94 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
August, 1912 
Where the entrance to the grounds is by means of a 
flight of steps, the gate may be dispensed with 
probably 
abolish the 
evil. 
Of late 
years we 
hear much 
of concrete 
posts. These 
are easily 
made at 
home from 
home - made 
molds of 
wood. The 
common 
form used 
is the taper¬ 
ing, which 
saves mate¬ 
rial. Wire 
reinforce¬ 
ments are 
used in their 
making, and 
galvanized 
staples a 1 - 
low for the 
attaching of 
the fencing. Great care should be exercised in their setting, as the 
staples establish the height of your fencing and cannot be shifted ; 
therefore they must be in line. The cement post is not so strong 
as the wooden post of equal size, but unless it has to stand the 
strain of uneasy and inquisitive stock, it will probably answer all 
ordinary requirements. “Farmer’s Bulletin, No. 235" gives a 
detailed description of their manufacture. 
So far we have dealt only with the common forms of fencing 
as bound and barrier between estates. We have mentioned these 
first because of their prime importance; they have little artistic 
value. More interesting is the front or highway problem, and 
with such varied treatments arise from 
varied conditions. There are many 
considerations which go far to estab- 
l.,h the lines on which a problem may 
be solved. The relation to the high¬ 
way, both in level and in distance, the 
presence of overshadowing trees, the 
importance of the highway itself and 
last but not least, the style and gen¬ 
eral character of the house. There 
are those, of course, who open up 
their grounds to the invasion of 
everything that travels on legs by 
omitting the fence, but this, we feel, 
is a great mistake. 
The reader has without doubt no¬ 
ticed the little enclosed front yards, 
of which a few examples are left. 
Generally these were the width of the 
house, such being their early form. 
This form of yard follows an old tra¬ 
dition, dating back to feudal times. 
This difference in the treatment of 
the front fence is characteristic of 
Colonial work, and generally holds 
good with all but the simplest 
problem. 
Our earliest barrier was the pale 
With houses placed near the road such repetition of 
the balcony motive in the fence is particularly pleasing 
Pleaching or interweaving evergreen branches in this 
fashion is only possible after many years of growth 
or picket 
fence and it 
has changed 
but little in 
the simpler 
examples of 
to-day. Old 
English ex¬ 
amples show 
many varia¬ 
tions which 
have not 
survived 
with us. 
The roughly 
shaped pick¬ 
ets of un¬ 
equal width, 
left to 
weather, or 
stained gray 
or brown, 
may do ad¬ 
mirably for 
a simple cot- 
t a g e, in 
whic h one 
may be re¬ 
taining the weathered effect. Such efforts require little or no 
gate-post and the gate is really a section of the fence. 
There are many forms of the picket fence; sharp and square 
tops, jig-sawed and capped, but in all they rely on the same 
principles of construction. There is the post, the top and bottom 
rails and the pickets. The posts may be treated to prolong their 
usefulness, as has already been described, but for a short fence 
one will find that a piece of iron, one and one-quarter of an 
inch square, set in a stone or concrete footing, will outwear the 
wooden post more than enough to pay the initial expense. This 
iron may not extend the full height of the fence, but be bolted 
to a wooden plank post, serving to 
support it. If stone is used, the iron 
may be set in sulphur (the old-time 
custom) instead of lead. In construct¬ 
ing boxed fence posts with the above 
principle, it will be necessary to use 
a plank form to build upon, and these 
are best affixed with the aid of an 
iron strap welded to the iron post at 
right angles, through which screws 
may be driven into the plank forms. 
This scheme is, however, limited; as 
a heavy gate cannot be hung upon it 
without reinforcement, although the 
fence should help to steady it when the 
swinging member be closed. One 
occasionally runs across an example 
of the later period, set near to the 
highway in which the balustrade of 
the porch or other similar feature is 
followed in the fence and which 
classes the two at once as part of one 
scheme. 
It might be well to mention the fact 
that all picket butts, fence skirtings 
(or bases) which are liable to come 
in contact with the ground should be 
(Continued on page 115) 
