4853 . 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
301 
■or boring required Any man that can drive a 
wail and saw a board, can make it readily and 
quickly. It will be seen by Use engraving that 
she fence can be made of either four or five 
boards of equal length, and any required width. 
I would recommend to make the fence of five 
boards, 12 feet long and 4 inches wide, which 
with spaces 4, 6, 8, and 1-0 inches,make a panel 
4 feet high; saw boards of the same dimen¬ 
sions into three equal lengths for battens. Nail 
a pair of battens at each end of the panel, 
8 inches apart, so arranging the boards, that 
the top and bottom board shall nail to three of 
the battens, reaching to the end batten at one 
end, and only to the inner batten at the other,. 
and nail the three intermediate boards to the 
inner batten at one end, aird both battens at the 
other. To strengthen the panel, and prevent its 
rocking and working the battens loose fey hand-, 
ling, nail a diagonal batten or brace, about 6 
feet long, across the center, and the panel is 
finished. To support the fence, make a jack of' 
three pieces of board, 4 feet long, setting one 
up edgewise for the base, and nailing another 
to the center for an upright, and the third for a 
brace, nailed to both, as seen hv the small cut 
It is of remarkable simplicity of construction, 
and corresponding cheapness of cost Very little 
lumber is required, and the boards and batten* i 
being all of uniform length, except the oblique 
ones, there is no waste, and but little work in 
making it, while the principles involved in the 
method of combining and securing the parts,: 
make it a much stronger fence than many others 
containing double the quantity of material. It 
is readily taken down and pnt up. It can be 
set up in any desired form, from a triangle to a 
circle, oblong, or square, and any panel can be' 
taken out for a temporary drive-way. To secure 
it more firmly against pressure from wind or, 
other causes, drive a hooked stake down on the 
base of the jack.” 
Fig. 7. Prindle’s Self-sustaining and Portable, or 
Hurdle Fence. 
These panels are held together by small iron 
pins or keys which pass through the posts (the 
posts are made of common 3x4, or 4x4 joists) as 
shown in the cut. But as no description is given 
with it, we can only state the fact. The writer 
has examined the small wooden model shown us 
by the patentee, from which it appears to he a 
good, practical fence. 
In addition to these seven different models we 
have seen another, unpatented, we believe, yet 
an excellent kind of fence—not in movable pan¬ 
els like them—but for a permanent fence, and 
dispensing with the ground-inserted-post, a sub¬ 
stantial one. It is simply the common board 
fence, as already described in our last article, with 
an above-ground post instead of the inground, in 
this wise: 
These posts are in three parts, or pieces made 
of 3x4 joists, or 2x4, according to the strength of 
the wood of which they are made. The sill is 
2^ or 3 feet long, resting on a couple of thin 
stones or blocks on the surface of the ground. 
Within 3 inches of one end the upright post is 
spiked on to the sill, as high as required for the 
fence. From the top of the post to the other end 
of the sill is spiked on a brace. The front of the 
sill, post, and brace, is reversed at every other pan¬ 
el, which gives a support of 5 or 6 feet, Including 
both sills, as the length of sill adapted will admit. 
These panels may be of any length, from 8 to 16 
feet, which the builder may choose—the shorter 
the stronger, however. Ten to twelve feet in a 
locality not extraordinarily windy will answer. 
This is a straight fence, while the other models 
we have given are zig-zag, more or less, or made 
neatly straight by the additional braces given to 
them. 
One great advantage which these styles of 
fence have, with the exception of the last, is that 
they can be made indoors in Winter, and in rainy 
days when out door work can not be done, and 1 
carried out gnd laid up with great rapidity when 
required. We believe in portable and movable 
fences. Almost every farmer requires, at times, 
a sub-division of his larger fields into smaller 
ones, and a changing of their shapes and sizes. 
These kinds of fence will permit him so to ar- ’ 
range them at short notice, and small expense. 
We express no preference in any of these mod¬ 
els, although we could make a choice for -our 
own use. 
The Keller. 
The roller, though seen but comparatively sel¬ 
dom in use, is one of the most serviceable imple¬ 
ments for farms and gardens. On soft, loamy 
soils, abounding in stones too small for gathering 
up by hand, it is very convenient to be able to 
sink them below the suiface with a roller. They 
will then be out of the way of the scythe and the 
reaper when they sweep over the fields gathering 
in the precious harvest. How much time this 
will save in scythe grinding, and how much ill- 
temper, the tiller of the soil need not be informed. 
