FARM FENCES. 563 



Rail Fence. The kind of fences used on a farm will vary according to circumstances, 

 the most available material being generally employed in each section. As the country becomes 

 older, and the material for fencing purposes becomes more scarce and expensive, the question 

 as to the most economical and durable fence to construct becomes a more important one to 

 ietermine. The first settlers of the country, finding timber and stone abundant, made use of 

 these principally in the construction of fences. Hence, the rail-fence and stone- wall became the 

 most common at that time. In newly-settled portions, where timber is plenty, the common 

 rail-fence, or what is termed the zigzag or Virginia fence, is quite extensively employed, 

 owing to the material being cheap, often an incumbrance in clearing up new lands, and 

 the rails being easily split. 



This style of fence has been very appropriately termed by a recent writer, &quot; the relic of 

 a lavish era of unlimited forestry,&quot; the counterpart of which is seen in no other country, it 

 being typical of Yankeeland. Cedar is most commonly used for making rails, although 

 hemlock, chestnut, and other kinds of timber may be employed for this purpose. 



In making a rail-fence, wooden blocks are preferred to stones for supports at the cor 

 ners, as the stones will soon sink into the ground and become of no use whatever. Blocks 

 will decay in time, but they may be replaced by others. The stakes used should always be 

 large enough to give sufficient strength and support to the fence. It will be a practice of 

 economy also to make them long enough to be re-sharpened and used again when the ends 

 decay. Long stakes projecting at the corners, however, give a fence an unsightly appear 

 ance. A more symmetrical and neater-looking fence, besides being equally strong, can be 

 made by putting two upright stakes, one on either side of the angle formed in crossing the 

 rails, and securing them by a plank in which holes are made of sufficient size and distance 

 apart to admit of being slipped over these posts to hold them securely after all but one or 

 two of the top rails have been laid. The upper rails are then put on to hold the plank firmly 

 in place. Annealed wire of large size maybe wound around the stakes to hold them in place, 

 instead of the use of the plank, if desired. The objections to the common rail-fence are, the large 

 amount of timber necessary for its construction, the ease with which it may be thrown down 

 by stock, or blown over by the strong winds, and the amount of land it occupies. Where 

 timber is abundant, land plenty, and saw-mills not easily accessible, some kind of a rail-fence 

 may prove the most profitable; but, as a general rule, with ordinary facilities for obtaining 

 other material, and where land is valuable, some other style of fence is to be preferred. 



Post and Rail-Fences. Considerable less timber will be required for this than the 

 common rail, or Virginia fence, and it also occupies only about one-third the land required 

 for the latter, besides being more substantial. It is, however, a more expensive fence to 

 make, since considerable labor and time are involved in digging the holes for the posts, and 

 in making holes in the posts for the rails, and fitting the latter to them. The posts are liable 

 to be thrown out by the frost, and also to decay, requiring to be occasionally reset. Some 

 kinds of timber will, however, last much longer than others, and if the most durable kinds 

 are used, a fence of this style, when once properly built, will last several years with but few 

 repairs. The posts should be pointed at the end, and set from two and a half to three feet 

 in the ground. The hole should be made quite large, and the post placed in the center and 

 surrounded by very small stones, which should be pounded in firmly around the post, as the 

 hole is filled up. This will prevent heaving, and the post will also last much longer than if 

 surrounded with earth. 



Nailing a piece of board about two feet long to one side of the post near the bottom, 

 and another piece on the opposite side a little higher, and packing the earth firmly down, is 

 also a good preventive against heaving. A post set in this manner will generally rise and 

 fall with the earth, and hence will not be liable to be thrown out. Of course, the hole in 

 such cases must be dug large enough to admit of the extra width required by the boards 

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