THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 73 



bing against it. If the ends of the rails extend three or four inches 

 beyond the joint, a fence is no more liable to be thrown down than 

 if the same rails extended a foot beyond the joint. It is very 

 important that all the rails should lie, at the joints, one directly 

 above the other. The smallest rails should always be laid at 

 the bottom of the fence ; and the largest ones, if there be any 

 difference in the size of them, should be laid on the top, as heavy 

 rails on the top render a fence, whether it is staked or not, much 

 more substantial than if the large rails were in the middle of the 

 panels, with small ones on the top. If there should be any differ 

 ence in the size of the ends of the rails, the large end should be 

 laid at the lowest corner. When there are many crooked rails, 

 make a panel or two of crooked rails, placing those together that 

 are of nearly a uniform crook. If there are but few crooked 

 ones, reserve them for the top of the fence. After a fence is laid 

 three or four rails high, if flat stones, three or four inches thick, 

 are at hand, it is a good practice to lay one on each joint, as they 

 will make the fence about one rail higher, and, at the same time, 

 it will subserve just as good a purpose as if a rail was in the place 

 of the stones. And another advantage is, flat stones laid on the 

 joints will turn the water from the joints, and render them more 

 durable, as rails often rot at the joints in consequence of the wet 

 finding its way there and not drying out. A large flat block of 

 wood will answer for this purpose, in the absence of flat stone. 

 Roundish stones in such a place would be liable to throw the fence 

 down. Low corners of a fence may be brought up level with 

 the others by laying on a flat stone between every two rails. 



81. Another mode of laying the foundation of a worm fence, 

 which some people prefer to laying with a fence rule, is, to set 

 two rows of small stakes the whole distance where the fence is 

 to be built, with the rows just as many feet apart as there is to 

 be given to the worm of the fence. If the worm is to be four feet, 

 set the rows four feet apart ; if the worm is five feet, set the rows 

 of stakes five feet apart. Now lay a fence block in range with 

 one of the rows of stakes, and lay on a rail diagonally from one 

 row to the other; then lay another fence block in range with 



