COST OF FENCING IN NOETH CENTHAL STATES. 
31 
Table 9. — Showing the width of the strip of la7id (from the center of the fence 
out on one side) tvhich is made untillaUe 'by different types of fence. 
Kind of fence. 
Number 
esti- 
mated. 
Amount 
of land 
made 
untill- 
able.i 
Fence 
required 
to lose 
an acre of 
ground.i 
Kind of fence. 
Number 
esti- 
mated. 
Amount 
of land 
made 
untill- 
able.i 
Fence 
required 
to lose 
an acre of 
ground.i 
Woven wire 
4,048 
3,853 
3,030 
2, 683 
Feet. 
3.29 
3.42 
3.23 
3.29 
Rods. 
802 
772 
817 
802 
Hedge (well 
trimmed) 
2,356 
2,066 
2, 180 
Feet. 
7.6 
3.57 
6.05 
Rods. 
347 
739 
43& 
Board 
Straight rail 
PicJiet 
Worm rail 
1 Should the fence run between two pasture fields, practically no land would be lost, but when it divides 
two cultivated fields the width of the strip of land made untiilable, as shown by the table, should be 
doubled and the number of rods of fence required to occupy an acre of ground would be one-half that stated 
in the table. 
When farm land is high priced the amount of land that is covered 
by fence rows becomes a matter of importance. For this reason 
worm-rail and hedge fences are not practicable throughout the corn 
belt, where there are still many of them in use. Table 9 shows the 
amount of land rendered untiilable by different types of fence. 
They must be doubled if the fence divides two cultivated fields. 
When a forage or small-grain crop is grown less land is lost along 
the fence row than when corn, potatoes, or some other cultivated crop 
is grown, for much land is taken for turning along the fence row with 
the latter. Local practices also influence the amount of land along 
the fence row which is not cultivated. Thus, in certain parts of 
Iowa and adjacent States, it is not uncommon for a farmer to leave 
a headland 10 to 12 feet in width along his fences ; these are used for 
driveways. In many localities of the East it is the practice to use 
one horse to plow along the fence row in order to get as close to it 
as possible. 
It will be noted from the table that wire, board, and picket fences 
take up but a little over 3 feet on a side, while worm-rail fences 
occupy double this amount of land. The amount of land that the 
hedge fence renders useless for cultivation will depend upon the size 
of the hedge. If it is left untrimmed it will sap the fertility of the 
soil for more than a rod on each side of it ; if it is kept well trimmed 
it occupies nearly double the amount of land taken by a wire fence. 
If the season is dry, a hedge does much more damage than when 
there is plenty of rainfall, as its root system extends out to a con- 
siderable distance and takes up moisture that is needed by the crops 
in the adjacent fields. 
SUMMARY. 
1. The large farm requires proportionately less fence than the 
small one, and the ratio of fence required to the acre decreases in 
proportion to the increase in size of farm up to a certain limit. 
2. Stone, hedge, and the different types of wooden fences were de- 
sirable at the time they were first built, but changing economic con- 
ditions make them impracticable at the present time, and they are 
being replaced with wire fencing. 
3. The best kind of wire fencing to erect depends on, the purpose 
for which the fence is used. On a farm where mixed types of live 
stock are kept, a general-purpose woven-wire fabric is needed. If 
only cattle and horses are to be pastured, a coarser and less expensive 
