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and black-butt is preferred instead. White gum in some localities is 

 white ant-resistant, and is a most admirable timber for fencing, 

 while in other localities it is not worth putting in the ground. In 

 the selection of timber for fencing, the new settler will do well to 

 be guided by the experience of older settlers, and to have a good 

 look round and see what timber is chiefly used for fencing in the 

 locality. With the exception of jam, which is universally admitted to 

 be irreproachable, it is not possible to lay down any hard and fast 

 rule as to the use of various timbers in different localities. Exactly 

 why the one variety of timber should differ so much in quality in 

 different localities has not yet been satisfactorily determined. 



The style of fence that is to be put up must be governed by the 

 passive work it is intended to perform. Before commencing the 

 erection of the fence the settler should decide whether it is to be a 

 permanent or only a temporary structure, and what class of stock it 

 is intended to keep in or keep out. If the fence is to be a 

 permanent one, only the very best of material should be used, and 

 the greatest pains should be taken to make the work a lasting one. 

 If the fence is only a temporary one it does not matter much what 

 the material is or how it is put up, so long as it performs the 

 functions it is intended to ; but in my experience it is a most 

 difficult matter to put up a temporary fence anyhow and make it do 

 its duty. It is easier, and cheaper in the end, to put it up well, 

 though it is only intended to be there for a year or two. 



Boundary fencing to keep large stock in or out may be of two 

 wires only, the top wire and third wire from the top. If it is 

 intended to use barbed wire this may as well be run at once stapled 

 to the top of the posts. In this case the top plain wire may be 

 dispensed with. Time is saved in the long run if boring for all the 

 wires that are to be run in the future, five, six, or seven, as the case 

 may be, is done at once. The extra wires are then very quickly run 

 in case of emergency, or if sheep are suddenly introduced by a 

 neighbour. Black steel wire, it may be as well to say here, should 

 never be used in the coastal districts, as the sea air has a damaging 

 effect upon it. Galvanised wire is the best in all localities, and No. 

 8 is the size most generally used, though No. 10 is quite heavy 

 enough for short sub-divisional fences where only quiet stock are kept. 



There is a very excellent, light, cheap, and yet serviceable 

 fence that is very largely used in the north-west, where timber is 

 scarce, for subdividing sheep runs. It is made with five or six wires, 

 with posts set half-a-chain apart, between the posts three or four 

 droppers are fastened to the wires with wedges. Its elasticity is 

 its strength. It is perfectly sheep-proof, and big stock seldom break 

 through it. It is a capital fence to use where a farm is in a state of 

 transition. It can be readily understood how quickly the fence can 

 be erected when it is said that there are only 160 holes to dig and 

 the same number of posts required for a mile. Any kind of timber 

 can be used for posts, and the stouter they are the better. The wire 



