14 
BULLETIN 1151, U. S. DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE. 
of a shovel. Care should be taken in digging this trench to keep 
the inside edge square and on the line laid out by the cord. Place 
30-inch, 2-inch mesh, 14-gauge wire in the trench, so that the upper 
surface comes to the level of the ground. Lay the wire close to the 
inside of the trench. If desirable, the trench may be dug wider, in 
order to lace an 18-inch underlay of wire to the 30-inch wire at the 
bottom of the trench. 
Set the posts in the trench so that the outside of the post comes 
flush or nearly flush with the inside of the trenc 
1. This helps to keep 
the wire straight and 
regular. 
Above the 30-inch 
roll of wire use a 4- 
foot width of 1^-inch 
mesh, 15-gauge wire. 
Wire of 2 -inch 
should not be 
mesh 
used 
here, because younp; 
p ups m a y 
through it 
crawl 
or hang 
themselves ; 1 -J- - i n c h 
mesh or less is pref- 
erable. 
Above this 4- foot 
roll use a 5-foot roll 
of 2-inch mesh, 16- 
gauge wire, which 
completes the height 
of a 9- foot pen wall. 
Eolls of G-foot and 
3- foot wire could be 
used, but it is more 
difficult to manipu- 
late wire G feet wide 
in stretching. Two 
rolls of 4-foot wire 
will do if it is de- 
cided that 8 feet is 
high enough for the 
wall. 
After the ground wire is placed in position stones can be packed 
closely around the posts and the trench tilled with earth. Great care 
should be exercised to see that the posts are kept in line, especially 
when the ground is tamped solidly around them. (See Fig. 13.) 
A band of 1-inch boards 4 to 5 inches in width should be nailed 
to the posts around the entire pen. The upper edge of the board 
should come flush with the top of the posts at the required height, 
as shown in Figure 13. This serves to stay the posts and furnishes 
the support to Avhich the top wire may be stapled, as well as the out 
side of the overhang. It also gives a finished appearance to the pens. 
Brace boards should also be nailed to the top of the posts inside to 
furnish a place upon which a roll of 18-inch, 16-gauge, 2-inch-mesh 
wire can be placed to form the overhang. 
Fig. 11. — Iron posts and concrete foundations for yard 
fence, a ; and gnard fence, 6. Two 18-inch overhangs 
are provided on the yard fence, one of which (5 foot 
from the ground) is to prevent foxes from climbing to 
the top and sustaining injury from the greater fall. 
