“ Now the invention of barbed wire supplies a material so cheap and easily put in place, that hedges have ceased to be regarded as economical for general farm purposes. But they have by no means gone wholly out of use. As a boundary fence, especially upon the roadside, there is much to be said in favor of the hedge. Nothing gives a neighborhood such a finished rural aspect, as to have the roads bordered by hedges. ”

“ If the fence is overthrown by wind or storms, the company is entitled to reasonable time in which to repair it, and if cattle enter and are injured, without fault on the company’s part, it is not liable. If cattle stray upon the track at a crossing of a public road, and are killed, the owners cannot recover damages, unless the railroad company is guilty of gross negligence or intentional wrong. ”

“ A roguish animal will sometimes open a gate by raising the latch with its nose, but if one attempt it with this, it can only raise one latch at a time, always the upper one, while the lower one remains fastened. As soon as the animal lets go, the latch springs back and catches again. A hog cannot get through, for the lower latch prevents the gate from opening sufficiently to allow it to pass. A cow will find it difficult to open the gate, because she cannot raise the gate high enough to unlatch it. ”

“ There is quite an art in splitting logs into posts. Every post should have some heart wood, which lasts the longer, for two reasons: That there may be durable wood into which to drive the nails, and without it some of the posts, composed entirely of sap-wood, will rot off long before others, making the most annoying of all repairing necessary. If the log is of a size to make twelve posts, split along the lines of figure 146, which will give each post a share of heart wood. ”

“ It is authoritatively stated that the building and maintenance of the farm fences in the United States have cost more than the construction of the farm buildings. Be this as it may, while large numbers of works have been written upon rural architecture we believe this is the first publication specially devoted to Fences, Gates and Bridges. It aims to be a practical work, showing the “evolution” of the fence from the road barrier of logs, brush or sods to the latest improved forms of barbed wire. ”

“ In Vermont, Connecticut, Michigan, and some other States, a legal fence must be four and a half feet high. In Missouri post fences must be four and one half feet high, hedges four feet high, turf fences four feet high, with ditches on each side three feet deep in the middle and three feet wide; worm fences must be five and one-half feet high to the top of the rider, or if not ridered, five feet to the top of the top rail, and must be rocked with strong rails, poles or stakes; stone or brick fences must be four and one-half feet high. ”

“ Some cows become so expert, they can lift almost any gate latch. To circumvent this troublesome habit, latches made as shown in figure 246 will fill this bill exactly. It is a piece of iron bar, drawn down at one end, and cut with a thread to screw into the gate post. A stirrup, or crooked staple, made as shown, is fitted by a screw bolt and nut to the bar. A small bolt must be driven in to keep the stirrup from being thrown over. A projecting slat on the gate, when it is shut, lifts the stirrup and holds the gate. ”

“ If no sulky plow is at hand, a light “double-ended” sled, shown in figure 81, may be used. A man holds the short pole extending from one end, steadyingPage 54 and pushing a little, while the other winds the reel. The sled is drawn forward by the wire as it is wound on the reel. To unreel, attach a slow horse to a chain or rope fastened to the opposite end of the sled. A man must walk behind the horse and hold the pole to steady the sled. Managed in this way, the removal of a barbed wire fence is not at all the formidable operation that has been supposed ”

“ The boards can be placed in the holder like putting up bars, and are guided to their places on the post by the blocks, d, d. The boards can now be nailed on the posts, and the holding devices moved for another length. When the boards are too long, they can be pulled forward a little, and the end sawed, and pushed back to place. One man using the contrivance, can nail on nearly as many boards in a day, as two persons with one to hold the boards in the old way. Figure 37 shows the manner of using the fence board holders. ”

“ In New York the electors of each town may, by vote, decide for themselves how fences shall be made, and what shall be deemed sufficient. No part of the fence law is so definitely regulated by the statutes of the respective States as the requirements of a legal fence. ”

“ In nearly every State, railroad companies are required by statute to construct and maintain legal and sufficient fences on both sides of their roads, except at crossings of public highways, in front of mills, depots, and other places where the public convenience requires that they shall be left open. The legal obligations of railroad companies to fence their roads rest wholly upon such statutes. ”

