THE CULTIVATOR. 
JUNEj 
How to-Build a Good Pence. 
L. Tucker, Esq. - In writing to you a few weeks 
since, asking for information respecting draining tile, 
I promised to send you a description of a fence, which 
I have found to answer well here. 
My farm consists of 130 acres. I bought it three 
years ago, from one of our old Canadian farmers. It 
was a model farm, under his management, for burrs, 
Canada thistles, June grass, foxtail, and all other mat¬ 
ters and things of this sort, as well as for bad fences— 
there were not good rails enough on the whole place, 
to make 50 rods of fence. The old man and his neigh¬ 
bors’ cattle had many a contest, to know which should 
hold possession. 
After coming into possession, my first effort was to 
get a good outside fence. This I soon accomplished, 
by building something over a mile of common board 
fence. This was constructed in the usual way. But 
next, I needed cross fences, for the farm was all in one 
field, and I designed laying it out in eight acre lots. 
I found, on a short calculation, that in accomplishing 
this, I had to build over 3 miles of fence; and to get 
a good fence at the least cost, was what I wished. My 
neighbors could not learn me much in reference to the 
matter, either by example or precept, so I had to fig¬ 
ure it out. 
My first operation was to purchase 300 saw logs in 
the woods. These were drawn to a saw mill with my 
own teams in the winter. Next I bought about one 
thousand cedar posts, and cut and drew home nearly 
another thousand. The lumber was partly drawn by 
my own teams, and partly by others. As soon as the 
spring opened, I commenced operations—this I did by 
squaring off my intended fields, and putting in stakes 
on the lines of the fences. This done, my plowman 
commenced his part, by throwing three furrows to each 
hand, leaving as large a space in finishing, or between 
them, as convenient. He then altered his clevis, and 
went down with another furrow as deep as he could 
run the plow—returning in the same furrow to throw 
up the loose earth. I found that he got down full 15 
inches. Two men now commenced sinking holes eight 
feet apart and one foot deep in this furrow, or ditch. 
In soft clay or loam, they dug 86 holes in about three 
fourths of a day. As soon as the holes were dug, we 
commenced putting in the posts. This is a simple ope¬ 
ration, but it is best done, I think, by first setting eve¬ 
ry tenth or twelfth post in lime, and then using two 
good strong cords stretched from these to guide the man 
in setting the rest 
I do not think that it is of any use to pack the earth 
hard round the posts. In fact I believe it does harm. 
As soon as the posts are set, we strike a line on the 
posts, two feet three inches above the natural level of 
the ground; the bottom board, about twelve inches 
wide, is now nailed on, its upper edge even with the 
line. The plow is again called into requisition, using, 
however, only one horse. The earth that had been 
thrown from the line of the fence, is now turned back. 
This is done by throwing in three furrows on each side, 
and then throwing these up again. Two more boards, 
six inches wide, are now nailed on—the first with an 
opening of 6 inches, and the second 8 inches. The 
nails used thus far, are common two-and-a-half inch 
cuts, but in nailing on the battens, which I do on each 
post, we use four inch nails, putting one through each 
fence board. 
The next operation and last, as far as the fence is 
concerned, is to set two men to finishing the banking. 
This is a quick and simple operation—one goes ahead 
and throws up the loose earth out of the ditch; the 
second clears out the ditch, and finishes the bank. 
Timothy seed is at once sown on very thick, and the 
bank is slightly lamp’d down with the back of the 
shovel. Two men will easily finish the banking of 
40 rods in a day. 
Such a fence when finished, will cost here less than 
forty-five cents per rod. It will be five feet high from 
bottom of ditch—it cannot be jumped by any common 
animal—it occupies with me 5 feet of land—it is easily 
built, a large share of this digging and bauking being 
done by horses, and all the rest is performed by com¬ 
mon farm laborors—it is quickly built—the posts never 
heave, even in softish or wettish soils—the water can¬ 
not freeze round them, and they will last longer than 
posts set in the common way. 
If you deem this worth publishing, I may trouble 
you again with an account of some of our doings in . 
these parts. I think more of our farmers should take 
the Country Gentleman , and write you now and then 
to let you know what we are doing in Canada. I am 
only a beginner in farming, but I have raised crops 
on my Thitly Farm, that I guess would be hard to beat- 
I have tried guano, and will try it again; but the ma¬ 
nure from the yard, well rotted, and freely used, rath¬ 
er goes ahead of it. I have bought, made and used 
over fifteen hundred loads in about two years and a 
half, and I find it pays. Yours, J. Simpson. Bow- 
manville, C. W., March 28, 1854. 
Water in Lead Pipes. 
Messrs. Editors —Various newspapers at the pres¬ 
ent day, are full of the evil effects of having water 
run through lead pipes. Some accounts state that in¬ 
dividuals have lost their lives in consequence of using 
water which has run through a lead pipe, and others 
that they placed fish in a tub of water, which lived 
only two hours after being put in the water. Is it not 
more probable that the water possessed the unhealthy 
or poisonous effects within itself, or that it contained 
within its mineral properties, some substance which 
caused the lead pipe to corrode, and thus communicate 
poison ‘to the drinker'? In proof, I will say that I 
bring water from an excellent spring, one hundred and 
twenty rods, through a half-inch lead pipe with only 
six feet head and fall, into a cistern lined with lead, 
and I cannot perceive any evil effects as yet; and I 
placed in a tub which takes the waste water, trouts at 
sundry times, and they lived in the enjoyment of good 
health from four to six weeks at a time, and until they 
jumped out upon the dry ground while at play and died 
before seen. A. D. Arms. E. Montpelier , Vt. 
