FARM FENCING. 51 



little resistance to the water, and, unless undermined, it is not 

 liable to be washed away. 



The best way I have found to attach the gate to the pole 

 is shown in the cut. Use oak pieces, two by four inches, for 

 the uprights ; bore an inch-hole near the top to pass the chain 

 through, and suspend them with chains. The pieces need not 

 be more than four feet long, and the chains must suit in length 

 the distance from the pole to the bed of the stream. After 

 passing them through the uprights the chains should be attached 

 to the pole by driving large spikes through a link into it on the 

 lower, or down-stream, side. The chains must then pass over 

 the pole, and hang down on the upper side. This will make 

 them draw across the pole, and relieve the strain on the spikes. 

 Before putting up the uprights they should be bored, with a 

 three-eighth bit, where the boards are to go on. Place the 

 boards on the upper side, and bolt them with strong carriage- 

 bolts and good washers. If the gap is one where there is a 

 swift current, and likely to be much water, it is best to use oak 

 boards. It is cheaper, in the long run, to pay two or three 

 dollars for a good locust pole than to take a sappy elm, or some 

 other timber that will soon rot. Where only cattle are to be 

 fenced against, barbed wires may often be stretched across a 

 stream, and will make the cheapest and best fence in such a 

 location. 



Farm-gates. It is not as common as it was a few years 

 ago to see rickety bars in use on the farm, or, what is worse, a 

 panel of rail-fence opened to get into a field; but gates are not 

 yet as plenty as they should be. There should be a gate of 

 some kind in every line of fence, so that you can always get 

 from one field to another without going too far out of the way, 

 or having to open a fence. 



Our illustration shows what is called the lift-gate. These 

 have come into general use, and have almost entirely superseded 

 bars, and are a good substitute for other gates in all places where 

 a gate will only be used one or two days in a week. It should 

 always be made of the lightest material consistent with strength. 

 There should be a piece of board, one or two feet long, under 



