32 BULLETIN 321, U. S. DEPAETMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. 
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 ser^T.ce 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 ancl 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 ced^r, 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 
