10 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[January, 
Fencing and Fences. 
This important subject comes home to every 
owner of a farm or of a village lot that requires en¬ 
closure. At a meeting of New Hampshire farmers, 
several gentlemen publicly offered to sell their farms 
for less than what the existing fencing on them had 
cost. In a recent address at an Agricultural Con¬ 
vention, Mr. A.W. Cheever, editor “ N. E. Farmer,” 
said he had carefully gone over the statistics of 
farms, animals, crops, and cost of fences, and found 
that: “It takes, on the average for the whole 
country, §1.74 worth of fences to keep §1.65 worth 
of stock from eating up §2.45 worth of crops.” 
Nine years ago the statistics gathered at Wash¬ 
ington showed that the fences theu in existence, 
had cost $1,747,549,931. The additions since have 
raised the cost of the present fencing of the coun¬ 
try to fully $2,000,000,000. A million dollars 
is a pretty large sum to count, or even to conceive 
of, (we can not count one million in the working 
days of a month, counting one a second and 10 
hours a day), but here are two thousand such mil¬ 
lions. The interest and repairs amount to over 
$200,030,000 a year, and the rebuilding of decaying 
fences nearly, as much more, making our annual 
fence tax far more than the entire cost of the Army, 
Navy, the General Government expenses and Pen¬ 
sions, together with the interest on the public debt. 
In N. Y. State, for example, there are some 75,000 
miles of roads requiring 150,000 miles of fencing, 
costing over $40,000,000, 
and the total fencing in 
this single State has cost 
not less than $230,000,000. 
During 38 years past the 
American Agriculturist has 
had not a little to say as 
to the uselessness of a 
good deal of the fencing. 
But much will be needed 
wherever live animals are 
kept, and we propose now 
to direct some effort to 
reducing the cost of fenc¬ 
ing generally. If this one 
item in the United States 
can be reduced only one- 
fourth, the saving will 
amount to $500,000,000. 
In the older States, there 
are an average of about 
two miles of fencing 
for each 100-acre farm, costing about $1 a rod, or 
$640. If, in building new fences and replacing old 
ones, we can erect thorn at I to I the cost of the 
present fences, and have those that will last two, 
three, four or more times as long, and require 
but small annual repairs, the average value of farms 
will be enhanced some hundreds of dollars at least. 
If a narrow effective fence can take the place of 
the ordinary “worm fence,” there will be a great 
decrease in the production of weeds and foul 
plants. Two miles of such fence on a farm, occupy¬ 
ing a strip 84 feet wide with its projecting corners, 
wastes two full acres of ground, worth $150, or 
more. The cost of Iron, and recently of Steel, are 
greatly reduced,and they have come into very largely 
increased use in ship-building, house-building, etc. 
Why should they not take the place of wood 
in all varieties of fencing, both for posts and rails ? 
Such a change, is already rapidly taking place. 
More than 100,000 miles of Barbed Wire Fence 
have been recently erected. Whether this style of 
fencing is best, or desirable ; whether it is too 
barbarous or not, for general adoption over our 
vast, timberless prairies at the West, and what 
forms can be adopted in our more thickly settled 
regions, for highway fences, for village lot enclo¬ 
sures, etc., will be the subject of examination and 
discussion in this and especially in future papers. 
A Call for Information. 
Many of our readers have the new barbed 
fences. We earnestly invite accounts of their 
experience and observation, pro and con. We 
have some letters denouncing barbed wire fences 
as too cruel to be permitted, and insisting that 
they should be prohibited by law along highways 
and railways. Others speak of their introduction 
as of inestimable value. Let us have all possible 
testimony on both sides of the question. Also any 
information and suggestions about iron posts. 
Iron Pence Posts. 
As there is a pressing need of new and improved 
forms of Iron Fence Posts, in order to call out in¬ 
formation and 
stimulate inven¬ 
tion in this direc¬ 
tion, we will first 
briefly introduce 
this branch of 
the subject, by 
giving illustra¬ 
tions anddescrip- 
tions of a few of 
the forms that 
have come under 
our own notice. 
The simplest 
form is an iron 
bar, or an iron 
tube, with holes 
or staples for at¬ 
taching the hori- 
Fig. 9. Fig. 10. zontal wires. The 
same weight of 
iron is stronger in the form of a tube than in a 
solid bar. But cast-iron will be likely to be 
used generally. After securing sufficient strength 
of post above ground, the next points to be aimed 
at are light weight, on account of expense, and 
breadth of resisting surface in the soil to prevent 
swaying in any direction. Non-liability to heaving 
by frost is also an important point. 
