AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
175 
the post will depend much on the skill of the hand 
that splits them, which is so common a labor that 
it need not be described. The “ cuts,” or logs 
for the posts should be cut with a cross-cut saw, 
instead of chopped with an ax, to make them all 
of a length. When split out, each post should be 
dressed free from sap-wood and splinters, so as 
to have as fair and smooth a surface as possible, 
for shedding the rains. If the posts are intended 
for rails, the holes to receive them should be two 
to two-and-a-half inches wide, and six inches 
long, and such distance apart as may be desirable 
to exclude whatever animals are to be fenced out. 
Of that the builder must judge. The rail holes 
may be. made with a narrow bitted ax for that 
express purpose, or by two augur holes at their 
ends, and the piece between cut out with a com¬ 
mon ax. The work is simple, any way. 
The rails for a post-and-rail fence should not 
exceed ten feet long, and six to seven inches is 
wide enough, if the wood is straight-grained, and 
evenly split. Two inches, at the extent, is thick 
enough. It is no matter about the rails being 
seasoned. The bark should he taken off, and they 
will season themselves fast enough in the fence. 
Before beginning to set the fence, let the posts 
and rails be distributed along the line. Then com¬ 
mence at one end, and complete each panel as 
you proceed, so far as securing the foot of the 
posts is concerned. The ■packing of the earth 
around them can be done afterwards, although it 
should not be neglected beyond a day or two, as 
the fence might otherwise begin to lean by the 
winds or by its own weight. In setting the fence, 
he sure to place the posts near enough together 
to give the rails a good lap past each other 
where they meet In the holes. They ought to lap 
at least three inches, and be tight and firm when 
once placed, as a loose and shackling fence is 
always out of order. 
We consider a good post-and-rail fence, five 
feet high, such as we have described, next to a 
stonewall, as the best enclosure a farm can have. 
It is cheap. It takes no room beyond its own 
simple line. It is strong, efficient and dura¬ 
ble. Its cost will depend upon the value and 
convenience of the timber of which it is made. 
In a fairly timbered country, seventy-five cents is 
a fair price, and a dollar a rod is a high price for 
it. When saw-mills are handy, we would have 
both rails and posts sawed, making it a better job, 
and then it may be whitewashed if thought best, 
and made as ornamental as any other. 
THE VIRGINIA, OR WORM FENCE. 
This is a substantial and cheap fence in a wood¬ 
ed country—a lasting one, too. if suitable timber 
is selected for making it. We have named the 
best kinds for it, but less durable woods will an¬ 
swer a good purpose, if laid up from the ground, 
and exposed to the sun—not built in the shade of 
trees. The splitting of rails is too common and 
simple a business, where such fences are used, to 
need comment or description. The rails may be 
eleven or twelve feet long—not less nor more. 
From four to six inches diameter, of any shape 
they may come, is sufficiently small or large ; and 
white oak, chestnut, black oak and black walnut, 
the best possible timber to make them of; each 
being strong, durable, and, with the exception of 
white oak, which is a heavy wood, quite light 
enough in weight. 
In laying this fence, a solid stone, eight or ten 
inches broad, with flat surfaces, if to be had, should 
he made a foundation for the corners to rest 
upon. If not, wooden blocks, two or two-and-a- 
half feet long, of durable timber, and six inches 
thick, may be laid ; but in no ease should the ends 
of the rails touch the ground, as they would soon 
begin to decay. The worm of the fence should 
be full five feet from corner to corner, at right an¬ 
gles, or two-and-a-half feet from the centre line 
of the fence. The fence corners may be laid ei¬ 
ther by two parallel lines of stakes, five feet apart, 
or one line of stakes on the centre. A short stake, 
about six feet long, with a right angled shank two- 
and-a-half feet long, secured to its foot, should 
also be provided—the stakes to range by, and the 
shank to measure the space for the worm to ex¬ 
tend. This instrument the man who lays the 
worm, or bottom rail, carries with him as he pro¬ 
ceeds, and with a little practice the corners can be 
laid with great accuracy and neatness. The heart 
wood rails should be laid at the bottom, as they 
are usually more lasting than those of the outer 
wood. The corners should be carried up perpen¬ 
dicularly. If not needed to be over five feet high, 
the corners can he secured by a lock—that is, 
putting two rails leaning across the corners on 
the same side of the line, and crossing the ends 
of the projecting top rails of the fence. But the 
most efficient way is to cross-stake each corner, 
and lay one or two rails upon them, according, to 
the hight offence required. These stakes should 
be three inches thick and nine feet long, sharpen¬ 
ed at one end, and driven well into the ground, 
with a good shank to hold them firmly. 
Another way of staking a fence at the corners, 
is, to have the stakes six, seven or eight feet long, 
according to tiie hight of the fence, and set them 
perpendicularly, and a stout plank or split, block 
cap, with holes through it to receive the stakes, 
(and hold them firmly together) placed on the top ; 
or, the stakes may he effectually wired at the top 
with annealed wire of about No. 6, (or the size of 
a rye straw,) which is quite as cheap as the plank, 
or block cap. 