“ Properly built, of good material, on a clear, solid bed, kept free from bushes and other growth to shade it and cause it to rot, the rail fence is as cheap as any, and as effective and durable as can reasonably be desired. Good chestnut, oak, cedar, or juniper rails, or original growth heart pine, will last from fifty to a hundred years, so that material of this sort, once in hand, will serve one or two generations. ”

“ The fence is fastened to the post with common fence staples. When this style of fence is used on one side of a pasture or highway, its effectiveness may be increased by a singlePage 41 strand of barbed wire stapled to the posts above the pickets, and a strand of plain wire strung along the bottom to stiffen it. The fence will then be as in figure 56. Such a fence will last many years, and for most sections of the country is the best and cheapest combined cattle and hog fence that can be made. For a garden fence it is equal to the best picket, and at one third of the cost. ”

“ For the fence shown in figure 119, two augur holes are bored a few inches apart, and small poles driven to serve as posts. Rails or round poles of the usual length are laid to the desired height, and the top of the posts tied together with wire. In situations where timber is less plentiful, a single stake is set into the base, as in figure 120, braced, and barbed or plain wire attached by staples. Besides the advantage of being easily moved, these fences can be prepared in winter, when there is little else to do, and rapidly set in place at any time when the ground is clear of snow. ”

“ A very cheap fence is made of two boards below and three strands of barb wire. To make the fence pig-proof without the boards, five strands of wire, three inches apart, would be required at the bottom. Two common fencing boards will occupy the same space, when placed three inches apart, and cost less. But for the upper part of the fence, wire is much cheaper than boards. The most considerable item in this greater economy is the saving of posts. The wire requires a post every sixteen feet ”

“ A living tree which stands in the right place, makes a very durable and substantial fence-post. In the greatPage 106 treeless regions of the Mississippi Valley, where it is difficult to obtain timber for posts, it is not an unusual practice to plant trees for the purpose on street boundaries, and other places where the fence is to be permanent. White willow is well adapted for the purpose on suitable soils, as it grows rapidly and bears close pruning. ”

“ The stringers are eight to twelve feet in length, and usually one of the flat sides is sufficiently smooth for receiving the pickets. Let the stringers project a few inches beyond each post, adding strength to the fence, and should the posts decay, new ones may be driven in on either side, and the stringers readily attached by heavy nails or spikes. With timber that splits freely, a man can rive out five or six hundred pickets in a day. The construction of the fence is plainly shown in the above engraving. ”

“ A good wooden gate will last a long time. Gateways should be at least fourteen feet wide. All the wood used in the construction of the gate should be well seasoned. It is best to plane all the wood-work, though this is not absolutely necessary. Cover each tenon withPage 118 thick paint before it is placed in its mortise. Fasten the brace to the cross-piece with small bolts or wrought nails well clinched. Mortise the ends of the boards into the end-posts, and secure them in place with wooden pins wedged at both ends, or iron bolts. The best are made of pine fence-boards six inches wide ”

“ There is no legal obligation in any of the States, upon any proprietor of uncultivated, unimproved and unoccupied land, to keep up division fences. When a proprietor improves his land, or encloses land already improved, the land adjoining being unimproved, he must make the whole division fence, and if the adjoining proprietor afterward improves his land, he is required to pay for one half the division fence, according to the value thereof at that time. ”

“ The joints should always be “broken,” as is shown in the engraving, figure 25, so that in a four-board fence but two joints should come on each post. By this means more firmness and durability is secured, there being always two unbroken boards on each post to hold it in place, preventing sagging. On the face of the post immediately over where the rails have been nailed on, nail a flat piece of board the width of the post and extending from the upper part of the top rail to the ground. ”

“ Another kind of a wire-stretcher may be made of hard wood or of iron or steel bars. It consists of three pieces, two arms and a splicer, fastened together in the manner shown in figure 87, leaving a slot near one end to hold the wire. The longer arm is made immovable upon the splice by means of two or more heavy bolts, while thePage 57 shorter arm is pivoted by one bolt. This allows the slot to be opened to receive the wire. The short arm is sharpened so that it may be stuck into a post, or the side of a building, if convenient. ”