Every farmer knows that the roots of his clover 
and grass are often thrown out of the ground by 
frost, and if not killed, are much weakened in 
growth. Passing a good roller over such fields in 
the Spring would settle those roots back into the 
soil, and cause them to start vigorously. The 
roller is useful also in leveling down all the little 
hummocks made every year by frost and other 
causes, and so keeping the surface smooth and 
handsome. On soils that are very wet and adhe¬ 
sive, it should be used with moderation, but on 
all others it may be used with great benefit. 
Fields on being sown with grass seed or grain are 
much improved by the roller. It breaks down 
the lumps left by the harrow, presses the soil fine¬ 
ly about the newly sown seed and ensures its rap¬ 
id germination. It sinks the loose stones below 
the surface, and leaves the ground in a better 
state every way for harvesting. 
For the gardener, the roller is scarcely less 
useful than for the farmer. It is hardly possible 
to make a good lawn and to keep it in proper or¬ 
der without this implement. It levels inequali¬ 
ties of surface, it keeps the roots of grasses in 
their place, and gives the turf a smooth, velvety 
look which it can get in no other way. It is very 
useful, too, in making gravel walks, and in keep¬ 
ing them smooth and hard throughout the season. 
Farm rollers can be made of logs. These should 
be cut in two sections, each about four feet long, 
with iron bands around the ends to prevent split¬ 
ting, and strong shafts running through them, to 
which the frame-work, etc., for drawing it are to 
be attached. They are sometimes made of nar¬ 
row planks, two inches thick and four inches 
wide, forming a sort of drum. They are also 
made of cast iron. Those made of planks are 
larger than the log-rollers, and can be drawn eas¬ 
ier. They generally need some extra weight in 
the box above them. Those who have tried each 
sort, prefer the cast iron. They are made in 
several sections, tor ease in turning about, and 
ease in draft. They almost never wear out, and 
are always in working order. 
Garden rollers can be made by any one skillful 
wit'll tools. A round log with a handle to it, will 
answer; hut a plank-drum is better; a granite 
roller is still better; and a cast-iron roller is best 
of all. These last can be bought at any agricul¬ 
tural store. Our own experience in the use of 
the latter has confirmed our views of its great 
value. 
Ornamental Gateways. 
M. W. Phillips, Hinds Co., Miss., writes that he 
has an ornamental gateway of his own designing, 
somewhat like that described on page 229 in the 
August Agriculturist, but made without inarching. 
It is formed by trees of the “Wild Orange,” 
which are set. about six feet apart. These are 
kept pruned from side branches, up to the bight 
of six feet; above that, the limbs are trimmed 
to form an arch, the tops also being cut to circu 
iar form. The trees are now about 15 years old, 
and the brandies are closely interlocked, forming 
a very ornamental, natural arch. An ingenious 
person could vary the shape of such a gateway to 
suit his taste or the location. 
Getting Pure Water from Sulphur Wells. 
Mr. Eliliti Cox, of Randolph Co., Ind., suggests 
a plan of drawing pure water from wells impreg¬ 
nated at the bottom, with sulphur or other impuri¬ 
ties. The annexed engraving from a sketch 
sent by him, will illustrate the proposed meth¬ 
od. W, is a section of the well; P, the pump; 
T, a flexible tube of India rubber, Gutta percha, 
or other pliable substance ; and F, a wooden 
float to sustain the upper end of the tube near the 
surface. The theory is, that the water impreg¬ 
nated with sulphur is heavier and remains near 
the bottom of the well, while by this arrangement 
only the surface water enters the pump. This 
plan may he somewhat effective, but we suspect 
that the constant ascending and descending cur 
rents in all bodies of water would keep the sul¬ 
phur pretty equally distributed. Experiments 
alone can fully decide this question. 
-——»» — —>-*•- 
Trenching. 
In this, as in many other things, extremes 
meet. For several years past, the exhortation of 
every book and journal on agriculture has been, 
trench, trench And the exhortation has been 
heeded, with results both good and had. Per¬ 
sons who have trenched or subsoiled in an intel¬ 
ligent manner, have always found it beneficial. 
Others who have overdone it, or done it blunder- 
