FARM FENCES. 587 



by repeated plo wings, and the top afterward leveled by the use of a revolving harrow or a 

 roller. 



When the hedge is to be set on sod-land, two shallow furrows are generally opened, 

 the sod removed, and the soil made as mellow as possible to quite a depth. In order to set 

 the hedge in a straight line, a cord should be stretched from one point to another, and be 

 marked with red or so me &quot;contrasting color, to show the place where the plants are to be set. 

 In setting, the soil should be firmly pressed about the roots. The osage orange, when planted 

 at a distance of five or six feet apart, will furnish a good, substantial fence in from 

 three to five years. The willow is very hardy, and will grow readily from branches of the 

 trees cut in suitable length and inserted in the ground. 



During the first year the hedge should be cultivated with the ordinary corn-cultivator, 

 to keep out the weeds and loosen the soil, which will aid much in establishing a good growth. 

 Subsequent cultivation may be performed with the plow, always throwing a light furrow 

 towards the hedge. &quot;When the hedge has become strong enough to restrain stock, and it is 

 desirable to check, in a measure, its growth, this can be accomplished by running a pruning- 

 plow or similar implement along the sides of the ridge, or, if on level ground, at a suitable 

 distance from the hedge, and thus cutting off the ends of the roots, which will check the 

 growth of the plants without killing them, and keep the roots within prescribed limits. 

 Otherwise they will be liable to occupy too large a portion of the soil, and appropriate to 

 their growth the nutriment that should be taken by the growing crops. 



When hedges become, in time, thinned at the bottom, they will require renewing in this 

 part to remedy the evil. This is done in different ways, sometimes temporarily by inserting 

 branches cut from the over-grown or thicker portions of the hedge, and by layering. This 

 latter method reduces the height of the fence greatly, causing the new growth to be made 

 near the ground. It is more successfully practiced in damp, than dry soils. Some kinds of 

 hedge require more frequent trimming than others. They should be cut when the sprouts 

 are green and soft, as it requires less labor at this period of growth. The osage orange, and 

 hedges of equally rapid growth, should be trimmed at least twice a year, and many think it a 

 saving of labor to cut them even three times, thus preventing the wood from getting hard and 

 of large growth. For the cutting of the green or annual branches, a strong and sharp grass- 

 sickle will answer every purpose, which, with a little practice, can be readily accomplished. 



Embankments, with ditches on one or both sides, are used for fencing in some parts 

 of England, but have not been employed to any extent in this country. A large open ditch 

 is dug on the division line, and the earth taken from it is thrown up, forming a high em 

 bankment. A double ditch, one on either side of the ridge, is a more effectual barrier. 

 Sometimes a hedge is planted on the top of the embankment. On very wet lands, such 

 ditches will serve for drainage purposes, but we doubt whether they could be profitably 

 employed as a fence. 



Portable Fences. Portable fences of various kinds are a great convenience on the 

 farm, since they furnish all the advantages of a permanent fence, without the disadvantages. 

 They can also be made during the winter, when other farm work is not pressing. In Canada, 

 where timber is abundant and cheap, a portable fence much in use is constructed with sup 

 ports something in the form of the letter A, the pieces joined at the top forming an acute 

 angle, with the bar near the bottom, and three boards nailed at equal distances on one side 

 of these supports. This fence requires considerable material, but it is cheap and durable, is 

 easily constructed, and when once made requires no extra labor in putting up. Another 

 very convenient portable fence may be made as follows : The supports are made of inch 

 boards, crossing near the top, but allowing the ends to project a sufficient length to furnish 

 a support for the upper board of the panels forming the fence, the support being cut out at 