And just here we will introduce a matter referred 
to by a correspondent, who writes that a fatal ob¬ 
jection t# all forms of wire or barbed wire fence for 
uneven ground, is, that when the fence runs across 
a hollow or depression of the surface, as in figure 1, 
the contraction of the wire by cold lifts out the 
lower posts, as indicated in figure 2, even if the 
depression be only 2 or 3 feet, if the wires are tight. 
We suggest, as a remedy, two independent posts 
together at the lowest point, as shown in figure 3. 
"Various Forms of Iron Posts. 
Andrew Turner, of Bellona, N. Y., writes us, de¬ 
scribing a form of iron post, of which the exact 
form is not quite clear. He gives one suggestion 
that may be useful wherever there are plenty of 
stones of so soft a texture as to be easily drilled. Dur¬ 
ing winter, or other leisure seasons, he drills holes 
in them of a size to admit the foot of the iron post, 
of wliateverform, say 6 inches in depth. The stones 
are put into the ground any desired depth, and 
the posts inserted. The posts may then be of 
any iron pipe. We suggest using flat stones 3 to 6- 
inches thick, and drilling the holes through to let the 
posts extend some distance into tne soil below. 
John Cunningham, of Luzerne Co., Pa., sends us 
sketches of an iron fence post devised by him, to 
be made of cast¬ 
or rolled iron, 
with double 
angles, as 
shown by the 
cross section at 
figure 4. The- 
post, shown in 
fig. 5, has holes 
for 4 or 5 wires. 
The holes are 
made so as to 
receive the 
wires which 
are held fast 
by a key — in 
this case a. 
common nail of proper size, driven above the 
wire. To prevent loosening by contraction and 
expansion of the wire, we suggest driving a nail 
from each side, one above and one below the wire. 
An iron post made by the Iowa Barbed Wire 
Fence Co., is shown at fig. 6. The bar of iron is 4 
inch thick and about 24 inches wide, curved so as 
to stiffen it, (fig. 7). The wires are held on the 
outer curved side by staples over them to be clinched 
on the concave side. To hold the post firmly, a 
disc, (fig. 8), is sunk in the ground at any desired 
depth, and the post driven through the curved 
opening in it made to just fit the post. This disc 
is of 3 /ie inch iron, 64 inches in diameter, besides the 
edge of it, which is turned down 14 inch all round. 
J. C. Taylor, of Chicago, has an iron post 
(fig. 9) of similar construction to the above, but 
strengthened by a flange in the curve. This is 
driven into the ground without any boring. The 
method of attaching the wire is shown in the small 
cross section engraving at the .op of figure 9. 
The Bullard iron fence post (fig. 10), made by the 
Washburn & Moen Manufacturing Co., is a flat 
bar slotted on one edge to receive 
the wires, and held by a forked 
brace driven into the ground.— 
Brick tiles of the form shown in 
fig. 11, are also used as support 
to strengthen this post. — The 
same company make a post of 
angle iron (fig. 12) which is 
braced in the line of strain. The wires are clamped 
by a keyed sliding holder, shown in figure 13. 
The Barbed Wires. 
Fig. 13. 
Many attempts have been made to imitate the nat¬ 
ural thorn-armed plants, by affixing barbs to wire, 
and over 30 different patterns have been devised. 
We have some 25 specimens, the exact size and 
form of which are shown in the engravings below. 
Nearly all the fence wires here described, are now 
made of Steel, and most are supplied either 
painted (or japanned), or galvanized (coated with 
zinc). They average about 1 lb. per rod per wire 
and usually cost 9 to 13 cents per pound. 
The engravings are so exact that our readers can 
almost decide and make their own selection. We 
confess to being yet in the condition of a learner— 
but au earnest, investigating one, in behalf of the 
public. We started with a prejudice against any 
of the severer forms of barbs ; yet some manufac¬ 
turers say the demand is for the longest barbs, 
especially at the far West. We intend to learn 
more and say more on this, especially when we hear 
further from our readers experienced in their use. 
No. 1 is probably the first 
attempt at “barbing said to 
have been made by au Iowa 
blacksmith, some 20 years ago. 
. is a common horse-shoe nail 
bent around the main wire, and 
held in position by binding it 
with a small wire, as shown.. 
