WIRE FENCES. 209 



being completed, the wire was annealed to make it more plia- 

 ble, by making a fire of brush on the premises. Being prepared 

 we commenced running our wire, which was done by securing 

 it to a five inch cut nail driven into the first cedar post four and 

 a half feet from the ground, and passing to the next post, 

 sixty feet distant, drawing the wire as tight as two men could 

 draw it, and securing it to a nail similar to that of the first post 

 — thus passing from post to post, to the termination of the line. 

 This was repeated until five courses were extended. 



The distance between the first and second run was eight 

 inches — tlie three next courses were ten inches apart, and the 

 last was sixteen inches from the ground — the inequalities of 

 the surface of the ground will bring it much nearer in many 

 places. 



The attaching the wire to the stakes was effected by driving 

 a two inch cut nail under the wire with its head inclining up, 

 and a similar nail over the wire, about an inch from the previ- 

 ous one, with its head inclining down ; this served to prevent 

 the wire from swaying, and likewise to secure the stake from 

 motion. It is preferable to secure the wire on the surface of the 

 post, that it may receive the action of the atmosphere, and avoid 

 corroding, which occurs when the wire is run through the post 

 or stake by boring and plugging. 



The entire expense per rod did not exceed forty cents; esti 

 mating labor at seventy-five cents per day, the wire at six cents 

 per pound, the posts at seventeen cents each, and the stakes at 

 two cents each, which were the several amounts paid. This 

 fence has stood about ten years, and has required but a few 

 slight repairs, such as the righting of a post or stake to tighten 

 the wire. The weight of the fence is held by the posts, conse- 

 quently the strain upon the stakes is slight, and when they 

 become weak near the ground, the force of the wind meeting no 

 obstruction by the fence, does not move them. 



The cost of fencing is a very important item in farming oper- 

 ations, and those who have given little attention to the subject 

 will be surprised at the following calculation made by a distin- 

 guished agriculturist in Pennsylvania, before the Philadelphia 

 Agricultural Society, a few years since. He estimated the 

 expense of farm fences in that State, (and gives the data upon 

 which his calculations are based,) at $105,600,000, and the 

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