COST OF FENCING IN NORTH CENTRAL STATES. 17 
Interest on an investment of $67.20 (average investment $33.60) for fence 
materials, at 5 per cent . $1. 68 
Interest on an investment of $56 for anchor posts at 5 per cent 2. 80 
Depreciation, one-fifteenth of $67.20 4. 48 
Annual labor charge 12. 80 
Total annual cost 21. 76 
There is an annual saving of approximately. $18 by the use of 
temporary fence in this instance. While the practices on some farms 
may require more interior fencing than the amount cited in this in- 
stance, others will not require as much. Many times it will be desir- 
able to pasture two or more fields at one time, and in such a case often 
only one cross fence will be needed. These figures refer to the con- 
struction of a temporary fence which is suitable to all kinds of stock. 
Often a far less expensive fence would answer the purpose where cer- 
tain kinds of stock are to be pastured for short periods of time. The 
farmers in Iowa use a very inexpensive form of fence for hogging 
down corn. The fence is supported on a row of cornstalks which has 
had the ears removed and the stalks cut down to the height of the 
fence. The wire is woven in and out among the stalks so that four 
hills are on one side and four on the other, and so on. A fence of this 
kind requires no material for its construction other than the wire and 
end posts. It can also be quickly built. Besides the direct saving in 
the cost of maintaining the fences no land is lost to cultivation in the 
form of headlands along fence rows, and also there is no labor re- 
quired to keep down weeds and brush that would otherwise accumu- 
late along the fence row. 
RELATION OF FIRST COST TO COST OF FENCE MAINTENANCE. 
The cost of maintaining a farm fence is determined by five factors : 
Interest, repairs, and depreciation on the fence itself, interest on the 
value of the land rendered unusable, and the expense of keeping 
down weeds. The cost of repairs and the annual depreciation depend 
largely on the construction. If a fence is made from a cheap grade 
of material and is cheaply constructed, it will need frequent repair 
and will be short lived. Such a fence will have both a high repair 
and a high depreciation charge, which will in most cases more than 
counterbalance the increased investment cost that the erection of a 
more substantial fence would require. If a fence is made of good 
materials and is properly built, its repair and depreciation charges 
should be very low ; but if the increased cost does not represent a cor- 
responding increase in service the investment charge will be so much 
greater that the decrease in repair and depreciation charges will not 
counterbalance it. 
The efficiency of the fence depends upon the quality of the wire 
and posts used and upon the manner of construction. Each of these 
factors will be considered in the order mentioned. 
