Vol. LXXX. 
Published Weekly by The Rural Publishing Co.. 
333 W. 30th St.. New York. Price One Dollar a Year. 
NEW STORK. OCTOBER 22, 1921 
Entered as Second-Class Matter. June 26. 1879. at the Post 
Office at New York. N. Y.. under the Act of March 3. 1879. 
No. 4661 
Building, the Suitable Farm Fence 
6 inches through at the top and and 8 
feet long, permitting a 3-foot set in the 
ground. These posts have to carry all 
of the load of the fence and must he 
strong and rigid. After cutting, the 
posts should be peeled and piled loosely, 
permitting air circulation and season¬ 
ing. From six to eight weeks of Sum¬ 
mer weather will usually dry them 
sufficiently for use. 
SETTING POSTS.—If built in the 
Fall or other time when the ground is 
soft, the line posts can be driven, set¬ 
ting only the end, brace and gate post'-. 
Sharpening can best be accomplished 
by the use of the ordinary pole saw, as 
shown in the photograph (Fig. 521.) 
The pole carriage is removed and 
planks fastened at either side of the 
saw. making a support for the post 
end. The posts are then ripped to a 
three-sided point, as shown by the one 
in the foreground. This shaped point 
with its knife-shaped edges permits 
easy driving and with a little practice 
can be rapidly made. To secure dur¬ 
ability and strength posts should 'be sharpened at 
the lower .end. not for any mystical reason, but 
simply because this end is the larger. When a shock 
comes against the post the greatest stress is at the 
ground surface. The post acts as a level’, with the 
fulcrum at the surface of the ground, hence the 
greatest strength should be at this point. Then, 
too. decay takes place most rapidly at or near the 
ground surface, and extra material is needed to 
resist it. or rather to resist breaking after a certain 
amount of decay has taken place. Rotting of wood 
is caused by an organism which requires certain con¬ 
ditions of heat, moisture and air. These conditions 
are best met at or near the ground surface, making 
decay most rapid at this point and making a large 
cross section desirable at this place for the reasons 
noted above. 
POST PRESERVATIVES.—Decay of wood is 
sometimes combated by treatment with a wood pre¬ 
servative. A creosote derivative is much used for 
this purpose. Its action is to fill the pores of the 
wood with the creosote oil. and make conditions 
unsuitable for the growth of the decay-producing 1 
organisms. Railroads make extensive use of this 
material, and get excellent results from it. but 
initial expense and the inconvenience of treating 
material with home equipment has restricted its use 
in farm practice. Government bulletins can be 
secured, fully describing its use and effects, and it 
will not be discussed here other than to say that if 
used the posts should be sharpened and fully pre¬ 
pared before the wood preservative is applied. 
BUILDING THE FENCE.—The line of the pro¬ 
posed fence should be completely cleared of brush 
and carefully staked out. using every effort to get 
if straight A straight fence not only looks better, 
but it will actually stand better than one in which 
the posts are set zigzag. The zigzag setting permits 
the wire to loosen after being stretched up Gate 
and end posts should next be located and the holes 
dug for them, setting them at least 3 feet deep. As 
before stated, these posts carry the load of the fence 
and cannot be too carefully set. There are many 
ways of bracing, but the one shown in the diagram 
Part I. 
A n expensive necessity.— 
Government findings indicate that 
the average farm of the United States 
has. about three miles of fence. Like 
taxes, this is a necessary evil, made so 
by the predatory habits of the great 
American cow. whose ethical develop¬ 
ment has not yet reached a point where 
she will respect a property line unless 
protected by a fence. Like taxes also, 
the fences require at least yearly at¬ 
tention. and should be reduced to the 
minimum, as they waste land, necessi¬ 
tate a certain amount of hand labor 
and interfere with the operation of 
machinery in seeding and harvesting. 
WIRE FENCING.—The wire fence 
best meets the needs of the modern 
farm, and is practically the only one 
that has a rightful place upon it. It 
occupies the least space, requires a 
minimum amount of hand labor in 
seeding and harvesting, and if field> 
are properly planned is least in the 
way of farm machinery. Wire fences also, if 
properly constructed of good material, are sightly, 
permanent, require the least attention to maintain 
them, and can be made to turn all kinds of stock. 
Of the various kinds of wire on the market, woven 
wire is the best for a permanent fence. Barbed 
wire has little place on the stock farm unless possi¬ 
bly for a top strand on a fence of woven wire. For 
durability only the heavy grades of wire should be 
purchased. The top and bottom strands should he 
at least No. 9 gauge in size, while the intermediate 
wires and vertical stays should not be smaller than 
No. 11. 
SIZE AND MESH.—The height and size mesh to 
be chosen will depend largely upon flu 1 use to which 
the fence is to lie put. Forty-five-inch wire, placed 
6 inches above the ground and surmounted by a 
single strand of barbed wire 4 inches above the top. 
makes a fence 4 feet 7 inches in height, and .one 
that may be relied upon to turn all kinds of stock, 
including sheep. If cattle only are to be restricted 
a narrower wire, placed higher up on the post, may 
be used. It is a mistake, however, to place the wire 
too high, as the cattle will reach beneath the fence 
and soon ruin it if this is done. 
POSTS.—-The bulk of farm fencing is hung upon 
wood posts, the wood used varying with the locality. 
Osage orange stands at the head of the list in dur¬ 
ability, with an average life, as found by the Gov¬ 
ernment. of about 30 years. White cedar seems to 
be the wood most widely used, however, with a re¬ 
ported average life of about 15 years. Wood posts 
are generally cheaper than other kinds, are con¬ 
venient to use. and if w r ell selected make a reason¬ 
ably permanent fence. 
PREPARATION OF POSTS.—There seems to lie 
some evidence that the best time to cut post timber 
is during late Summer. Fall or Winter, rather than 
in the growing days of Spring. Just why this is so 
is not definitely known, but the durability seems to 
be lessened bv the Spring cutting. Line posts should 
be at least 4 inches through at the top end. straight, 
and for the type of fence described in the preceding 
paragraph should be 7*4 feet long. This length per¬ 
mits setting them in the ground 2 y 2 feet and still 
have a projection of 2 inches above the top wire. 
This top projection is necessary to prevent splitting 
when stapling. End and gate posts should be about 
-fe 4 , 
V* : 
Decayed Fence Post. Fit/. 522 
