32 BULLETIN 321, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



woven fence can be used. When fencing is needed to inclose exten- 

 sive pastures where only cattle or horses are to be kept the excessive 

 cost of a woven- wire fence would not make its use desirable, for losses 

 to stock by injury on barbed wire would not be large enough to 

 counterbalance the difference in the cost of maintaining the two 

 different kinds of fences. This applies to the extensive farming 

 areas of the West. 



4. It is economy to use a heavy grade of woven- wire fabric. The 

 cost of woven wire is based upon its weight, and a reduction in cost 

 may be obtained by using a style of fencing that has the wires spaced 

 only as close together as is needed to meet the requirements. It is 

 false economy to reduce the first cost of the fence by using a light 

 grade of wire. 



5. To get the maximum of service out of a fence it is absolutely 

 necessary that it should be well built. The corner posts must be 

 placed solidly in the ground in such a manner that they can not be 

 heaved by frost or drawn loose by the pull of the fence. The fabric 

 should be strung tightly to the end posts, but it ought not to be 

 tightly stapled to the line posts. It should be fastened to line posts 

 in such manner that the wires may move in a horizontal direction to 

 take care of the contraction and expansion due to changes in tempera- 

 ture, and to distribute the force of a blow along the fence line so that 

 the strain will not come entirely on any one or two posts or any one 

 point of the wire. A barbed wire should be placed a short distance 

 above the top of the woven wire to prevent cattle and horses from 

 crowding it down when reaching over or rubbing against the fence. 



6. Cheaply constructed wire fences are expensive to keep in repair. 

 Wooden and hedge fences require a large annual expenditure to keep 

 them in shape. 



7. Worm-rail and hedge fences occupy much more ground space 

 than do the other types of fence in use in the area studied. Stone 

 fences also occupy much ground, but very few of them were found 

 in this area. 



8. The cost of a good general-purpose farm fence constructed from 

 durable materials will be as follows: 



First cost: Per rod. 



Line posts ; red cedar, hedge, locust, cement, or steel (1 rod apart) $0. 28 



Ends and braces; cedar, hedge, locust, cement, or steel (every 40 



rods) . 125 



Woven wire; 10 strands, 47 inches high, stays 12 inches apart, all 



No. 9 . 40 



Barbed wire ; 1 strand placed 4 inches above top of the woven wire_ . 035 



Staples . 005 



Labor cost of construction . 09 



Total . 935 



Annual cost of upkeep : ===== 



Repairs, including the cost of keeping the fence row clean . 024 



Interest at 5 per cent on average investment ($0.4675) .023 



Depreciation, estimating that the life of the fence is 22 years . 043 



Total . 090 



Interest on the land occupied at the rate of 5 per cent per year: 

 108.6 square feet per rod, valued at $125 per acre . 155 



Total annual cost ««■««««,»»- . 245 



o 



