930 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



been made of materials brought wholly from a distance. 



Gates and some kinds of fencing are now the product 

 of factories. Such factories are often located near large 

 mills or in lumber centers. Several articles are included 

 in the output, among them being gates, ready to hang in 

 place ; pickets ready for nailing up, or already made into 

 panels suitable for fastening in place; woven fencing 

 consisting of slats attached to strands of wire. The 

 gates are of various patterns, fitted for different service. 

 Some are small and intended for dooryards, others are 

 farm gates for fields. The slat-and-wire fence is sold 

 in large rolls or spools for convenience in hauling and 

 handling. 



The industry which turns out fencing and gates as 

 here described, is small in comparison with some of the 

 other wood-using industries, yet the annual total of wood 



TYPICAL OLD STYLE RAIL FENCE 



This "worm fence" is an old timer. It is a survival from past generations, 

 and except in a few regions only a few of them are left. The fence here 

 shown has probably 'stood more than fifty years. When it finally dis- 

 appears, it will be replaced with a fence of posts and wire or posts and 

 boards. 



consumed in the United States exceeds 23,000,000 feet. 

 The principal gate and fence woods, and the yearly 

 demand for each are here given : 



FEET 



Yellow pine 6,765,000 



Hemlock 5,152,000 



Chestnut 5,121,000 



White pine 3,883,000 



Oak 2,640,000 



Spruce 1,070,000 



Douglas fir 805,000 



Cypress 681,040 



Cedar 465,500 



Birch 300,000 



Elm 155,000 



Maple 140,000 



Redwood 133,000 



Basswood 50,000 



Larch 48,000 



Western Yellow Pine 33,000 



Yellow poplar 5,000 



Hickory 600 



Total 27,448,840 



The manufacturing of this material is not evenly dis- 

 tributed over the country. Thirty-four states produce 

 none. Most of the manufacturing is confined to states 

 listed below, with the yearly output of fencing and gates : 



FEET 



Virginia 6,925,000 



Minnesota 4,570,000 



Iowa 950,000 



New York 725,000 



Washington 320.000 



Indiana 176,000 



Pennsylvania 161,000 



More disputes, controversies, and quarrels have been 

 caused by fences and lack of fences than by any other 

 one cause during 

 the whole journey 

 of man from sav- 

 agery up to the 

 present hour. Even 

 Homer, ancient as 

 he was, based po- 

 etic similes and oth- 

 er figures of rheto- 

 ric, upon farmers 

 scrapping over 

 their line fences. 

 Early lawj in all 

 countries were 

 passed for the pur- 

 pose of regulating 

 boundaries, land- 

 marks, and fences. 

 Every state in this 

 country has its laws 

 on the subject. One 

 of the first matters 

 which statutes seek 

 . to settle is the defi- 

 nition of a "lawful 

 fence" how high 

 it must be, and of 

 what materials and 

 construction. If 

 roguish cattle break 

 through or jump 

 over a lawful fence, 

 the owner of the 

 stock is liable for damages. If land is not enclosed with 

 a lawful fence, the owner of the land may be stopped 

 from collecting damage for trespass. However the same 

 laws do not hold everywhere. In some states "every 

 man's line is his fence," and he need not build any fence 

 except for his own convenience, and he can claim dam- 

 ages for trespass. Some laws fix the height of a lawful 

 fence and specify the material of which it shall be built. 

 There is wisdom in the old adage: "Good fences make 

 good neighbors," the meaning being that community 

 quarrels are reduced to a minimum if all the fences are 

 in first-class order. 



PROSPECTIVE POST TIMBER RUINED 



Here is a young locust tree being devoured 

 by borers. That fate is overtaking millions 

 of locust trees in the United States. _ Large 

 and small alike fall victims to these insects. 

 No protection against the attacks is known, 

 and when an attack is once made on a tree 

 it is done for, though it may fight many years 

 against its fate. 





