COST OF FENCING IN NORTH CENTRAL STATES. 11 



The fence that is erected at a low initial cost is not necessarily 

 economical, for it may be short lived, which may make it very ex- 

 pensive. 



A certain kind of fence may be economical when erected on one 

 type of farm, but it may be very impracticable when used on another 

 farm where conditions are different. For example, a general farm in 

 Ohio and a cattle ranch in western Dakota may be compared. These 

 two types represent widely varying conditions. The Ohio farm aver- 

 ages about 90 acres, of which 70 acres are in crops. Cattle, horses, 

 swine, and sheep are pastured on this farm, and the entire farm is 















\ 



^~~~^^~Jb v 





^>^cc$"\ 





I 





1 ( £ \ 



, 







'••1 (^ / 







^ . J 







Fig. 7. — The distribution of stone fence. 



often pastured at some time during the year. The fence, therefore, 

 must be a general-purpose one and adequate to meet the varying re- 

 quirements. Woven wire is best suited to such conditions. A barbed- 

 wire fence when constructed so as to be adequate for all kinds of 

 stock requires so many wires that its first cost is nearly equal to that 

 of a good woven-wire fence. The cost of upkeep of a fence of this 

 Kind would be much greater than for one of woven wire. In addi- 

 tion, the danger of injury to stock from coming into contact with it is 

 considerable. The farmers in Ohio have realized these things and 

 have mostly abandoned the use of barbed wire. 



( !ondii ions in western Dakota are radically different. On the stock 

 ranches here comparatively little land is in crops, while large acreages 



