17 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
A FARMER’S HINTS ON FENCING. 
The subject of economically fencing our 
farms, has hitherto failed to awaken as live¬ 
ly an interest as the importance of the case 
demands. The practice in new countries 
has been, to saw just enough fencing timber 
to fence the lot to be cleared, be it large or 
small. The shape and size of the lot is de¬ 
termined by circumstances, which may vary 
annually, according to ability or fancy. The 
fences remain in their first location until 
they have been repaired and replenished 
several times from the woods, and until what 
has been cut for rails is very much needed 
for building purposes. Some farmers have 
adopted the practice of making their lots 
larger, being careful to place the fences 
where they should be ; dividing the lots with 
a strict view to economy and convenience, 
avoiding unnecessary angles in the lines, 
and thus bringing the balks, where the old 
fences stood for years, into cultivation; re¬ 
moving the stones that had accumulated 
there, to some suitable place, for wall, by 
which more or less stone wall may be made 
to great advantage. I have made some an¬ 
nually for several years ; and as I have no 
stone that are conveniently near, I draw 
them in the winter from a quarry. I make 
half wall, 2k feet high, putting two rails upon 
it, one under and one above the stakes, 
which should be stuck so as to cross each 
other below the top rail. After it is finished 
it should be banked on both sides, by plow¬ 
ing two furrows. The first furrow should 
be turned so as to nearly reach the wall, and 
the other taken with a shovel and laid upon 
the first, hard against the wall. This will 
greatly secure the wall from danger of fall¬ 
ing by the ground heaving with frost. If 
the third furrow is plowed so as to deepen 
the ditch, it will pay well. Oxen are a bet¬ 
ter team to do this work than horses, as 
whiflletrees are apt to hitch to the stakes. 
On almost all farms such fence may be 
advantageously made. Stone may be drawn 
by sledding from some miles distant, if not 
more convenient. I have found it profitable 
to make several hundred rods where but few 
stones were near. 
Board fence may be made with far less 
expense and more durability, than in the 
ordinary manner. My practice is, to set 
cedar posts two feet in the ground, with a 
2-inch oak pin 18 inches long through the 
lower end, and crosswise the line of the 
fence, which will guard it against the effects 
of wind and frost. I mortice the posts 
through, boring with a 2-inch augur. The 
bottom board—one foot wide and 1£ inches 
thick—should be put 18 inches from the 
ground. Next, a space of six inches, and a 
board six inches wide ; then a space of eight 
inches, and another board narrower still. 
The boards are 12 feet long, and cut so as to 
lap in the posts. A piece of the narrow 
board should be nailed to the middle of each 
length, reaching to the ground and above the 
top board. When the fence is set up, plow 
upon each side and raise a bank nearly up to 
the bottom board. The bank should be im¬ 
mediately seeded with June or some other 
grass that will make a firm sod. The ditch¬ 
es formed by banking in this manner are 
useful in keeping the ground dry where the 
posts stand, and frequently may be used to 
drain the land ; and, as cattle approach the 
fence, it appears more formidable to them 
than when at a distance 
I build a wire fence in some locations ; 
such as for lanes, and near the house, where 
snow is likely to accumulate in large quan¬ 
tities and be troublesome. 1 set posts in 
the ground 10 feet apart, and frame in rails 
2k feet apart—the lower one lk feet from the 
ground. I then put rods of T 3 F th-inch wire 
perpendicularly through those rails 6 inches 
apart, and fill the space below the lower rail 
with a board, lk inches thick and one foot 
wide, fastened at the ends by small cleats to 
the posts. There should be a small stone 
put under the end of the board to keep it 
from the ground. The posts should be cap¬ 
ped, and, w'hen finished, may be painted 
very cheaply with coal tar, or any other 
paint that best suits the fancy of the owner. 
Ditching may be profitably done on low 
lands, like those bordering rivers, or any 
wet lands, where the ditches can empty 
themselves of the water that may settle in 
them. They answer the double purpose of 
drain and fence. There are some being 
made in my neighborhood this summer, 3 
feet deep, 3k feet wide at the top and one 
foot at the bottom, at a cost of three shil¬ 
lings per rod. In digging, the dirt should 
all be thrown on one side, into which may 
be driven stakes, projecting two feet above 
the ground, and narrow boards nailed to 
them, which makes an effective fence. A 
hedge may be planted upon the ridge so 
thrown up, with very little expense, which, 
in a few years, will prove the advantages of 
a live fence over a dead one. 
