THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 165 



formed so that a crowbar will easily separate them. "We have 

 often broken large flat stone, very true and straight, with fire, by 

 laying a scantling about foiir inches wide on the place where it is 

 to be broken, and then shovelling dirt on both sides of the scant 

 ling, about an inch in depth. Take up the scantling, and make a 

 fire with short pieces of dry wood, split very fine, the whole length 

 of the stone where it is to be broken. Small hard wood chips 

 are the most convenient article to make a fire with in such a place. 

 The dirt is to prevent the fire from heating the stone on each side 

 of the line where it is desirable to have it broken. If the 

 fire burns uniformly entirely across the stone, it will require but 

 ten or fifteen minutes before it will crack, when the fire should 

 be immediately removed lest it should injure the edges of the 

 stone. Small thin stone may be broken very readily by heating 

 a large bar of iron and laying it on the stone where it is to be 

 broken. 



215. Some kinds of stone will not break at all with fire, and 

 some kinds will crumble to pieces before they will break in two 

 parts. The beginner can soon learn, by a little observation and 

 experience, which kinds may or may not be broken with fire. 



SECTION 6. FENCE POSTS. 



216. There are several considerations of first importance in 

 making fence posts, which should not be overlooked. One is the 

 length of posts. Posts are cut, many times, nearly one foot longer 

 than is necessary. If all the logs of a tree be cut one foot longer 

 than necessary, there will be waste of timber enough in one 

 tree, many times, to make a cut for posts. The farmer should cal 

 culate how deep he intends to set the posts, and how long they 

 are to be above ground, and then cut them but three or four 

 inches longer than that length. 



217. Another thing is the size of posts. When timber is 

 good and well-seasoned, a large post will always outlast a small 

 one ; therefore, it is not a bad fault, so far as durability is 



