260 Practical Forestry 



Turf Dykes. These were formerly much used in moor- 

 land and outlying districts, where stones are not abundant, 

 and where, from the nature of the soil and situation, hedges 

 would not succeed. They are, at best, troublesome fences 

 to keep in repair, and require some adjunct either in the 

 way of wires atop, or, failing this, they must be planted 

 with gorse or other suitable shrubs. One advantage is the 

 great amount of shelter they afford to the young plants, 

 while they are, comparatively speaking, cheap of erection. 

 There are several methods of building turf dykes, the best 

 being to cut or pare the turf 3 in. in thickness in one or 

 more lengths to suit the width of the dyke, and of a con- 

 venient breadth : these are laid cross-wise one above the 

 other. Both sides of the dyke should be built at once, 

 giving the necessary batter as the work proceeds, and the 

 grassy surface of the turf placed to the outside. The dyke 

 is usually made 3 ft. in height, 3 ft. wide, and drawn grad- 

 ually in to 12 in. at top. A two-rail fence surmounts the 

 dyke, bringing the total height to 4j ft. or 5 ft. Some- 

 times a ditch is cut alongside the dyke 3 ft. wide, about 

 2J ft. deep, and 9 in. wide at bottom, so as to prevent the 

 farm stock getting at and damaging it, the soil removed 

 being used in forming the fence. By sowing gorse and 

 broom seeds on top of the dyke an excellent shelter fence is 

 obtained. 



Wood Fences. These are common on almost every 

 estate throughout the country, especially such as are well 

 wooded, and, owing to the low prices obtainable for home- 

 grown timber, it is well that such should be employed as 

 widely as possible. Wooden fences are also much pre- 

 ferred by many owners of property to those erected either 

 of stone or iron on account of their rustic appearance. 



Wooden fences are, therefore, sure to be largely employed 

 when the appearance of the property and not too-exacting 

 financial results are points of importance. 



There are many forms of wooden fences adopted, these 

 varying chiefly according to the particular use to which 

 they are applied. The following descriptions are of such 

 kinds as are generally in use for woods and plantations, 



