THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 149 



one foot too far away than to have it a foot too close, to obstruct 

 the progress of workmen. 



189. When a stone wall is to be erected directly on the surface 

 of the soil, the stones may all be dropped in a long pile where the 

 fence is to be built, and then the workmen can commence at one 

 end and carry the stones back and lay them up ; and if they 

 should not be abundant enough without carrying them too far in 

 some places, they can be hauled along the side of the wall where 

 they are needed. But we do not advocate the practice of erect 

 ing a stone wall on the surface of the ground, because it will not 

 settle alike, unless the soil is of a uniform quality ; and as the 

 frosts of winter will raise it whenever it freezes beneath the foun 

 dation stones, it is very liable to freeze in freezing weather on the 

 windward side first ; and perhaps it will not freeze on the leeward 

 side at all under the foundation stones. "When this is the case, 

 when one side of a stone wall is lifted by the frost, and the whole 

 of it does not go up bodily, the stones will most of them be dis 

 placed a little. And again, supposing that it has all been lifted 

 bodily and evenly, when the ground comes to thaw it is not at all 

 likely to thaw evenly and settle uniformly. This will displace 

 the stones a little, and a large number of such little displacements 

 will soon produce bulges in the wall ; and as soon as a wall com 

 mences bulging here and there a little, it is very liable to fall in 

 a few years. In order to build a wall that will stand as long as 

 any man will need a fence, the soil where the fence is to stand 

 should all be thrown out, to a depth which will insure safety from 

 settling, or from heaving by frost. In some localities the neces 

 sary depth will be only four inches, while in other places, perhaps 

 in the same field, a depth of from eight to fourteen inches will 

 be necessary. T\e foundation stones should be well laid, and 

 chocked up all round. If a large stone, for instance, has but one 

 flat, or smooth side, and has more the appearance of half of a 

 globe than anything else, it is best to dig a hollow in the hard 

 ground which will correspond well with the round side of it, and 

 place it with the smooth or flat side up. 



190. The width of the wall on the ground must be determined 



