66 THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 



k height of the fence. They are usually cut from seven to nine 

 feet in length ; but whatever length may be adopted, it should be 

 kept in mind that stakes should be cut long enough to admit of 

 being set the second time, after the end which has been set in the 

 ground has rotted off. The part of stakes out of the ground will 

 usually last twice as long as the part in the ground, no matter 

 what the timber may be. Therefore, if stakes be cut just long 

 enough to be set but once, after one end is decayed, so that they 

 need re-setting, they are worthless ; but by cutting them long 

 enough to be set again after a foot or so has rotted, it is much 

 more economical than to make new stakes as often as the ends 

 rot or decay enough to render them too short for the fence. 



69. Some farmers deem it a matter of economy to cut their 

 fence posts, and particularly bar-posts, long enough to admit of 

 the other end being set in the ground after one end has decayed. 

 But there are very plausible objections to this practice. Fence 

 posts which extend from two to three feet above the fence present 

 an unsightly appearance, and, besides, the longer the post is the 

 more liable it is to deviate from standing erect. Bar-posts which 

 extend three feet higher than they ought to are a nuisance, because 

 they are always in the way, especially when one is passing with 

 a load of hay or grain. 



PEELING RAILS AND STAKES. 



70. This should always be done when they are split out, so 

 that they may season the better. It requires but a little time to 

 peel them when splitting them, and as rails and stakes are often 

 split by the job, at so much per hundred, a man will usually split 

 them, peel them, and stick them up, for a few cents more per hun 

 dred than he will ask for simply splitting them, providing one in 

 sists on it when negotiating about splitting. ; When timber is cut 

 in the fall, it is true, it does not peel as well as when cut in the 

 summer, but as a general rule it will peel tolerably well after it is 

 split out, even when cut in autumn. When the bark is thick and 

 heavy it will peel about as well from small pieces, like rails and 

 stakes, as it will when the timber is cut in the summer. But 