We know white oak rail worm fences which 
have stood fifty years, with occasional slight re¬ 
pairs, and are still good. They are anything hut 
ornamental, we admit, but for utility, they are 
not easily excelled. Thirty cents to a dollar a rod, 
according to the value of timber, is their cost, and 
although they occupy more land than the post-and- 
rail, the ease with which they are built may cause 
them to be a more desirable enclosure. 
Hedge Hants for the South, 
Wherever a good hedge can be successfully 
grown, it is at once the nearest perfect and the 
most beautiful of fences. When well established, 
no winds can prostrate it, no animal penetrate it. 
It cannot be thrown down by the frosts, like stone ; 
it does not decay like hoards or rails. It needs 
no refitting and no painting. Every Spring re¬ 
news its vigor, and adorns it with new beauty. It 
stands ever before the eyes a living wall of ver¬ 
dure, an object of taste as well as of utility. 
There is, unquestionably, an increasing desire for 
hedges, in all parts of the country, especially in 
the older sections, where wood is growing scarce, 
or upon the prairies and savannas, where there is 
no rock. Amateurs are experimenting with a 
great variety of trees and shrubs, and though no 
one may have been found t at adapted to all 
parts of our country, it is probable that every sec¬ 
tion is furnished with good native hedge plants. 
Naturehas been especially prodigal to the South, 
where not only most of our Northern hedge plants 
do well, but many indigenous and e::otic shrubs 
are trained into beautiful living fences. In the 
writer’s recent visit to the Gulf States, notes 
were taken of a few of these hedge plants, that 
fell under observation. 
The Arbor-Vim:, we saw in several places 
and, in a moist soil, it makes even a thicker mass 
of foliage than at the North. No instance of the 
failure of this tree has ever come under our no¬ 
tice, and it seems to come nearer to a perfect 
hedge-plant for all soils and climates than any¬ 
thing yet tried. It bears the shears well, and 
makes a very good shelter from the winds, as 
well as a perfect fence. 
T he Red Cedar (Junipcrus Virginiana ), is hard¬ 
ly inferior to the Arbor-Vita;. It grows more 
vigorously than with us, and makes a very hand¬ 
some hedge. The Horieon/alis is much like it in 
leaf and genera! appearance, and is a charming 
object in ornamental grounds, whether grown as 
a solitary tree or in masses. 
Tiie \\ ild Peach—Is a fine evergreen, and 
very commonly trained as a hedge. It belongs to 
the ccrasus family of trees, and has the general 
appearance of our wild cherry. Tiie flowers and 
fruit also resemble it. When tiie young trees are 
set about three feet apart, and kept well cut in, it 
makes a very stout and durable hedge 
The Cherokee Rose— Is probably more widely 
distributed in the South than any other hedge 
plant. It is a rampant, grower, and thickly armed 
with spines which present a formidable aspect to 
pigs, sheep, and all domestic animals. It is not 
usually sheared, and covers a good deal of ground, 
ft is commonly found as a boundary hedge be¬ 
tween the plantations, on the bottom lands, and 
at tiie road side. It lias a large, single, white 
rose, nearly two inches across, and makes a fine 
show. In tiie Delta it is frequently grown in con¬ 
nection with tiie sour orange, as a boundary 
fence. Tiie two, together, make a hedge so high 
and thick that, a house is as much secluded as if 
it were in the wilderness. 
The Osage Orange—Is also cultivated as a 
boundary fence. It is a native of Arkansas and 
Texas, and of course perfectly adapted to the cli¬ 
mate. At three years old, if properly trained and 
trimmed, it will fence any kind of stock, from the 
buffalo to the chicken. 
Among the plants of small growth, adapted to 
gardens and cemeteries, we noticed 
Tiie Cape Jessamine— At the edge of a terrace 
or around a front door, nothing can surpass the 
bright green leaves and the beautiful flowers of 
this exotic. 
The Camellia Japonica— Of our green-houses 
flourishes in open culture all through the winter! 
It is a large, vigorous shrub, and when well 
trained, and loaded with blossoms, is one of the 
most attractive objects around a Southern home¬ 
stead. It makes a beautiful border hed«-e for war¬ 
den walks or a carriage drive. 
The Pyricantha— From Soulhern Italy, is an¬ 
other fine plant for tiie same locations. It is an 
evergreen, and armed with stout thorns, which 
makes it formidable to man and beast. We saw 
this as far North as Vicksburg, and it was repre¬ 
sented as one of the best of hedge plants for the 
garden. 
The Ligustrum Sinensis— Is a larger evergreen 
frequently met with in the gardens around New- 
Orieans. It is also known as the Chinese Privet 
and makes a far more beautiful hedge than any 
Privet we ever saw. The flowers are very 
showy. 
The Viburnum Sinensis— Is another fine exotic, 
found in the same region; highly appreciated. 
With these admirable shrubs, our Southern 
friends have tiie best material for adorning their 
homes. 
--->cea<&!Br»—--- 
Reckless youth makes rueful age. 
