Equipment 95 



make a fair cattle fence but not one that is really satis- 

 factory, especially for calves. Four barb wires, however, 

 make a strictly first-class cattle fence for inclosing large 

 pastures and ranges, although it will not turn calves or 

 any other kind of cattle if they are crowded into a corner. 

 Five barb wires make a slightly better fence for cattle 

 than four, but hardly enough better to justify the expense 

 of the additional wire, and this extra wire at the bottom 

 of the fence makes it much more dangerous for horses. 

 The posts for such fences are placed about a rod apart, 

 and this is close enough for all ordinary purposes. A 

 three-wire fence stretched very tight is better than four 

 wires a little slack. 



CORRALS 



In the building of corrals of any kind, the first and most 

 important consideration is to build them so that the cattle 

 cannot possibly get out. This seems simple enough, but 

 unless one is fairly familiar with the handling of cattle he 

 will underestimate the ability of the average steer to escape 

 from a corral. The fence must be at least six feet high and 

 exceedingly strong. There are four common ways of 

 building corral fences. The first is by putting up a pen 

 of heavy poles, having the ends rest one on top of the 

 other between pairs of heavy posts tied together with 

 wire, thus building up the fence after the manner of a log 

 cabin. If the fence is well made, this is an excellent 

 method, and is especially adapted to small round corrals. 

 For long straight corral fences, it is not so satisfactory 

 unless the posts are exceedingly heavy. 



The second method is that used by all the leading stock- 

 yards. In this style of fence the posts are set deep in the 



