might be augmented at least one fourth more than it is at present; and consequently the rent that could be paid for these fields would be augmented in a yet higher ratio. It behoves men of sense to advert to a circumstance of such immense impor tance. Should the beauty of live fences be deemed an object of so much consequence by some, as to make them willing to forego some advantages for the pleasure of looking at them, that beauty may by the help of our fences be obtained without lofs, by substituting fruit trees or berry busbes in lieu of the barren brush now employed. Should and where of course that kind of wood can be got at a small expence. The thinnings of these plantations which are cut out when the trees are the thicknefs of a man's leg and under, are cut into lengths of four or five feet, according to the height of the intended fence; these are pointed at one end, and sawed streight across at the other; they are then placed in a row at small distances from each other, and driven into the earth with a wooden mallet, leaving their tops all of one height. Upon the top of these is fixed a lath of wood sawed, the fence be made of larch supports, joined together by sawed boards about four inches broad, running horizontally, at the distance of six or eight inches from each other, the branches of a jargonelle pear or an apple of any valuable kind, might be trained, horizontally along these bars as if upon a wall; and if one tree was planted on one side the fence opposite to the interval between two trees on the other side of it, the whole might thus be filled on both sides. This could easily be done by means of lists and nails or tacks driven into the wood; but even these two articles of expence might be saved, if a thin piece of lath were nailed along the upper part of each bar, leaving a small opening of about a quarter of an inch between the lath and the bar, Thus might the branches be fastened to this lath by means of withy or willow twigs, and no nails whatever used. Should currants or other berry bearing bushes be preferred, they might be fastened by a similar contrivance, and the tops be allowed to advance so far above the wood as to give it the appearance of a live hedge. In rich grounds abundant orchards might thus be obtained, and the waste occasioned by their roots be plentifully repaidby the fruit. The only other use that can be pleaded for live hedges is for affording fire wood. But this could in all cases be much more economically obtained, where necefsary, by appropriating a patch of ground of a proper size for the farm entirely to that purpose, as has been very properly recommended by lord Kames, as a necefsary appendage to every farm. See gentleman farmer. which joins the whole together. Thus it has a neat appearance, and is upon the whole a fence which has every thing that could be desired, were it suffici ently durable. Were it made of larix, that quality would be obtained, so that it would be quite complete. Those who live in countries that are already inclosed, are, upon the present plan of fences, subjected to no other lofses or inconveniences than those above enumerated: but where inclosures are not yet made, a man's life-time must be nearly elapsed before live hedges can be made a sufficient fence ; $o that it is impofsible to estimate the lofs, and trouble, and embarrassment to which he is thus subjected *, * To plant hedges in a country where hedges already abound, is not an enterprise of immense difficulty, because dead brush in such a situation can always be obtained to make a temporary fence for its protection; and because the hedge, on account of the shelter it there obtains will advance with greater rapidity. The domestic animals too in such a country, not being occustomed to range so much at large as in open countries, the farmer is not subjected to so much trouble in guar ding them against damage as in the other situation: but a man who attempts first to rear hedges in an open country, where no trees or shelter abound exposes himself to an innumerable train of vexatious anxiefies; for which he can scarcely ever receive an adequate compensation. Hence we see in every such part of the country many ́attempts of this sort that have proved abortive, where, after great sums of money had been uselessly expended, the fields are left in a mangled and often deteriorated state, from the abortive operations that have been made upon them. Men of sense, by whom alone every important improvement in a country must ultimately be carried forward, seeing these distressing evils before their eyes, are deterred from engaging in such ruinous enterprises, the country is left unenclosed; and thousands of conveniences must be foregoed, because of want of fences. By the mode here proposed, this great evil might be universally or to conceive an idea of the rapidity with which improvements would be carried forward on many occasions, were this conveniency put within his reach. One improvement, it is well known, accelerates another; so that by stopping one, like poisoning a seed in embrio, you may stop many thousands of others for ages, that might have been going forward in an endless succefsion of accumulating progression. It will be seen in the sequel, that larch wood may be reared in such abundance, and in such a short space of time for this purpose in every possible situation, that were men to set themselves seriously to rear it, there is no part of Britain that might not in ten or twelve years at farthest pofsefs the advantages that would be thus derived from it, along with many others that shall be specified in some future number of this work. To be continued.. SIR, LETTER FROM SENEX. To the Editor of the Bee. AFTER a long absence, I return again to my native land. The distrefs which opprefsed me when last I wrote to you, seemed ready to put a period to that existence which though productive of little joy we all removed in a few years; and a man, like Ariel in the tempest, when ever he found he had immediate occasion for an enclosure, could ob tain it almost " with a wifh." are formed by an instinctive bias to wish to preserve. I looked forward with a kind of solemn serenity to the near approach of that awful scene which await eth all mankind. My physician, alarmed for a life which his partiality had rendered dear to him, pushed me away; make haste said he, before the approach of winter fly to some warmer region, where the chilling blasts of December may not overpower your weakly frame. I hesitated; for whither to go I knew not.No daughter was left to cheer the evening of life, with those tender cares which it so much becomes her to minister to a father. To go in the state of health I then experienced to a distant region among strangers, to me appeared a task more frightful to encounter than death itself. Suffer me then, O my friend, I said, at least to die in peace. The ut most that could be expected from all your anxious care and skill would be only to prolong for a few moments more that brittle thread, which soon at all events must break. What avails it whether this shall take place to day or tomorrow, or some months, or even years hence? All that life is worth the wishing for is gone, and were it not for the ideal pleasure of holding converse at times with those who have gone before, and thus exalting the mind to a degree of happy enthusiasm, I should not have spirits to converse even with you; for all would then be a settled gloom, without one spark of day. Suffer me then to close my days in peac and to indulge the sweet idea that when the scene is finally closed, my body shall be deposited by you in the same grave with those I loved. VOL. XVII. t |
