1854. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



79 



"It is well known that, in most parts of New 

 England, stone wall is the prevailing style of fence, 

 both on the highway and for dividing lots ; and 

 in all that region with which we are well acquaint- 

 ed, we have never known a farmer who did not 

 prefer stone to any other material for this pur- 

 pose. 



"To secure durahility, the foundation should 

 be placed below the action of frost, and the 

 whole should be laid by a skilful man, so as to 

 secure to the greatest extent the aid of gravitation 

 and friction in resisting all violence from either 

 side. When thus laid, this fence is a good secu- 

 rity against domestic animals of all sizes. 



"But sometimes stones are scarce, and timber 

 is very cheap, while labor may also be expensive. 

 So it often is where pine barrens or other forests 

 abound. There is also a great difference in the 

 amount of defence, so to speak, which is required. 

 Sometimes, it is chiefly, a mere landmark to point 

 out a highway, and some of the oldest parts of 

 New England furnish evidence that even this is 

 unnecessary. The path beaten by the hoofs of 

 horses or oxen, and worn by the friction of wheels, 

 is the only index of the existence of a road, while 

 nothing but a marked tree or a post or stone, in- 

 dicate a plurality of owners of the soil. Such re- 

 gions of country, however, furnish no occasions 

 for the application of any general rules on this 

 subject." 



On the minds of those who have made and used 

 different kinds of fences, there will be little or 

 no doubt that where stones are near at hand, they 

 make a cheaper fence than any other material ; 

 and yet there arc many farmei's in New England, 

 ■where the fields, directly about the buildings, are 

 enclosed with wooden fencas which must be thor- 

 oughly made over, perhaps as often as every 10 

 or 15 years, and which must be repaired every 

 year. This is done, too, to enclose fields abound 

 ing with rocks, over which the teams are stumb- 

 ling and the plows and rakes are constantly being 

 broken. 



2. "As to wooden fences, cedar, no doubt, is 

 the most durable of all woods, and where it is 

 abundant, so as to be cheap, it should be pre- 

 ferred, especially for posts." 



Chestnut posts, properly set, will last from 25 

 to 50 years ; and as this wood is found in many 

 locations where cedar does not grow, it may be 

 considered as the most durable next to the cedar 

 and locust. 



"All woods are made more durable })y being 

 chfirred before they are set in the ground. De- 

 cay or decomposition is a chemical process which 

 requires the presence of certain elements whicli, 

 in charcoal, are essentially wanting. Charcoal, 

 we suppose, is never chemically decomposed ])y ex- 

 posure to the air or water. It may cruml)le. It 

 may be attacked in certain situations l)y elements 

 not generally encountered. It may absorb mois- 

 ture, so as to be liroken by frosts, and the like ; 

 but still charring wrll pays its way, when timljers 

 are to bo set in tlie ground. But they should 

 not be charred so extensively as to weaken mate- 

 rially their strength . " 



Mistakes are often made in charring posts while 

 in a green state. This is supposed to render the 

 post less durable than though it were not charred 

 at all. The wood being full of sap, the charring 

 prevents it from passing off, and the centre of the 

 post decays, while the outside shell remains sound ; 

 but the post is so weakened as to become useless. 



Many experiments go to prove that the small- 

 er end of timber should be set downward. The 

 rationale of this is rather hypothesis than physio- 

 logical demonstration, since we know of nothing 

 which has been actually discovered, which implies 

 an upper or under side to the circulating vessels 

 which compose the wood. The tubes and cells 

 present similai: appearances at each extremity, 

 though their form or shape, tapering or otherwise, 

 may liave an important bearing on this phenome- 

 non." 



We consider ih& facts of more value to us at pres- 

 ent than to understand their rationality — though 

 to understand the causes of things is pleasant. 

 The evidence which may be adduced to show that 

 posts set with their small end down, last longer 

 than they will with the large end down, is of too 

 high a character to be lightly rejected. In Vol. 

 5, of the Farmer, page 208, Jlr. J. Davies, of 

 East Barnard, Vt., states that in 1838 he took a 

 stick 14 feet long and cut it in the middle, set- 

 ting the butt of one up, and the other down, 12 

 feet apart. In five years, the one with the butt 

 down rotted off, and the other stands sound yet. 

 A writer in the Hartford Times and two writers 

 in the Germanioivn Telegraph, made experiments 

 and confirm the statement of Mr. Davis. 



Mr. Otis Briguam, of Westboro\ Mass., page 

 256, same volume, says that thcresult of 40 years' 

 experience \^th him, is, that common fence posts 

 set in the ground green, and butt end downwards, 

 will last, in a sandy loam, about 10 or 12 years. 

 The same set in a like situation, inverted, will 

 last 15 or 18 years. 



"We might give an estimate of the cost of va- 

 rious styles of farm fence, as Some of our cotempo- 

 raries have done on kindred topics, l)ut no one 

 would perhaps be a safe ])asis of calculation, for 

 one hundred miles square. Hence we leave the 

 subject here, giving in a tabular form the items 

 which cacli man must estimate for himself. These 

 will vary, of course, witli the season of the year, 

 even on any given territory and for the same job. 

 These items em1)race tlie following : — 



1. Cost of material, and of preparing it. 



2. Cost of transporting to the spot. 



3. Preparing the ground for the superstructure, 

 whether a wall or posts and rails. 



4. Cost and amount of labor to be employed. 



5. A^alue of land affected by tiie fence, wliethcr 

 by occupying space or liy causing shade. 



"As to the age of timber and tlie season of the 

 year when it should lie cut, to secure the great- 

 est durability, — young or at least sound timber 

 should be seli!cted, and the spring or early sum- 

 mer is probably the best time for cutting it. The 

 latest growtii will then have become somewhat 

 hardened, and the condition of the sap at that 