“ The thorns are not so hard as in the spring. The brush will be less, and on account of their pliability and greater weight, will pack into the heap much better. If trimmed in August, the hedge will not make any considerable growth during the fall. August trimming does not injure the hedge, rather helps it, as it tends to ripen the wood, preventing a late Autumn growth to be injured by the winter. The loss of sap is less than when the trimming is done in the early spring, as then the wounds are larger, and do not heal before the sap flows. ”

“ The stakes, resting on the rails and standing at angle, brace the fence firmly. But the feet of the stakes extending beyond the jagged corners formed by the ends of the rail are objectionable. This is remedied in part by putting the stakes over the middle of the panel—at considerable distance apart—and laying in them long poles horizontally. In this case the stakes should be set at such an angle as to prevent their moving sidewise along the top rail, which should be a strong one. These stakes and long riders are frequently used to raise the height of low stone walls. ”

“ When the farmers on the prairies prevent the spreading of the prairie fires, young oak and hickory saplings spring up as if by magic near all the wooded streams. These saplings come from huge roots whose tops have yearly been destroyed by fire. In that section farmers often construct a very neat rustic fence from two or three year old saplings, having the appearance of figure 48. The rustic pickets are trimmed so as to leave the branches projecting about two inches, and are nailed on with four-penny nails. ”

“ In moving fence, place the spool on the frame; remove one end of the wire from the post, fasten it to the spool, and while one man holds the pole and steers and steadies the sulky—he will have to pull back a little—another turns the spool and winds up the wire. ”

“ The bow wicket has the advantage of providing a gate “always open and always shut,” and not apt to get out of repair. A wrought iron bow wicket, with short vertical bars, is shown in figure 262. Figure 263 has the bars horizontal,Page 165 and folds in the middle for a wheel-barrow or small animals to pass. To go through it, a person simply steps into the bow, swings the gate away from him, and swings it back in passing out. There is no latch to fasten, and no fear of the entry of livestock. Similar wickets may be constructed of wood for board fences.
WOODEN WICKETS. ”

“ Under the common law, the land owner is under no obligation to fence his land along a public highway. But in Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Oregon, and some other Western and Southern States, the common law rule has been modified by statutes depriving the land-holder of his action for trespass, unless he maintains sufficient fences around his land. In these States, the owner ofPage 174 land must enclose it with sufficient fences if he would cultivate it. ”

“ By releasing the cranks and ratchet, the follower will run down the guides, and, striking the maul, will “click” the latch into place, ready for another hoist. For two men it is easy work, and can be handled quite rapidly. Drive astride the proposed line of fence; lay a measuring-pole on the ground to mark the spot for the next post; drive forward with the post driver, having the maul partly raised, set up a post, and proceed to drive it.
SETTING A GATE POST. ”

“ An elaborate bridge of wood or masonry would be as much out of place on grounds unadorned by other structures, as a rude rustic one would be near highly finished summer-houses and other architectural features. ”

“ A horizontal bar is nailed to the posts six inches above the ground, a second one eighteen inches, and a third four and a half feet. To two lower strips nail laths that have been cut to half length, first driving the lower part of the laths two inches into the ground.Page 39 One advantage of this fence is, that the two strips near the bottom, being so close together, sustain pressure from dogs or outside intruders better than any other fence constructed of lath, and dispenses with a foot-wide board, so generally used. ”

“ Such fences are to be built on the boundary line, the expense to be borne equally by the parties, or each one shall make and maintain half the fence. If they cannot agree, or either refuses or neglects to do his share, the statutes provide methods by which the matter may be determined. In some of the States, two or more public officers, called fence-viewers, are elected annually in each township, whose duties, as prescribed by statute, are, when called upon, to hear and decide questions relating to fences in their respective towns. ”

“ Some use a trowel with a blade about ten inches long; others a dibble, and a larger number than either of the others, a spade. For setting long lines, in situations where appearances are of secondary importance, young Osage plants are set very rapidly by running a furrow where the rows are to stand, laying the plants with their roots spread on the mellow soil, one side of the furrow. A furrow is next turned upon the roots, and the plants which may have been disarranged are restored by hand. A tread of the foot will consolidate the earth around each plant. ”