184 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



6 inches thick, and the excaYated earth is thrown to the back of 

 the dyke, sloped up, and firmly trodden. 



The height of this kind of dyke from the bottom of the ditch 

 when finished should be about 6 feet, as after a time the turf 

 will settle and reduce the original height by at least a foot. The 

 base of this dyke should be about 2 feet wide, and the cope or 

 topmost turf, 15 inches wide, should be turned with the green 

 side up, all the others being turned with the green side down. 



The posts for the wires, whether of wood or iron, should be 

 put in while the dyke is being made, and the wares attached 

 afterwards. The posts should be placed at 18 feet intervals, 

 with two droppers between. The cost of this description of 

 fence should not, in ordinary circumstances, exceed is. per lineal 

 yard. 



Wire-Fe7icing. — Where shelter is of little importance, and it is 

 only necessary to protect the plantation from sheep and cattle, the 

 Corriemony wire-fence is the cheapest and most durable. The 

 height should be 3^ feet. It should consist of one seven-ply 

 strand of No. 6 galvanized wire on the top, and six wires of 

 No. 8 Bessemer steel below. Standards of T iron (furnished 

 with side stays) for fixing into stone laid 14 yards apart should 

 be erected along the line of fence, and droppers at 6 feet apart 

 should occupy the spaces between. Straining-pillars 180 yards 

 apart should be sufficiently close. The cost of such a fence 

 should not exceed is. 2d. per lineal yard. 



Fencing against Cattle and Horses. — Where only cattle and 

 horses have to be reckoned with, a much cheaper fence than any 

 of those mentioned can be erected with equal safety to the 

 plantation. It consists of creosoted Scots pine posts placed at 

 12 feet intervals, with larch straining-posts 200 yards apart, 

 having four lines of No. 7 galvanized steel-wire below and two 

 lines of 3-inch galvanized barbed-wire above. Kept thoroughly 

 strained, this is a perfectly reliable protection against heavy 

 stock. It can be erected at a cost of 6d. per lineal yard. 



Fencing against Ground-Game. — It must always be remembered 

 when enclosing ground for planting that the exclusion of ground- 

 game is even more important than the exclusion of farm-stock. 

 No land that is overrun with ground-game can be planted with 

 profit unless the rabbits and hares are either exterminated for miles 

 around, or the whole be enclosed with wire-netting, and the 

 vermin destroyed before planting is begun. For this purpose the 



