1851. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
245 
is now talked of, and some fence of this kind has been 
built, and if it be lasting, and the weather does not affect 
the wire, I think it will come into general use, especial¬ 
ly on the western prairies, where timber is scarce. I 
have been told that a cheap composition of coal-tar laid 
over the wires, will prevent rust or any action of weath¬ 
er oil the wire. Where posts can be made of stone or 
iron, and the expense will admit of it, this fence must 
be lasting. A prairie farm 'fenced with wire, would make 
a grand appearance, as at a short■distance nothing would 
be visible but the posts. But some time must elapse 
before this fence can be thoroughly tried as to durabili¬ 
ty. L. Durand. Derby, Ct., March 12, 1851. 
--o-- 
Sheltering Manure. 
Eds. Cultivator —Within a year or two past I have 
met with several articles in your paper, recommending 
the practice of keeping manure under cover, in order 
that it may be protected from the action of the sun, 
wind and rain. 
Considering the reasoning on the subject good, I con¬ 
cluded to adopt the practice, which I accordingly did, 
during the past winter, but on hauling out my manure 
this spring, I found it not a little “fire fanged,” and lob- 
serve that several of my brother farmers have made use 
of your paper of late as a vehicle for the same complaint. 
Now this won’t do. We can’t afford to have the “ gold 
dust” of our farms thus diminished in bulk, and depriv¬ 
ed of half its efficacy. 
I am still of the opinion that it is desirable that dung 
should be kept under cover, but unless some plan can be 
devised to prevent it from heating when thus housed, we 
must return to the “ old way” of our forefathers, and 
suffer it to lie scattered about the barn-yard, for I do 
not believe that sun-beams, rain-drops, and north-wes¬ 
ters, will do so much harm to it as the violent heat en¬ 
gendered by this close confinement. 
Who will help us out of our trouble? Were I a chem¬ 
ist, I might discover a remedy, but as I am not, I would 
request some of the scientific contributors to your co¬ 
lumns, to come to our aid in this dilemma. Would a 
plentiful and frequent admixture of gypsum, which is 
recommended to prevent the escape of ammonia, avail 
anything as a preventive against the evil of which I have 
been speaking? W. C. A., Tioga , N. Y. 
The fertilizing principle of common yard or stable ma¬ 
nure, may be wasted in various ways,—as by the soak or 
washing of rains, by being frozen and thawed during ex¬ 
posure to the air, by being alternately wet and dried, by 
violent fermentation, &c. Now the great object, of 
course, with this article, is to keep it in the most perfect 
state, or in a situation where it will be subject to least 
loss. The best situation is probably a cellar. Here the 
liquid and solid parts go together, and thus, with the 
moisture of the mass, and the low temperature in which 
it is kept, there is not much liability of a wasting heat 
taking place, except with the drier kinds of manure, as 
the excrements of the horse and sheep. But the tem¬ 
perature of the manure-heap under any circumstances, 
should be watched, and if it rises so high as to consume 
the substance, or give rise to ammoniacal fumes, it should 
be checked by an addition of more water. It is very 
easy to add this, especially in a cellar, by means of spouts 
from a pump or aqueduct. For an answer to the query 
in regard to mixing plaster with manure, see another ar¬ 
ticle in this number. Eds. 
Erection of Fences. 
Eds. Cultivator —In the January number of The 
Cultivator, there is a communication in reference to the 
posts of wire fences heaving out by the frost. I have some 
wet land through which I made a board fence the last 
season ; it is as firm as the day it was put up. Near the 
bottom of the posts, bore a two inch auger hole, thro’ 
which put a pin two feet long at right angles to the way 
the fence runs. You can fill the post-hole up to the pin 
with earth if you wish; fill up the rest with stones. 
Around some of the posts, I put some six inches of 
earth at the top of the ground, as an experiment. They 
stand well enough, except the earth filters down through 
the stones. I have had fence made as above to prevent 
its being taken away by the floods, when I lived on 
Muncy Creek. Frequently the water was over some of it 
from three to ten feet. It has stood in this way for 
many years, and will stand till it rots off. 
If there is much of a current, put a large stone at the 
bottom of the post, on the upper side, and one at the 
top on the lower side of the post; this will generally 
keep the fence right; but where there is back water 
that you have to contend against, the anchoring of itself 
will answer. When we adopted this plan, there was an 
end to resetting and fishing up fences, after a freshet in 
the river and creek. I think it will answer in spouty 
land, but cannot tell, having only one year’s experience. 
So far, it works as well as I expected. It will not do 
to put earth directly on top of the pin, if you do it will 
rise till you come to the stones. B. M. E. Mansfield 
Farm, Wolf township, Lycoming county, Pa. 
Time for Cutting Timber. 
Eds. Cultivator —It is a matter of great consequence 
to the agricultural interest, to ascertain the best season 
to cut timber to insure its durability. On this subject, 
there has been a diversity of opinion, and after 40 years 
experience I have changed my own opinion. I early 
thought the best time to fell timber was the winter, be¬ 
fore the sap began to move in the spring. I adopted 
this opinion, because, at this season, the process of vege¬ 
tation in most matured, and the softer parts of the wood 
most hardened. There was one fact that confirmed me 
still more. I often observed that twigs and small limbs, 
cut in winter, were more durable than those cut in sum¬ 
mer. Those cut in winter soon dry up and harden by 
the warm weather of the spring, and will endure two or 
three years without material decay. But twigs cut in 
the heat of summer, when the tree is full of sap, and 
the leaf of fresh and vigorous growth, do not readily 
part with their sap. The fervent heat of summer causes 
an immediate commencement of the work of decay— 
the bard turns black, is soon covered with a small fun¬ 
gus; and by autumn, the decay is so far complete that 
the twigs become very brittle, and break by the smallest 
force. 
Seeing these facts, I was led to conclude, that the 
winter was the most favorable season for cutting timber. 
