FENCES , GAT E S

AN D

B RI D G E S .

A P RA C T I C A L MA N U AL .

E DITE D B Y

GE O RG E A . MA RT I N .

T HR E E HU ’

N D RE D

NE W Y O RK
O RA N G E J U DD CO MP A N Y ,

1892 .
En tered , a cco rd i ng to Act o f C on g re ss, i n th e yea r 1887 , b y th e
'
0 . J UDD CU .
,

In th e Offi c e of th e Li bra ri an of C o n g r e ss , at W as hi ng ton .

 E F AT O
'

RY .

It i s a uth o rit ativel y s tate d that the bu il d in g and main

o f the farm fence s in the United State s have
te n a n c e

cost more than the c o nstruction of th e farm bu ildings

,

Be thi s as it may while large n u mber s of work s have

.
,
.

been w ritten upon rural architecture we believe this is

the first publication specially devoted to F ences , Gates

an d B ridge s . It aim s . to be a practical w o rk sho wing ,

the “evolution ' of t h e fence fro m the road barrier

of log s bru sh or so d s to the latest impr o ved f o rms of
,

barbed wire . Th e numerou s illustrations are mainly

representati o n s of fences ,
gates ,
e tc .
,
in actual u s e .

The h apter on fence law is n ece s sarily con den sed

c .

The variou s j udicial deci s i o n s upon the s ubject alon e

w o uld fill a large vol u me .

This little work th e first and o nly o ne of it s char

,

acter i s given to the public in the confident hope that

,

i t will prove s peciall y s

u efu l t o fa rm er s a nd village
re s ident s .
 T A B LE OF C O NT ENT S .

CHAPTE R I .

Rail an d other Pri mi tive Fen ces 7 17

Vi ia Ra il Fen c e ; La in g a R ai l Fe c e ; Sta ki ng
‘

r n n
an d i g ; A Fe c e o f ta k e
ir n d R i de s ; A P o le
n s an r
c e ; Fe c e s fo Soi l Li a bl e to H e a ve ; Oth er P i mi
n r r
tive Fe ces n .

CHAPT ER II .

Ston e an d So d Fe c e s 18 23
‘

How a Sto e W ll Sho l d b e Bu ilt ; B i ldi n g a Ston e

n a u u
Fe ce T ck fo M ovi g Ston e Re i fo c i g a Sto e
n ru r n s - n r n n
W ll ; A C o m p o s ite Fen c e ; A Pr ai ri e So d Fen ce
a .

CHAPTE R III .

Bo ar d Fen ces 24 .
30
d
B u il i n g B o a r d Fen c es ; F e c es f L an d Su bj ect to
n or
ve
O r fl ow A e n c F e Boa d Holde Re i n for c i n g a Board
- r r -

Fen c e .

CHAPTE R IV .

Pi cket Fen ce s 31 42
de Fe c e ; A S the Pi cket Fen ce ;
A Go o d Ga r n n ou rn
Fe ce f Spli t Pi cket ; O m e t l Pi c ket F c ;
n s o s rna n a en es
R ti c Pi c ket Fe c e ; Li h t Pi c ket Fe c e H d
us n s n s
'
an
m de W i e
a d Pi c k etr ; Fan c e f Wi e d e n ces en o r an
Pi c k t e s .

CHAPT E R V .

Ba r b-W i e Fe ce
r n 61
tati sti c s an d F orm s o f B ar b W ir e H
S o w to Se t B ar b
W i e F n c e ; U n r eeli
r e a d Str etc h i n g B a b W ir e ;
n n r
W i e tr e tc h e s ; B u i l g W ir e Fen c e on U n even
érou n g
r r

CHAPTE R VI .

Fen ces of Bar b W ire an d Boar d s 62 67

C o m b i e d W i r e a n d B oa d Fen c e ; A Br ack ete d
n r
Fen ce ; Dog Pr oof Fen ce -
.

CHAPTE R VII .

Th e B e s H dg t e e Pl
a n ts ; P a n in g l t an de o f O s ag e
C ar
H e d e s ; H dg s for th e So u h ;
e e t Or a mental Hedg e s
n
an d cr e c h e .
VI TA B L E O F CO N T ENTS .

