COST OP FENCING IN NOETH CENTRAL STATES. 17 



Interest on an investment of $67.20 (average investment $33.60) for fence 



materials, at 5 per cent $1. 68 



Interest on an investment of $56 for anchor posts at 5 per cent 2. 80 



Depreciation, one-fifteenth of $67.20 4. 48 



Annual labor charge 12. 80 



Total annual cost 21. 76 



There is an annual saving of approximately $18 by the use of 

 temporary fence in this instance. While the practices on some farms 

 may require more interior fencing than the amount cited in this in- 

 stance, others will not require as much. Many times it will be desir- 

 able to pasture two or more fields at one time, and in such a case often 

 only one cross fence will be needed. These figures refer to the con- 

 struction of a temporary fence which is suitable to all kinds of stock. 

 Often a far less expensive fence would answer the purpose where cer- 

 tain kinds of stock are to be pastured for short periods of time. The 

 farmers in Iowa use a very inexpensive form of fence for hogging 

 down corn. The fence is supported on a row of cornstalks which has 

 had the ears removed and the stalks cut down to the height of the 

 fence. The wire is woven in and out among the stalks so that four 

 hills are on one side and four on the other, and so on. A fence of this 

 kind requires no material for its construction other than the wire and 

 end posts. It can also be quickly built. Besides the direct saving in 

 the cost of maintaining the fences no land is lost to cultivation in the 

 form of headlands along fence rows, and also there is no labor re- 

 quired to keep down weeds and brush that would otherwise accumu- 

 late along the fence row. 



RELATION OF FIRST COST TO COST OF FENCE MAINTENANCE. 



The cost of maintaining a farm fence is determined by five factors : 

 Interest, repairs, and depreciation on the fence itself, interest on the 

 value of the land rendered unusable, and the expense of keeping 

 down weeds. The cost of repairs and the annual depreciation depend 

 largely on the construction. If a fence is made from a cheap grade 

 of material and is cheaply constructed, it will need frequent repair 

 and will be short lived. Such a fence will have both a high repair 

 and a high depreciation charge, which will in most cases more than 

 counterbalance the increased investment cost that the erection of a 

 more substantial fence would require. If a fence is made of good 

 materials and is properly built, its repair and depreciation charges 

 should be very low ; but if the increased cost does not represent a cor- 

 responding increase in service the investment charge will be so much 

 greater that the decrease in repair and depreciation charges will not 

 counterbalance it. 



The efficiency of the fence depends upon the quality of the wire 

 and post used and upon fche manner of construction. Each of these 

 factors will be considered in the order mentioned. 



