96 
WIRE FENCE, ETC. 
the same soil, and only anxious for their best 
interests, I hope they will no longer accuse me 
of doing them injustice, or making an unwar- 
ranted attack upon my own, my native land. 
Upon the place where I am writing, there are 
700 negroes, and two white men ; and yet the 
state of culture here, might shame many a Con- 
necticut farmer. It is a picture of order, neat- 
ness, comfort, and happiness. But of this, and 
Connecticut farming, more anon. Your true 
friend, Solon Robinson. 
South Carolina, Jan. 21th, 1850. 
WIRE FENCE. 
At request, I send you a description of a wire 
fence we have been building, and the cost of the 
various items used in its construction. 
The wire used was No. 9, weighing 1 lb. per 
rod. The posts are cast iron, 3 ft. 6 in. high, 
besides a dowel of 2£ in. in length, and li in. 
in diameter, inserted in stone, and weighing 
about 11 lbs. each. We first built a wall, 3 ft. 
wide and 18 in. high, placing large stones for 
receiving the posts, at the distance of 12£ ft. 
This will guard, against geese and swine, and 
attract the notice of larger animals, that they 
Wire Fence. — Fig. 35. 
may not run against it. Had not the stone been 
on the ground, we should not have made it quite 
so heavy. 
As the fence separates a permanent meadow 
from the highway, we set our posts about six 
inches from the front of the wall. The form of 
post is, tapering to the top, flattened at the sides, 
and thinnest at the -middle — designed to obtain 
the greatest strength of the iron used. [?] The 
distance of the first wire from the stone, is 4 in.; 
then a space of 6 in., then 7 in., then 9 in., and, 
finally, of 12 in.; the posts rising 4 in. above 
the top wire. The holes in the posts were not 
cast in, but drilled. Every other post, we braced 
with round, half-inch iron, one end clasping the 
post, 18 in. from the bottom, the other entering 
the same stone as the post, 18 in. from it. Mid- 
way between the posts, we placed others, of oval 
iron, f in. in breadth, drilled, like the others, but 
not fastened to the stone. 
We purchased unannealed wire, but were 
under the necessity of annealing it, before we 
could use it. This we did in a fire, in the open 
air; and one side of each coil became more 
pliable than the other, which made it trouble- 
some in putting in. We introduced our wires, 
five in number, without much trouble, except 
from our movable posts ; one person holding 
the coil, and turning it in his hands. I think 
the better way would be, to have a reel for this 
purpose, as the wire would come off more easily, 
and get less crooked. At each end, we had 
strong, well-braced, wooden posts ; and fasten- 
ing the wire to one of them, we strained it tight 
at the other, by passing it through the post, and 
then through a cylinder of white oak, about 2 in. 
in diameter, and 12 in. in length, which we 
turned by a carriage wrench, fitted to one end, 
and an iron rod, put through a hole in the other ; 
the rod being close to the side of the post, was 
made fast by a nail, to keep the wire straight. 
In order to straighten the wire the whole 
length, we found it necessary, at the same time 
we strained at the end, to draw on it in various 
places, as the friction of the posts, and catching 
in some, would break one end before the other 
would be straightened. This we effected, by 
putting sticks through the joinings of the wire, 
and drawing by hand. After the horizontal 
wires were drawn tight, we put in No. 15 wire, 
passing diagonally from the top to the bottom 
of every post, and crossing in the centre. It 
may be woven in, in any desirable form. The 
whole is painted white, to protect it from the 
rust, improve its appearance, and attract the 
attention of cattle. 
We have another short piece, which has no 
wall at the bottom, and is painted brown, which 
the cattle do not see ; and they run into it, much 
to its injury. The length of this fence is 35 
rods. The cost was as follows : — 
180 lbs. No. 9 wire, at 6 cts., $10.80 
20 lbs. No. 15 wire, at 8 cts., 1.60 
46 cast-iron posts, 529 lbs. at 3 cts.,. . 15.87 
38 lbs. American iron, for braces and 
small posts, at 5 cts., 1.90 
Blacksmith's bill, for drilling posts, &c, 3.83 
Paint, 1.00 
Labor at wall, &c. 30 days, 30.0 
$65.00 
being $1.85 per rod. 
Our experience alone, would enable us to 
construct another at less cost ; and by bracing 
each post, they might be further apart, without 
any loss of strength. Many of the processes 
adopted by us, were not original; but as the 
building of wire fence is yet in its infancy, 
many parts of our plan may be worthy of 
adoption. 
If any one wishes the fence invisible, let him 
set the stone for the posts in the ground, and 
paint the whole green or brown. A short piece 
of wire fence does not look well, but in our 
case, it has added so much to the beauty of the 
field enclosed by it, as to be noticed by every 
one who sees it. T. S. Gold. 
West Cornwall, Ct., Jan. 25th, 1850. 
To Cook a Tough Fowl. — When a fowl is 
plucked and drawn, joint it as for a pie. Stew 
it five hours in a close saucepan, with salt, mace, 
onions, or any other flavoring ingredents that 
may be approved. A clove of garlic may be 
added, where it is not utterly disliked. When 
tender'turn it out into a deep dish, so that the 
meat may be entirely covered with the liquor. 
Let it stand thus in its own jelly for a day or 
two ; it may then be served in the shape of a 
curry, hash, or a pie. 
