VO I.. XXXVI. No. 20. 
WilOI.E No. 1451. 
PRICE SIX CENT 4 
*2.50 PER YEAR. 
|htral gjdntcrtttre. 
FENCES. 
Although, as a mlo, there is nothing which is 
a source of more constant anxiety and unremit¬ 
ting cure to the farmer than 
the erection and repair of the 
fences on his land, yet few 
have a correct idea either of 
the first cost of building them 
or of the aggregate amount of 
the expense iucurred in keep¬ 
ing them in good order. In¬ 
deed, the greatest investment 
in the oouutry—the most cost- 
ly productions of our industry |(£ Q , . 
—are the common fences which * JI rr 1 T"if 
divide the fields from tbo high- jf 
ways and separate them from r 
each other. The amount of 
capital employed in theso 
homely stmotnres would be 
deemed fabulous were not the 
estimates founded on statisti- 
cal facts which admit of no 
dispute. According to returns 
published, some time back, by ■' --- 
the Department of Agriculture. 
250,505,014 acres of land had , 
1,600,199,428 rods of fencing, 
built at a cost of $1,747 549,- 
931, The annual expense of repairing them is 
estimated at $93,063,187, and the interest on 
their original cost, at the ratoof six percent., 
amounts to the large sum of $104,852,995. In 
these returns no notice Is taken of the cost of 
rebuilding old fences, nor do they profess to in¬ 
clude all the fences in the country, yet the yearly 
expense of repairs and interest on t he ascertain¬ 
ed investment aggregates $193,806,182. 
ThiB exhibit makes the cost of tbo fences in¬ 
cluded in it nearly equal to the total amount of 
the National debt on which interest Is paid, and 
about the same as the estimated value of all the 
farm animals in the United States. For every 
dollar invested in live stock, another dollar is re¬ 
quired to keep them within the bounds assigned 
them. There is little doubt but that a large pro¬ 
portion of thiB expense is unnecessary, especially 
as regards di¬ 
vision f onoeB, ^ 
merely as a 
[Entered according to Act of Congr ess, in the year 1877, by the Kura] Publiehinpr Company, In the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.] 
~ ' I " ~ ' — 7! " ' " ... i ” 7“ ’ ’ " ~ " i 
and path gate. And in such structures we think 
that a reasonable amount of money expended in 
rendering them neat and attractive, is as well dis¬ 
posed of as if the same amount were expended 
In piazzas, arbors, summer houses or, in fact, in 
j the external trimmings of llio dwelling itself. 
! The illustration quite well explains the construc- 
' tion. A represents the elevation, and H the 
notion that posts so placed would last longer, 
but merely to produce an odd effect. Stones 
were first placed iu deop holes, and the postB, 
well tarred to tho same depth, were set firmly 
upon them. It was predicted by sovcrul of our 
friends that posts so set (upsidedown) would be 
thrown by the frost. This has not proven to bo 
the case. The Cedar used, as might be guessed 
“ r °\ 
f 1 w 
1 j jjvyv » 
-j 
J>E^TC!Isr FOR FRONT FENCE AjN t I> GATE. 
ground plan. The main posts supporting tho 
gate consist of four uprights, set from three to 
four feet in the ground, and fastened together 
as shown in the cnt. A vase or any other ap¬ 
propriate ornament surmounting tho posts will 
greatly add to their attractive appearance, and 
hardy shrubs or vinos may bo planted iu tho re¬ 
cesses formed by thoir projections. 
The fence may ho rendered more simple and 
less expensive by omitting tho small cross braces 
on tho top and bottom rails, and also by putting 
one upright instead of two between the posts. 
The wholo may be constructed of Red Cedar or, 
indeed, of any other suitable kind of timber. 
The lower cut is a sketch taken from the 
Rural Grounds, viewed from the inside. This 
is constructed of Red Cedar, the smaller ends of 
the posts placed in the ground—not from any 
at from the engraving, is unusually large for 
such purposes. A scale of three-oighta of an 
inch to a foot will give quite accurate dimen¬ 
sions. The ontire fence (over 200 feet iu length) 
has elicited many comments— some of praise, 
some of ridicule. It bids fair, ot least, to last 
many years without repair. The cost of such 
fenceB depends, of course, upon tho number of 
available Cedar trees in tbo locality. As they 
are not over-abundant in the vicinity of the 
Rural Grounds, the cost was, as we remember, 
about one dollar per foot. 
-- 
ORNAMENT AND UTILITY. 
Witii very little additional cost and trouble, 
the unsigntly structures ereoted here and there 
about the home grounds might be converted into 
SS-;, 
i 
m 
1 
ornaments. Especially is this apparent in the 
winter season, when they arc not concealed by 
tho foliage of vinos which covers up their ugli¬ 
ness. 
It is, indeed, a matter of surprise that so many 
owners of country homes overlook the beautiful 
when utility and beauty might Just ss well be 
combined. Small out-house*, Grape viue arbors 
and frequented walks may not 
only bo made beautiful orna¬ 
ments to the garden, but shady 
resting places, where those 
who so desire, in the heat of 
the summer day, or even du¬ 
ring warm, sunshiny winter 
weather, may find a pleasant 
retreat. There are scores of 
S hardy vines that, with a trifle 
of care, may be made to cover 
such arbors, rendering them 
most attractive in themselves, 
and objects which, together, 
serve to form tho out-door at¬ 
tractions of homo. It is, we 
A repeat, a matter of surprise, 
when wo think of these tilings, 
that the grounds about so 
many country dwellings are, 
as if from choice, uttorly neg- 
^ZB lected. 
-- 
ECONOMY IN PAINTS. 
Tire fact cannot he too forci¬ 
bly impressed on the minds of all who may be 
engaged in the business of painting that, good 
results can ba produced only by the use of good 
materials. The beat are always the cheapest. 
The main expense in painting Is not in tho cost 
of the paint, but in that of labor and oil, and it 
requires more labor to apply tho worst than to 
apply the best paint that can tie obtained. Tho 
cheapening of paints by the admixture of adul¬ 
terating materials, is oarriod on to the last de¬ 
gree, probably to a greater extent than in any 
other article of general use. 
The experienced eye can with difficulty detect 
the difference between colors which are pure and 
those which are highly adulterated, the only test 
being actual use and application. The safe way, 
therefore, is to purchase such colors only as bear 
the name of some well-knowu and responsi¬ 
ble mannfaet 
urer. 
The writei 
would not, 
understood m 
are always 
used. 
NEW YORK CITY. NOV, 17, 1877. 
CARRIAGE GATE OF THE RURAL GROUNDS. 
