Book IV. 



PALING FENCES. 



441 



regular intervak, lasts a loug while ; and where there are plantations of young firs in 

 the neighborhood, laths may be had at a trifling expense. 



2819. Tlie horizontal paling of young firs, or the weedings of other young trees, may be 

 had recourse to with advantage upon estates where there are extensive woods, or where they 

 are surrounded with belts of thriving plants, the thinnings of such woods or belts being 

 highly valuable for making palings, especially when the plantation consists chiefly of firs; 

 the palings of young firs are of two kinds, either horizontal or upright. The horizontal 

 resembles the jointed dressed paling already described, and the upright is similar to the 

 lath paling. 



2820. The chain horizontal fence is made by fixing a number of strong square piles into the earth at regu- 

 lar distances, in the direction in which the lence is to run ; each of these i)iles has three strong staples or 

 iron hooks drove into it on each side, one near the top, one within eighteen inches of tlie bottom, and one 

 in the middle ; to these staples or hooks, chains are fastened and stretched horizontally, in the same manner 

 as the pieces of wood are in a common horizontal wooden fence. When it is meant that the fence should 

 he laid open for any temporary purpose, liooks are drove into the posts in place of staples, and the chains 

 hung upon them ; but where this is not wanted, the staples will be found the most secure method. In some 

 cases the upright part of this fence, in place of wooden piles, such as have been described, consists of 

 neat pillars of mason-work or cast iron. 



2821. The rope fence is nearly the same as the former, that is, it consists of upright posts, drove into the 

 earth at regular distances, with holes bored through them for the ropes to pass : in general, they consist of 

 three, and in some cases of four courses of ropes, like the chain fence. This can only be used for confining 

 cattle or horses ; for sheep they will be found quite incompetent ; for stretching across rivers, or pieces 

 of water, like the chain-fence, the ropes will be useful. 



2822. The moveable loooden fence, fiake, or hurdle. Tliis has hitherto been principally 

 employed in cases where sheep or cattle are fed with turnips in the field, to divide a cer- 

 tain portion of their food at a time ; in that way hurdles are extremely useful, as the sheep 

 or cattle, by having a given quantity of food allotted them at once, eat it clean up without 

 any loss, which they would not do, if allowed to range at large over the whole field. There 

 are, however, many other purposes to which hurdles may be applied with equal advan- 

 tage. S85 



2823. Iron hurdles (fig. 385.) are found a 

 very elegant and durable fence, though more 

 than double the expense of wood. For park or 

 lawn fences they are admirably adapted ; but oc- 

 cupy rather too much capital for a commercial 

 farmer to be able to spare. 



2824. The willow, or wattled fence h made by 

 driving a number of piles of any of the diffe- 

 rent kinds of willow or poplar, about half the 



1^ thickness of a man's wrist, into the earth, in the 

 "Vi direction of the fence, and at the distance of 

 I about eighteen inches from each otlier. They are 

 ^i^ thpin twisted, or bound together along the top, 

 with small twigs of the willows or poplars (fig. 386.). This kind of fence has some ad- 

 vantages peculiar to itself; it not only forms a cheap tV^^t^^i^Vf^^cH^sa '*V^:Vf 386 

 and neat paling ; but if it is done either about the end 

 of autumn, or early in the spring, with willows or 

 poplars that have been recently cut down, the upright 

 parts or stakes will take root, grow, and send out a 

 number of lateral branches ; and if pains are taken 

 the following autumn, to twist and interweave these 

 branches properly, a permanent fence, so close as to be almost impenetrable, may be formed 

 in two or three years. For the enclosing of marshy lands, or for completing any enclo- 

 sure, where a part of the line in which the fence ought to run is so wet as to be unfit for 

 the growth of thorns, or the building of a wall, the willow paling will be found an excel- 

 lent contrivance, and the use of it will render many enclosures complete that could not 

 387 otherwise have been formed. Sometimes stakes are used of a 



kind which do not take root and grow, in which case this 

 form still makes a very neat and efficient temporary fence 

 (fig. 387.). 



t 





2825. Thepalinfr of growing trees, or rails nailed to growing posts, is made 

 by planting beech, larch, or otlier trees in the direction of the fence, at 

 a bout a yard distant from each other, more or less, as may be thought 

 necessary ; these trees should be protected by a common dead paling, till they are ten or twelve feet high, 

 when they should be cut down to six feet, and warped or bound together with willows at top, and in the 

 middle ; the cutting off the tops will have the effect of making them push out a great number of lateral 

 branches, which if properly warped and interwoven with the upright part of the trees, in the manner de- 

 scribed for the willow fence, will both have a beautiful effect, and will at the same time form a fine fence, 

 which in place of decaying, will grow stronger with time, and may with very little trouble be kept in per- 

 fect repair for a great length of time. 



2826. The u})right and horixontal shingle fences are chiefly made of firs, coarsely sawn into deals, of from 

 half an inch to an inch thick, and of different breadths according to thediameter of thetree ; pretty strong 

 square piles are drove or set into the earth, and the deals nailed horizontally ui)on them, in such a manner 

 that the under edge of the uppermost deal shall project or lap over the upper edge of the one immediately 