Porta ble Fen c es an d Hur dles 75 85

Por ta ble B o ar d Fen c es ; Por tab le Fen ce s of Pol es

an d W ir e ; P o r ta bl e Fe c e s fo W i n dbr e a ks n r
Po u ltr y F en ces Por ta b le Fo ldi ng Fen ce ; Tem po r ar y
'

W i r e an d Ir o n e n ce s .

CHA PTER I' .

Fen ces for Str ea ms an d Gu lli es 85 95

Floo d Fe c es ; Por ta ble W ir e Fen ce W aterin g Pla ce

n
i n a Cre ek .

CHAP TER ' .

M aki ng an d Settin g Po sts

M a ki n g Fen ce Po sts ; A Pos t H olde D r i vi n g Fen ce r
Po s ts b y B an d To Dr i ve Po sts W i th o t S l i tti r g ; A
Po w er ful Post Dr ive Setting a Gate Po st ve fio ts ;
u
‘

r s
M e di n g 3 Spli t Po st ; B oo k for W
n P o s ts Dr a w
in g Fe ce P o ts ; Li fti n g Po sts b
n s an d
; Spli c i ng
Fen c e Po sts ; A ppli ca ti on of W oo d r vati ves Ir o n
Fen c e Pos ts .

Ga tes an d Fas teni ng s 117 -1 64

W o o den Ga tes ; A Ver y S b sta n ti al F ar m Ga te ; A u

Str o g n d Nea t G te ; Li g ht Iro n Ga tes ; Self-c l o s in g
an a
Ga tes G te fo a Vi ll ag e Lo t A C hi n es e D oo r or Ga te
a r
S ri g ; Li ftin g Ga te ; R
n us ti c Ga te Ba la n c e Ga tes ;
s s
te fo r Sn o W ea th er ; W es t In dia F ar m Ga te s
Ga te Hin g e o f oo d s Do b le Gate Do u ble La tc h ed u s
Ga tes ; Im p roved Sli de Gate ; A C o m b i e d Hin g e an d n
Sli di g Ga te ; G tes o f W oo d
n a d W i re ; A Goo d an d an
C h ea p F ar m Ga te ; An Im p ro ved W ir e Gate ; Ta ki n g
u th e Sa g i n Ga te ; Goo d Ga te L a tc h es ; To p Hin g e
0p F ar m Ga te
s
G a te w a y s i n W i re Fen c e .

W i ckets an d Si t les 1 64-170

Ir on W i ckets ; W oo den W i ck ets ; Stil es for W ir e

Fen ces .

Fen ce La w

Fen cin g Ou t or Fen c in g In Di vi i on Fen ces Hi g h s

w a y Fen ce s W ha t is a Le a l Fen ce ? Ra i lr o a d Fe n ces
g .

Cou n tr y B r i dg e s an d lve t
Cu r s 176-188

Stre n B i dg e e e Abu t
fi
h of r s ; Br ac s a n d Tr uss s ;
e rs d Ri li
an a n g s ; B ri d e
s for Gul i s
; l e Road
g
 FENCES GATES AND B IDGES , R .

C HA P T E R I .

RAIL AND OT E R PR H
IMTIVE W OOD FENCES .

V IRGIN IA R AI L FE N C E .

_ The zigzag rail fen ce w as almost universally ad opt e d

by the settlers in the hea v ily timb ered portions of the
country and coun tless tho u sands of miles of it still ex
,

ist though the increasing scarcity of timber ha s brought

,

other styles of fencing largely in to u s e P roperly built .

,

of good material o n a clear soli d bed kept free from

, , ,

bushes and other gro w th to shade it an d cause it to rot ,

the rail fence is as cheap as any and as effective and dur ,

able as can reasonably be desired Good chestnut oak .

, ,

cedar or j uniper rails or original growth heart pine

, , ,

will la st from fifty to a hun d r ed years so that mate r i al ,

of this sort once in hand will se 1 ve one or tw o g en e i a

, ,

tions This fence ten 1 ails high and propped with two
.
, ,

rails at each corner requires twelve rails to the panel

, .

