FARM MANAGEMENT 143 



hedges have been planted and are now considered objectionable, and 

 all fences now being built are such as require posts, making the 

 cost a matter of consideration. Wire is now in general use as a fenc- 

 ing material. 



A very large proportion of the wire fencing manufactured and 

 sold in the United States rusts much more quickly than it should. 

 In many instances fencing which might reasonably be expected to 

 last for ten or fifteen years will begin to rust and decay rapidly in 

 less than two or three. Near the seashore and also in the neighbor- 

 hood of large cities and manufacturing plants which pollute the 

 atmosphere with sulphurous gases, wire fences will naturally rust 

 much more quickly than under average rural conditions. Even 

 under strictly rural conditions there has been noted a great dif- 

 ference in the life of wire, owing to prevailing climatic conditions, 

 such as the general strength and direction of the wind and the 

 amount of abrasive dust which is carried. After making all due al- 

 lowances for these variations, it is none the less true that under 

 perfectly normal rural surroundings there is still sufficient reason 

 for complaint in many cases on account of rapid disintegration of 

 wire fences. 



The consuming public, in demanding lightness and apparent 

 cheapness, is responsible in some respects for the rapid rusting and 

 consequent destruction of wire fencing, so much complained of. 

 The purchaser too often buys from the stock the local dealer has on 

 hand regardless of the fact that none of it is well adapted for his 

 especial needs. If the object is to purchase a fence which will last 

 longest, instead of one whose first cost is the lowest, wire of the 

 proper weight, and in which the stays are as large and heavy as is 

 the line wire must be selected. (Y. B. 1909.) 



The kind or type of fence that is selected should depend upon 

 the use to which it is to be put. A hog-tight fence needs a certain 

 number of strong wires near the ground, while a cattle fence calls for 

 a different design and must be horse high. In many cases a design of 

 all 9-gauge wires can be selected which will answer every purpose, 

 and cost no more, or even less, than the lighter-gauge fences ordin- 

 arily used. A general-purpose farm fence, hog tight and horse 

 high, 58 inches high and containing 12 wires, should cost about 40 

 cents per rod if made up principally of 11-gauge bars and 12-gauge 

 stays. It is probable that the heavier type would outlast the lighter 

 by many years, but the initial cost is high. In many cases the con- 

 sumer could select a fence that would answer every purpose say 

 one with 8 wires, 45 inches high, made up of all 9-gauge wires. If 

 a fence of this type is not high enough for heavy stock, a single 

 strand of barbed or smooth wire run along the posts about 6 to 10 

 inches above the top will add to its efficiency with a small addition 

 to the cost. In other cases, where it is not necessary to fence hog 

 tight, the fabricated wire can be set on the posts with a clearance at 

 the ground, thus increasing its height. A systematic inspection in 

 various parts of the country has shown numberless cases of fences 

 made of 12 and 14 gauge wire, which in less than three years were 