Stone Mills, N. Y. Wm. Rouse. 
Watering Cattle. —Among the many 
causes of stock not thriving as much as might 
be desirable during the winter, is their too 
scanty supply of water. A few have running 
water in their cattle yards, and their stock 
drink as nature requires it ; but most farmers 
water their stock either by the pump, or by 
driving them to a running brook twice, or 
often but once a day. Watering is done by 
rule from fail to spring, regardless of weath¬ 
er or food I have observed stock so dry as to 
refuse to eat dry food, but after being watered 
they eat it voraciously. Now it is a well 
settled fact that no animal will thrive well 
while suffering for want of food, water or 
shelter. Let those, therefore, who want to 
turn out their stock in the spring in good con¬ 
dition, attend to these things, and let them 
see that the poorer and weaker stock get as 
much as they want.—Farmer and Visitor. 
Early Cabbage. —The best way to obtain 
early cabbage, is to set out the plants early 
in October. They will come forward with 
great rapidity in the spring. Let every lover 
of this excellent vegetable make the experi¬ 
ment with a few plants of the hardiest and 
earliest sorts. 
Fro jhe American Agriculluirst. 
HINTS FOR HOUSEKEEPERS. 
A chamber may be very prettily and com¬ 
fortably furnished with but little expense. 
A good bedstead should be procured, free 
from cracks and loose joints, that it may 
more easily be kept clean. A bureau is 
desirable, though not indispensable. The 
same may be said of a washstand. Substi¬ 
tutes for these pieces of furniture may be 
contrived which will answer the purpose. 
I have seen a triangular shelf put up in one 
corner of the room, supported by small brack¬ 
ets, which answered for the bowl; a second 
one beneath it furnished a place for the 
pitcher when not standing in the bowl. I 
have seen, too, home-made tables with legs 
crossing each other, like the letter x, which 
looked.well, and would correspond with the 
above mentioned shelf. 
Seats made of soap-boxes, with the cov¬ 
ers hinged on, and neatly covered with 
chintz, make very convenient seats, and 
answer well for keeping clothes in. The 
top should be covered with a cushion of 
old cloth, cotton, or hay even, and the chintz 
nailed neatly on. Around the sides of the 
box, the valance should be nailed a little full, 
driving the nails on the top ofthe box. Bar¬ 
rel chairs can be made so as to be in good 
taste, but particular attention should be paid 
to securing an agreeable shape. Shoe boxes, 
covered in the same way as the soap-boxes, 
are still more convenient for use, and par¬ 
ticularly in rooms where there are no closets. 
In the great chamber, one of these empty 
boxes will be found very desirable, provid¬ 
ing a safe place for laying away dresses. 
Even when the room is furnished with a 
bureau and wardrobe, it will not prove amiss. 
One of the prettiest toilet-tables I have 
ever seen was made of a shoe-box. It stood 
on one end ; the top was a semi-circular 
board cut out by a common laborer; two 
shelves were put in it, so there was a place 
for shoes, for the bonnet, and the second 
shelf for any parcels which it was desirable 
to lay away. A thin layer of cotton batting 
was spread over the top, and above this, 
pink cambric was tacked on. Around the 
edge of the cover cambric was slightly 
gathered, reaching to the floor. Over all was 
white muslin. A board four inches wide 
extended from the floor to about four feet 
above the top of the table. A curtain pin 
was screwed into the top of it. This board 
was first covered with pink cambric ; then 
with white muslin ; over the pin was thrown 
a width of muslin reaching on either side to 
the floor; and a glass was suspended from 
the pin. 
Book-shelves made of thin pine boards, 
and varnished, look very well, especially in 
rooms with maple furniture. 
Lounges are convenient in chambers where 
there is room lor them, affording a pla«e for 
a nap, and they will often accommodate an 
extra lodger for the night. Anna Hope. 
There is an oak tree near Raleigh, N. C., 
which, at the sun’s meridian, covers with a 
shade a space of 9,000 feet. It would afford 
shelter to 4,500 men. 
