THE USES OF WOOD 



925 



of that State down to the year 1900, no less than 4,500,- 

 000,000 feet of timber had been split into fence rails. 



Most of it was 

 oak and chest- 

 nut, but some 

 was yellow pop- 

 lar, black walnut, 

 white pine, white 

 ash, and slippery 

 elm. Worm 

 fences are still 

 being built, but 

 they are disap- 

 pearing in favor 

 of wire and 

 boards, or of 

 straight fences 

 con structed of 

 rails and posts. 

 T h e post-and- 

 rail fence has 

 been considered 

 as the connecting link between the pioneer worm fence 

 and the plank fence. It was once made of flat rails whose 



WORM FENCES 



ENCLOSING 

 FIELDS 



MOUNTAIN 



A few long lines of fence like this may still be 

 seen in mountainous regions where timber has 

 only recently become salable, and was formerly 

 mauled into rails. Replacements are now made 

 with posts and planks or posts and wire. This 

 fence is in Tucker County, West Virginia. 



ends were fitted in holes mortised in posts set ten feet 

 apart. Such fences ran in straight lines. It was a little 

 cheaper than the 

 worm fence if 

 timber had any 

 value. It requir- 

 ed about 55,000 

 feet of timber to 

 make a mile. The 

 plank fence uses 

 sawed lumber 

 instead of flat 

 rails, and nails 

 are the fasten- 

 ings instead of 

 mortises and 

 tenons as in the 

 p o s t - a n d-rail 

 pattern. A plank 

 fence may be 

 built with from 

 30,000 to 40,000 



feet of lumber per mile, including the posts. There is 

 another pattern of rail fence much used on very steep 



HOW A "SWEDE FENCE" BRISTLES 



Such fences are constructed up and down steep 

 hills where the ordinary worm fence will not stick 

 to the ground. This one defies the worst farm 

 rogues, having been modeled after an old military 

 device constructed to stop cavalry. This fence is 

 on a farm among the Allegheny mountains. 



Courtesy of "The White Pine Bureau" 



FINE AND FAULTLESS AFTER A CENTURY 



The white pine palings enclosing the famous Spaulding House at Nashua, New Hampshire, show few signs of deterioration 

 after a long period of exposure to the weather. The fence has received care and has been kept well painted. Neglect 

 is the greatest enemy of out-of-door woodwork. 



