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For rural historians, the origin of hedgerows (bocage) is a recurring issue. The case of the Haute-Marche area, located between the Berry and Limousin regions, throws light on the origin of networks of hedges designed to segregate crops, cattle, and feedstuffs. The slow organization of this system was first observed on sharecropping farms, which were well-established agricultural concerns created when feudal domains were dismembered during the 15th century. This context of rural reconstruction explains the new configuration of landscapes and products. Both sharecropping farms and hedges slowly spread from the northwest to the southeast of the region during the 15th and 16th centuries. Only lands at higher elevations escaped conversion into hedgerows and remained open moors cultivated by serfs.