No. 4.] SHEEP HUSBANDRY. 125 



Now, of course the question of fencing in sheep with any- 

 kind of fence depends upon its cost and its adaptability to 

 the end in view ; and with us I think the question of cost is 

 really the one to be considered, for it is perfectly patent to 

 every man that barbed- wire fence can be so constructed as 

 to turn sheep. There is another point about this barbed- 

 wire fence which does not apply to a fence of any other 

 material, and that is, that it can be made so as to turn dogs. 

 I think it is perfectly feasible to construct a fence that will 

 t urn dogs ; and the cheapness of the material as now fur- 

 nished by the manufacturer is such that the cost of a fence 

 that will not only turn sheep but protect them from dogs is 

 comparatively small. I have some figures which I have 

 collated from information obtained from different parties ; 

 and, having applied to them my own experience, 'obser- 

 vation and judgment, I believe the estimates are reliable 

 considering the circumstances under which they are made. 

 Of course, in making an estimate of the possible or the prob- 

 able cost of a certain kind of fence, the estimate must be 

 made upon some definite set of circumstances ; and it is only 

 safe to predicate upon the most favorable circumstances, 

 because the amount of obstacles to be overcome will vary in 

 different circumstances and under the different conditions of 

 different farmers, and that must be calculated by the indi- 

 vidual himself, he only knowing what the obstacles are. I 

 refer to the cost of digging post-holes, the cost of overcom- 

 ing the difficulty of uneven ground, getting through bushes, 

 and all that sort of tiling. These figures were based largely 

 upon a statement of the cost of eighty rods of six-wire fence 

 built about two years ago by Mr. Henry Green of Hadley, 

 Mass. He says there has not been a single dog in the pas- 

 ture since the fence was finished. The four lower wires are 

 placed nearer together than the two upper ones. The fence 

 is four feet high and the posts one rod apart, which is suffi- 

 cient to support a barbed- wire fence. The wire cost 4 cents 

 per rod ; the staples 1 cent per rod ; the posts cost 7 cents 

 each. Mr. Green says that two men can set the posts and 

 string the wire for twenty-five rods in a day. The cost of 

 labor per day is say $1.50 per man, or at the rate of 12 cents 

 per rod. So we have as the cost per rod : six strands of 



