THE GENESEE FAEMER. 



17 



come to the top of tlie ground. For every three 



rods of fence I use one 4 by 4 scantling, twelve 



feet long, sawing the same in six pieces, two feet 



each, which I use as follows : Halve each post at 



the bottom 4 inches up, and make a dove-tail. Lay 



it on the two feet piece, in the middle, and mark 



the dove tail, taking half of that, then drive it into 



the post, forming a sort of foot. One hand will 



bottom fifty posts a day, and it can be done in the 



barn in the winter and on wet days. I find that 



the holes can be dug two feet long and two feet 



deep, as easily and as quickly as if only eight 



inches square. Such a fence here costs about 87-|- 



cents per rod, and will last fourteen to twenty 



years, if the posts are well seasoned previous to 



setting, and a coat of coal tar put on six inches up, 



and down at the surface of the ground. This will 



not pull up by frost, nor lift with Avind. Mine, 



seven years old, is firm as can be. Seasoned posts 



will last double the time of green ones. Coal tar 



can be got at gas works at $1,00 per barrel, and 



should be put on hot. A farmer that can make a 



hay rack with a good saw, square, chisel, and 



hammer, can build such a fence. I use the five 



inch boards for caps and battens. The fence is 



four boards high, and four feet four inches 



high. I cut logs for posts thirteen feet long, and 



saw in two at the mill ; fence boards, sixteen feet, 



six inches, and one inch thick. Brash white oal^ 



is the best. datton siglek. 



CONSTRUCTION OF STONE WALLS. 



_ To conetruct a good stone wall is by no means a 

 difficult task, and yet a large share of those we see 

 are by no means what they should be, but tumble- 

 down ricketty affairs, only an apology for a fence. 

 To erect a good stone fence it is necessary except 

 on ground not affected by frost, to dig a trench 

 twelve to eighteen inches deep, and as wide as the 

 base of the wall is desired to be. For a half wall, 

 two feet ; and for a four and a half or five foot 

 wall, two and a half feet wide. This trench should 

 be filled with small stones pounded down, and made 

 level with the ground. The frost will not affect 

 such a foundation injuriously. Where the founda- 

 tion of large stone is laid on the top of the ground, 

 or near the surface, thawing affects it badly by 

 occurrmg on one side before it does the other, 

 especially in walks running east and west, causing 

 them to lean to the sun, and soon fall down in that 

 direction. 



On the foundation of small stones, commence 

 with the largest, putting them lengthwise across 

 the wall, so as to bind it well and firmly together. 

 If stones are not long enough to reach through the 

 waU pretty often, use those that will lap on each 

 other and form binders, as in this binding will 

 depend, in a great measure, the strength of the 

 wall. In making wall where the stones are all 

 small, use is made of small slats of cedar, chesnut, 

 or oak, for binding the wall, and experience has 

 proved them to answer a good purpose. The wall 

 should have an equal batter, or draw in with an 

 equal slope on each side, so as to be not more than 

 ten or twelve inches wide on the top. A full wall 

 Bhould be about five feet high, and where practica- 

 ble, have a course of large stone firmly placed on 

 the top, large enough to cover the width of the 

 'wail. Many walls are built about three and a 



half feet high, with a good black ash, oi r^her 

 straight pole, laid on the top, over which, at 

 proper distances, stakes are firmly set in the 

 ground, crossing at the top, into which rails are 

 placed, making a fence much preferred for some 

 purposes. Sheep and cattle never get in the habit 

 of running over the wall with a top rail, and are 

 often troublesome where the wall is whole, unlesi 

 quite high ; and sheep are often getting over tho 

 highest stone fences. 



As a finishing stroke to a wall, bank it up with 

 the earth taken from the trench, and plow a furrow 

 on each side, where practicable, placing the earth 

 against the wall, and cleaning out the furrows to 

 serve as ditches to carry off the surplus water. 



Stone fences constructed in this manner may 

 reasonably be expected to remain permanent for 

 years. m. t. 



Washington, Co., IT. Y. Dec. 1S58. 



"^-t/i^l^iJS'JlU.SJi^/^ t 



A POKTABIJE FENCE, NOT PATENTED, 



A suPEPvioE, cheap, portable fence, may be built 

 in the following manner : From 3 by 3 scantling 

 make a sill and. upright in the form 

 of a carpenter's square, (fig. 1,) by 

 halving them together at the corner 

 and nailing with two nails. The 

 upright may be four feet or more 

 long — as high as you desire the 

 fence ; the sill, or bottom part, 

 about half that length. The two 

 may be rendered very strong by a 

 brace of 2 by 3 scantling, any de, 

 sired length, either halved on, toed 

 *^^'*- ^- in and nailed, or by mortising, as 

 you prefer. This forms the post. Set these up and 

 nailon boards such distance apart as you desire, 

 having three post to each length — two on one side, 

 within six inches of the end; and one on the 

 opposite side, in the center of the panel. Of these, 

 as many can be made as you like, in the shop in 

 cold and stormy weather. When you are ready to 

 build a fence, the panels may be taken to the 

 desired place, and put up, reversing every other 

 panel, so as to have an equal number of posts on 

 each side of the fence. The sills may be set on 

 stone at each end, so as to keep them from the 

 ground. Lap the ends of the panels about six 

 inches, and put a wooden pin through 

 both top and bottom boards, which will 

 hold them firmly together, though it is 

 an additional safeguard to drop over 

 the top of the laps a clamp made of 

 light band iron, in the form of a staple 

 (fig. 2). This makes a very firm, dura- -pm 2 

 ble fence, and may be easily moved by 

 taking off the clamps and driving out the pins, with 

 which it can again be put up when desired. 



Laaormice Co., P,a., Dec. 1858. Wm. EENO. 



