1862. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



113 





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Por the New England Farmer. 



SMITH'S IMPROVED FARM PEIyTCES, 

 PATEITTED OCT. 11, 1859. 



NUMBER ONE. 



Any field stones, of suitable size, that can be 

 easily drilled, are used for the foundation of these 

 fences. Granite cobble stones, so common in New 

 England, are among the best. 



The posts, which are two inches thick, and 

 from four to six inches wide, are fastened to the 

 stones, and the fence is kept in position by a bolt 

 which holds the foot of the post, and by braces, 

 about twenty inches long, one on each side, nailed 

 at the top to the post, and at the bottom held firm- 

 ly to the stone, by loops of strong wire, boiled in 

 linseed oil to prevent them from rusting. The 

 posts are grooved on the sides to which the boards 

 are nailed, with a plane which cuts three or four 

 grooves at once, to prevent the accumulation of 

 moisture and consequent decay. 



The braces are one inch thick and four inches 

 ■wide, and sound hemlock is good enough for both 

 posts and braces. 



The advantages claimed for this fence are : 



1. Simplicity. Almost any farmer, with a little 

 instruction and experience, can build it. 



2. It is straight. There is no zigzag about it. 

 New York, alone, loses 300,000 acres of land by 

 crooked fences. 



3. It is cheap. Having stones convenient for 

 the foundation, it need to cost but little more than 

 the common post and board fence ; and the ar- 

 rangements of the posts and braces is adapted to 

 nearly all the difi"erent kinds of yard and garden 

 fences in use. 



4. It is very j(?r?n. "When well made, few fences 

 are as much so, and no extra posts are necessary 

 for gates. 



5. It covers but little land ; not more than one- 

 t^velvth as much as a wall three feet in width, and 

 the Virginia fence puts six times as much beyond 

 the reach of the plow. 



6. It can be easily built over ledges, the solid 

 rock of which affords the best foundation. 



7. It will resist ordinary currents of Mater. 



8. It will stand on hearing soils. For these 

 valuable lands, the importance of this fence can 

 hardly be estimated. Where wall fences are tum- 

 bled about, and posts are thrown out by the frost, 

 it will stand, and stand straight and stand firm 



9. It is very durable. Nc part but the stone 

 foundation touches the ground, and with the 

 grooved posts or cleats, no part of it is more ex- 

 posed to decay than the boards ordinarily are up- 

 on a barn . thus effecting an immense saving in 

 the cost of rebuilding and repairs. The loss to 

 our farmers from fence posts decaying in the 

 ground, and being tin-own out by the frost, is al- 

 most incalculable. 



Remarks. — We are so much pleased with a 

 sample of this fence, put upon our land by INIr. 

 Smitit, last fall, that we are preparing materials 

 this winter to extend it, in preference to any other 

 fence we have seen. It seems to us to be prefer- 

 able to any other wooden permanent fence in al- 

 most ever}' particular, and we cannot see why one 

 well made and set, jmd kept constantly covered 

 with whitewash, should not last a hundred years. 



In a week or two we shall give another pattern 

 of fence, quite like this, but cheaply arranged so 

 as to be laid down in the winter when set on lands 

 that are subject to being flowed. Both samples 

 may be seen at Concord, Mass. 



Horse Power. — The power of a horse is un- 

 derstood to be that which will elevate a weight of 

 33,000 pounds the height of one foot in a minute 

 of time, equal to about 90 pounds at the rate of 

 four miles an hour. 



