INVISIBLE IRON FENCES. 



BY HENRY W. SARGENT, ESQ., WODENETIIE. 



[An iron fence, at once light, substantial, 

 inconspicuous and cheap, is a great deside- 

 ratum in this country; and we have, as 

 yet, seen nothing of the kind so entirely 

 satisfactory, in all these respects, as one at 

 Wodenethe, the seat of Henry W. Sar- 

 gent, Esq., of which he has obligingly pre- 

 pared us the following description. 



We especially commend this fence for 

 ornamental grounds. In this country, 

 where labor is dear, by the aid of a fence 

 of this kind, a large surface of grass may 

 be kept in admirable order by sheep, so as 

 to give the effect of a lawn kept short by 

 constant mowing, at little or no cost. Ed.] 



My Dear Sir — Annexed is a rough 

 sketch of my wire or invisible fence, re- 

 specting the cost and construction of which 

 you requested me to give you some de- 

 tails. 



I take common bar iron, 1£ inch wide 

 and j inch thick, and cutting it into lengths 

 of 5 feet, I round off the heads, sharpen to 

 a gradual point the feet, and then pierce it 

 with five holes to receive the wire, at the 

 distance of S, 9, 10, 11 and 12 inches, 

 which are the distances of the sheep and 

 lamb hurdles in England. 



These form the uprights, and are driven 

 9 inches into cedar, locust or chestnut posts, 

 18 inches long, and 5 or 6 broad, which 

 are placed immediately below the surface 

 of the ground, leaving only the wire up- 

 rights to show above, and are heavily ram- 

 med down, — making them rather firmer 

 (there being less resistance to wind and 

 other ordinary pressure,) than posts set for 

 common board or picket fence. These up- 

 rights are set 5 feet apart. 6 or 7 would, 



I presume, answer equally well ; and after 

 being plumbed, the wire is drawn through 

 and fastened securely, in hundred feet 

 lengths, to a stout post of cedar or other 

 wood, unless one has the good luck to find 

 a tree, which makes a much stronger and 

 less visible finish. I find it difficult (using 

 simply a crow-bar as a lever,) to draw the 

 wire tight and straight, at distances much 

 greater than 100 feet. The wire I em- 

 ploy is No. 4, about the thickness, or a tri- 

 fle larger than a common quill, and costs 

 in New-York, at wholesale prices, 5% per 

 lb. ; though I since learn it can be pur- 

 chased at 4| cents. 



The cost of making the fence depends 

 somewhat upon the soil. In many soils, a 

 common post-hole auger can be used. My 

 soil being stony, the holes were dug, and 

 cost 4 cents apiece. My cedar posts (18 

 inches long,) 7 cents each; making the 

 cost of 100 feet of fence about $13.40, or 

 about 13| cents per foot, as follows : 



20 uprights, weighing 5\ lbs. each, 110 



lbs., at 4 cents, $4 40 



500 feet wire, weighing 100 lbs., at 



5\ cents, 5 50 



20 cedar posts, digging holes, sta- 

 ples, &c, 2 50 



Labor putting up, 2 men half a day, 1 00 



Per 100 feet $13 40 



Of course, the expense is increased or 

 diminished by increasing or diminishing 

 the number of posts. In my woods, I run 

 the w-ires from trees, and require only 5 to 

 10 uprights, instead of 20, as in the above 

 estimate, and in some cases none at all ; 

 while upon my lawn, I have employed 25 



