THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 



123 



under it where it seems to need raising a little, and a nail or two 

 above it where it seems to be a little too high. Fig. 43 will give 

 the builder some cor- jP IG 43 



rect ideas on the sub 

 ject, by which the 

 top wire or line is 

 properly adjusted, 

 parallel with the gen 

 eral surface of the ground. Sharp angles in the rising and 

 falling of the fence, as shown at a b of the preceding figure, 

 should be avoided as much as practicable. After the 

 top wire or line is adjusted as correctly as may be, let 

 the workman stand away from it three or four rods, and 

 walk the whole length of the fence at that distance from ? 

 it ; and if it appears all right, the next operation will be -j~ 

 to mark off the distances on the sides of the posts, by | 

 means of a board six or eight inches wide, with notches | 

 made in it, like Fig. 44, as far apart as the holes are to | 

 be bored, or the wires to be fastened. The upper notch P 

 of the marking board should be placed even with the top 

 wire, and then there will be no liability to mark some 

 posts wrong. 



153. Let the holes be bored with a good auger bit instead of 

 an auger, as a man can bore more than twice as fast with a bit as 

 with a small auger,' and with much less fatigue. When the holes 

 are bored, the wires may be put in and fastened at one end, and 

 drawn up as tightly by hand as they can be, and then attached 

 to the strainers, (see Fig. 42). It is a good practice to hitch a 

 horse to one end of the wires, and draw them up as tightly as 

 practicable before attaching them to the strainers. When it is 

 necessary to unite a wire where it is in two parts, the junction 

 should be midway between two posts, lest it should be too large 

 to go through the hole in the posts. If the wires are to be fastened 

 with staples, the staples should all be driven almost in before. 



