440 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. 



use therefore is required, palings ought never to be adopted ; but for ornament in pleasure- 

 grounds, or for the protection of young thorns, they are highfy valuable. In all cases 

 where either dead hedges or palings are used, the decay and ultimate loss of the fence is 

 owing to that part of it which is let into the ground being rotted by the moisture. Where 

 dead hedges are planted, it is no easy matter to provide a remedy against this evil; as the 

 stems are so numerous, that, to give each of them a preparation that would completely 

 defend it from the effects of moisture, would be attended with an expense equal to, if not 

 greater than the value of the fence. Where palings, however, are used, especially the 

 most expensive and substantial kind of them, and such as are meant both for duration and 

 ornament, it is desirable to prepare the standards, or upright parts that are placed in the 

 earth, in such a manner as will enable them to resist the moisture for many years. In the 

 south of England, the post is always more bulky at the lower end than the upper, and 

 IS fixed in the ground by digging a hole, placing it therein, shovelling tlie soil in, and ram- 

 ming it round the post till it be firmly fixed. It has been a practice for time immemorial, 

 to bur7i or char that part of the standards or palings intended to be set or driven into the 

 earth : the reason assigned for this practice was, that the fire hardened the parts thus sub- 

 jected to it, and, by rendering them impervious to moisture, made tliem more durable than 

 they would have been without such operation. But the best defence at present known 

 against the effects of the weather is the bark of the tree. This covering it has from na- 

 ture; and it is possessed of every requisite that is necessary, being impregnated with oil, 

 rosin, and other matters, which secure it com]jletely, not only against moisture, but other 

 injuries arising from the operation of air, light, heat, &c. ; of this we have strong proofs 

 by observing what happens where the bark of any tree is destroyed, by cutting off a branch, 

 or otherwise. If the surface laid bare by the wound is considerable, the body of the tree 

 opposite to it begins immediately to decay, and continues to waste, unless some covering 

 is made use of to supply the place of the bark ; for that purpose nothing has yet been 

 found soeffectual as a coat either of boiled oil, or of oil-paint, which, by completely exclud- 

 ing both air and moisture, not only preserves the tree from rotting, but also prevents it 

 from bleeding and wasting itself by an effusion of juices from the wound. When trees 

 are cut down and sawn into planks, whether for palings or any other purpose, where they 

 are afterwards to be exposed to the weather, tlie same thing happens that w e have mentioned as 

 taking place with the growing tree when deprived of its bark, but in a much greater de- 

 gree, as the whole surface is then without a covering. To prevent this decay, the same 

 remedy should be applied, viz. painting the whole of the wood, or otherwise filling the 

 pores with oil, in such a manner as to prevent tlie entrance of moisture. There are now 

 coarse oil-paints sold of all colours, so cheap as to enable persons erecting palings, or 

 other works of wood to paint them at a small expense. Other very good remedies are 

 to be had at a moderate price, as the pyrolignous acid from gas works, into which, if 

 the points of the standards that are to be drove into the earth are dipped while the liquor 

 is boiling hot, it will preserve them from the bad effects of moisture for a very long time ; 

 previous to the dipping, they should be properly sharpened, and upon no account what- 

 ever charred or burnt, as every attempt of that kind will, upon enquiry, be found to injure 

 the texture of the wood and hasten its decay. Common tar, melted pitch, or gas liquor, 

 may also be successfully employed for the purpose of defending the extremities of the up- 

 right parts of paling from moisture; linseed and train oils may also be used with success; 

 the great object being to fill the pores completely with some unctuous or greasy matter, 

 so as to prevent the admission of moisture. The posts should be completely dry before 

 they are dipped in any of these preparations ; for if they are either made of green wood, 

 or have imbibed much moisture, or after being dipped they are exposed either to the heat 

 of the sun, or a severe frost, the moisture will become so much expanded thereby, as to 

 burst through, and bring off the paint or other coating; whereas, when they are made of 

 well-seasoned wood, and are at the same time perfectly dry, and the pitch, oil, varnish, 

 &c. boiling hot, it readily enters the pores, and, by filling them completely, prevents the 

 access of moisture, and consequently the injurious effects produced by it. 



28 IG. The simple nailed paling consists of upright posts, drove or set into the earth at 

 certain distances, and crossed in three, four, or more places, witli piecesof wood, in a ho- 

 rizontal direction. This paling is for the most part made of coarse sawn wood, without 

 any dressing whatever. 



2817. The jointed horizontal paling consists of massy square poles, drove or set into the 

 earth at regular distances, through which mortices or openings are cut, for the reception 

 of the extremities of the horizontal pieces which traverse them. 



2818. The upright lath paling is made by driving or setting a number of strong piles 

 into the earth at regular distances, and crossing these at top and bottom "with horizontal 

 pieces of equal strength ; upon these last are nailed, at from six to twelve inches distance, 

 a number of square pieces of sawn wood, of the shape and size of the laths that are used 

 for the roofs of tiled houses. This sort of paling, when properly executed, looks very 

 well, and, notwithstanding its apjiareut sligbtness, if well supported by props or rests at 



