144 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
April, 
Fig. 1— Section of fence — A. shows the bank , which may be made any required height. The first wire 
is 4 inches from the ground—the second is 4| above that—the third 4£ —the fourth 6— the fifth 7— 
the sixth 8, and the seventh 9 inches apart. 
Construction of Wire Fence. 
Eds. Cultivator —I observe in your January 
number, a correspondent expresses his fears, that 
those who have constructed wire fences, will be dis¬ 
appointed as to their durability and efficiency; that 
the swaying of the wire will have a tendency to 
break it off where it goes through the posts, and 
that the accumulation of water in the holes of the 
post, will rust the wire, and weaken and destroy 
it. If these premises were correct, the conclusions 
would not be so far out of the way. But I will say 
in all kindness that your correspondent, in this mat¬ 
ter, is deficient in that wisdom which is ‘ £ profitable 
to direct.” I propose in this communication, to 
give my experience, and method of constructing 
Wire Fence. In 1845, I constructed the first wire 
fence that I, or any of my neighbors ever saw; it 
was something entirely new. This piece of fence is 
about twenty-five rods long. I have made more 
every year since, and now' have more than a mile of 
wire fence on my farm, and I think I shall make no 
other kind unless it may be around yards, where shel¬ 
ter from the wind is desirable. In the first that I 
made, which has stood nearly five years, the wire ap¬ 
pears as sound as when it was put on. I am of opinion 
that wire of the size of No. 10, will not be injuri¬ 
ously affected by rust, if it is not in contact with 
the ground, and care should be taken that it should 
not b.e. The advantages of wire fences over other 
kinds are, it costs less, is more durable, is not in¬ 
jured by high winds; is not likely to be broken by 
unruly cattle; where the frost heaves the post out, 
they may be driven down without difficulty; it ob¬ 
viates the difficulty of snow drifts where roads are 
thus fenced; gives an appearance of neatness to a 
farm, and a feeling of satisfaction to the owner that 
his crops are safe. The best method of construc¬ 
tion is to set the posts one rod apart, and three of 
smaller size between, so as to have the spaces four 
feet between the posts to which the wire is fasten¬ 
ed, by staples made of wire. The end posts of the 
line of fence must be firmly set and braced, as 
in the above engraving. I have a machine for 
Fig. 2— A. Box for Tools and Staples. 
straining the wire, made similar to a wheelbarrow, 
with a reel 16 inches in diameter on an iron shaft 
1$ inches in diameter, as in Fig. 2, with a long 
Fig. 3 —Manner of looping the Wire. 
crank for straining the wire, and a shorter one for 
reeling the wire on the machine. We unite the 
wire by looping it together as we reel it from the 
coil on to the reel; in reeling, one takes a coil un¬ 
bound in his left hand and delivers it with his right, 
as another turns the reel with one hand and guides 
the wire with the other, on which he should have a 
thick leather mitten to prevent laceration from the 
flaws and slivers on the wire. Enough should be 
reeled at one time to reach at least, the distance re¬ 
quired to be made. Place the machine about ten 
feet from the end post, in line with the fence 
to be made. A loop is formed on the end of 
the wire; one takes it from the reel to the further 
end post, and fastens it by driving a staple in the 
loop and another across the twist; then turn the 
reel till the wire is drawn nearly straight/; then 
place the wire properly against the posts, and fast¬ 
en it by driving the staple about half way in ; then 
strain the wire as tight as you wish, drive the sta¬ 
ple in the end post near the reel, tightly upon the 
wire; as the reel slackens, turn the wire back and 
cut it; form a loop, and drive a staple across the 
twist, as at the other end; then drive the interme¬ 
diate staples not exactly tight upon the wire, and 
it is complete. 
For road fences, seven wires are sufficient, if a 
bank is formed by two back furrows with a plow, 
for dividing fields, six are sufficient, or five, where 
cattle and horses only are to be guarded against. 
One pound of No. 10 is about 23 feet, which at 5-| 
cts., is four cts. a rod, nearly,which for 7 wires, is 28 
cts. a rod for the wire, which I think is less than any 
other material can be furnished for; so that the wire, 
exclusive of the staples, will cost at that rate from 
20 to 28 cents a rod. The whole cost of the fence, 
including posts, which are worth from two to four 
dollars per hundred, and the labor of erecting, is less 
than fifty cents per rod. The wire should be an¬ 
nealed before using, as it works better, and is not 
so apt to break in twisting. The tools necessary in 
making the fence, are two pair of pincers, to make 
the loops—such as are used by shoemakers will do 
—a hand-saw file for cutting the wire, a stick about 
four feet long, marked with the proper distances for 
the wire, by which the posts are to be marked for 
the wires. 
The best way that we have tried to make staples, 
is to take a piece of wire about 20 feet long, fasten 
one end in a vice and then upon a flat bar of iron, 
li or 2 inches wide, and about a quarter of an inch 
thick, wind the wire from the other end closely and 
tightly upon it; then with a sharp cold chisel cut 
the wire in the middle on both sides of the bar; 20 
feet of wire will make about 120 staples, which can 
