270 The Country House 



crown mould or cap across the top of the pickets. Other types make a feature of 

 the posts by boxing them in. There are numerous other forms of the picket fence, 

 and other forms besides that of the picket; the range is considerable. 



All finish wood should be of good, sound white pine or the above-mentioned 

 chestnut. Spruce is sometimes used for rails, but is not recommended for the 

 better work. The picket fence is a simple and effective form of wooden fence, 

 especially if the picket tops are pointed. The ordinary form of this fence, with 



plain pine pickets 4 feet high, would 

 cost from thirty-five to forty cents per 

 running foot. The paint would cost, 

 laid, about three and one-half cents per 

 square foot additional. 



Clay is a very bad soil, as it is apt to 

 heave and throw the fence out of line. In 

 the case of wood, the posts can be driven 



^4^ down again with a maul, with fair suc- 



cess, provided the construction is such 

 that the top of the post can be gotten at. 

 In the case of stone or brick heaving 

 is not so noticeable, but when it does 



occur badly there is no remedy but to rebuild. If the stratum of clay is thin 

 the foundation should be set below it. This will obviate much of the trouble. 

 Rustic work in some cases can be used to advantage and be rendered very 

 effective. Its real drawback is merely a question of durability. The effect 

 depends on its original condition, and it cannot be repaired without showing the 

 patch. All butts should be painted to repel moisture in the pores of the wood. 



Hedges make good screens when placed a little back of an open fence; but 

 where they are used alone, and unless they are planted with a wire fence next the 

 roots of the shrubs, thus giving the grown hedge a nice core, they are easily broken 

 and destroyed. A barbed-wire fence used as a core to such a hedge makes an 

 effective barrier and is a good discourager of small boys. 



If you wish to spend the most of your time in chasing stray animals out of 

 your flower beds, small boys out of your orchards, and in persuading the well- 

 meaning public that your main driveway is not a town road or entrance to a 

 park or asylum for the insane, just build your entrance without gates. On the 

 principle that every doorway should have a door, it would seem better that every 

 gateway should have a gate. It can be left open or shut at will, but its entire 

 absence renders the fence useless. 



Gate posts of whatever material or design should be rigid enough to support 

 the gates, both open and shut, and the same general principles of construction 

 observed as in the fence. A gate post out of plumb is not interesting, either to look 

 upon or to swing a gate from. The gate post is usually boxed in around a rough 

 supporting post sunk in the ground. It has a cap and base, after the manner of 

 some stair newels, and is more or less of a decorative feature in the compo- 

 sition. In less important gateways the post is often turned. The stone or brick 

 post follows the same general forms, and should be solid enough not to tip over. 



