PROGRESSIVE POULTRY CULTURE 215 



try netting. Usually, it is safe to place the posts a rod 

 (sixteen and one-half feet) apart. 



Posts for permanent fences may be of cedar, oak, 

 chestnut, catalpa or any wood that is tough and durable. 



Iron piping or concrete shafts may be employed for 

 posts in locations where suitable timber is either very 

 scarce or excessively costly. 



ERECTING WIBE FENCES. Manufacturers of standard 

 woven wire fencing usually supply printed directions for 

 putting up the fences, but a few points may be men- 

 tioned that are particularly pertinent. 



Wasting of the posts, if they are of timber, or even 

 of iron, occurs principally at the surface of the ground 

 where alternate wetting and drying promote decay of the 

 wood or rusting of the metal. 



This part of the wooden post may be rendered less 

 liable to weakening by charring with fire, coating with 

 hot tar or saturating with a solution of copperas. Iron 

 posts may be coated with tar or water-proof paint. 



Wooden posts for the corner of the fence may be 

 eight or ten inches in diameter. Intervening posts need 

 not exceed six inches in diameter, especially if the fence 

 is to be erected in a straight line. 



The corner posts should be set at least four feet in 

 the ground and braced by poles extending from near 

 their tops to the ground at the next post in line. The 

 intermediate posts may be set three feet in the ground. 

 A post-hole digger is most useful in excavating the 

 holes unless the ground is exceedingly solid or stony. A 

 long-handled, round-pointed shovel and an iron bar are 

 also useful tools. 



A special fence stretcher, obtainable of the dealer in 

 woven fences, will be a great help in drawing the fenc- 

 ing into place. 



Galvanized wire staples are used to fasten the wires 

 to the posts. 



The fencing comes in rolls of different widths and 

 thus determines the height of the fence. For fowls of 



