48 



piece of piping or an old fencing-standard makes a good rein- 

 forcement. 



Tor fixing the wires to the posts several methods may 1)0 used. 

 First is the method of holes through the posts made by inserting 

 small-sized pieces of piping. For a new fence on level ground 

 this way would possibly be satisfactory, but on hilly fence- lines 

 it would be impossible to pull the wires through the posts owing 

 to the wires locking on the edge of the holes at the dips and rises. 

 Another method is to put two wire loops in the concrete for each 

 wire, and thread a piece of wire down from the top of the ])Ost 

 to hold the wires in position. The time taken in making the 

 loops is a great drawback to this method. A better way is to 

 put 6}{l in. by % in. bolts into the posts, one 5 in. from the top, 

 the other 3 in. above the ground-level, for the purpose of bolting 

 a 4 in. by 2 in. batten to the post. This allows the wires to 

 be stapled to the posts in the ordinary way. Put a saw-mark 

 on the moulds where the bolts are to be put in, so that all posts 

 have the bolts in the same position. By doing this the battens 

 are interchangeable. The bolts should be pushed into the con- 

 crete the full depth of the mould, taking care to keep them up- 

 right and in the center of the posts. They are best put in after 

 the mould has been filled with concrete and smoothed off. 



For posts to be used as dips in the fence-line and requiring 

 a foot, make a hole near the bottom of the post by putting in 

 a piece of 1 in. piping, taking this out two or three hours after 

 the post is made, by turning the piping around and pulling 

 gently at the same time. Extra wire should be put round the 

 bottom of posts that are to be used for dips. It is doubtful if 

 concrete posts will stand the strain of the wires in a heavy lift, 

 but they do quite well for light places. 



Do not take the posts out of the moulds for a month after 

 making — wetting them occasionally during that time — and leave 

 them six months to season before using. 



A bag of cement makes seven posts and a little over, two bags 

 of cement making fifteen posts. 



The weight of concrete posts is their chief disadvantage — each 

 post weighing about 130 lb.; but they can be used wdiere haul- 

 . age is easy, leaving any timber available for use on rough back 

 lines. 



C. S. J. 



