44 ON FENCES FOR PLANTATIONS. 
tion of the soil for a formation of this description. A usual 
price, apart from the upper fixture or rail, is from 4d. to 5d. 
per lineal yard of dike five feet high, measuring from the 
bottom of the ditch to the coping-turf. The cheapest dike of 
turf I have known to be erected, suitable as a fence or pro- 
tection against cattle, was formed five feet high, at the cost 
of 3d. per lineal yard. A common method is to form the 
fence with earth, and to face up the outside with stones, 
where such material is conveniently obtained. 
I have lately built by contract in moorland about two miles 
of dikes, of two sorts, where stones are found conveniently, 
partly from newly improved land, and partly from cairns, 
which abound along many mountainous districts in the north 
of Scotland. These cairns form heath-covered mounds through- 
out the moors, and require little or no labour to excavate. A 
dry stone dike, five feet high, was built with a scarcement of 
three inches on each side near the surface of the ground; 
above that it started at the thickness of two feet, and rising 
to four and a half feet in height, where it tapered to sixteen 
inches ; here it was surmounted by a projecting cope, making 
its entire height five feet. The cost of building was 10d. per 
lineal yard, carting stones, 3d., making the price of the dike 
ls. 1d. per lineal yard. This was the fence adopted where 
the ground was level, or had only a gentle slope. 
Where the ground was steep, the fence was formed of a 
different construction; there the surface of the moor was 
excavated to the average depth of twelve inches, and to the 
breadth of five or six feet. The surface turf was built up 
to the height of about four feet, the earth excavated from 
beneath the surface turf was cast over in the progress of 
building to form the backing. This turf wall was then faced 
up with stone from the bottom of the excavation to the 
height of four.and a half feet, and a stone coping made the 
faced-up side of the dike stand five feet high, with a scarce- 
ment at bottom of a few inches, and with a slope or batter of 
four or five inches. The surface of the embankment on the 
opposite side was formed with a slope of not less than two 