If the fence bed i s fi ve feet wide an d the rails are eleven

'

feet long an d are lappe d about a foot at the locks one

, ,

panel will exten d about eigh t feet i n direct line This .

ta kes seven th ou san d nine hundred an d t w enty rails or ,

ab out eight thousand rails to the mile F or a tempo

.
.

rary fence one that can be put u p and take n d o wn in a

,

( 7)
8 FE N C E S ,
G A TE S AN D B RID GE S .

sh o rt time for making s tock p ens and di vision fences

, ,

not intended to rem ain long in plac e nothi ng is cheaper ,

or bette r The bed for a fence of this ki nd should n ot

.

be less than fi v e feet across to enable it to s tan d before ,

the wi nd The rai l s are best cut e l even fee t long as

.
_ ,

thi s makes a lock neither too long nor too short ; an d

the fo r ward end of e ach rail should come under the next
one that i s laid The corners or locks as they are
.
, ,

called sh ould also be well pr opped with st r ong w hole

, ,

rails n o t with pi e ces of rails as is of ten done The

, ,
.

props should be set firmly on the groun d about two feet

fr om the panel and crossed at the lock so as to hold eac h
,

o ther an d the top co urse of the fence firmly in place

,
.

The y t h u s ac t as brac es t o the fen c e suppo rting it ,

again s t the wind B o th side s of the fen ce sh ould be

.

propped The to p course of rails should be the strong

.

est a n d hea v iest of any for the double pu rp o se of weight ,

in g the fence down a n d to preven t breaking of rails by

,

pe rsons getting u pon it The four courses of rails near .

est the ground sho uld be of the sma l lest pi e ce s to pre ,

vent making the cr a cks o r spaces be tween the rail s too , ,

large They should also be straigh t an d of nearly even

.
,

siz es at both ends This las t precaution is only nec es sary

.

w h ere small pigs have to be fe nce d out or in as the cas e ,

may be The fence after i t is finished wi ll ha ve the a p

.
, ,

p e ar an ce of figure 1 will be six rails high two props at

‘

, ,

each l ock an d the worm will be crooked enough to

,

s tand an y win d that will not prost r ate crops fr u it trees

, , ,

e tc. A straighte r worm than this w ill be eas y to blow

d o wn o r pus h over T h e stabilit y of thi s so rt of fen ce
.
 R AI L AND OT HE R P RI MI TIVE w o o n FE N C ES
‘

. 9

d epe nd svery largely on th e manner of placing the props ,

both as t o the d istance of the foot o f the prop rail from

the fence panel an d the way it is l o cked at the c o rn er
,
.

L AYI N G A R AI L FE NCE .

It is m u c h bette r both for good loo ks and ec o nomy to

, ,

have the corner s of a rail fence on eac h side in line with

ea c h o t h er This may be accomplished by means of a
.
-

very simple implemen t shown in figu re ,

2 It con sists o f a small p o le eight

.
,

feet long s h arpened at the lower end

, .

A horizontal arm o f a l engt h equal to

h alf the width of the f enc e fro m ex
treme outside of corners i s fa s ten ed to ,

the long pol e at right angle s near the ,

lower end Som etimes a sapling may .

be foun d with a limb growing nearly at

right angles which will serve the p ur ,

po s e B efore begi nning the fence stakes

.
,

are set at intervals along the m iddle

‘

F ig 2. .

of the line it is to occupy T o begin .

,

th e gauge as shown in figure 2 is set in lin e with the

, ,

stake s an d the horizontal arm is swung o utwardly at

,

Fig 3 —’ I‘HE. . F EN C E E E GU N .

righ t angle s to the line Of fence A stone o r bl ock to .

support the first corner is laid dire c tly un der the end of
the ho ri z ont a l arm , an d the first r ail laid w ith on e en d
 EN C E S R I DG E S
:

10 F ,
G ATE S A N D B .

resting on the s u pport In the s ame way the next corner

.

and all others are laid the gauge being moved from ,

corner to corn er set in the line of fence and the arm

, ,

s wung alternately to the right and left .

ST A K IN G AN D W I RIN G .

A neat er and more s ubstantial met h od of s ecuring the

c o rners of a worm fence i s by vertical stakes and wires a s
shown in the acco m
,

pan yi ng illustrations Whe n the .

’

lower three rail s are laid the s take s ar e driven in the

,
.

Fi g 4 —STAE:ES
. . IN LOCK '. Fig 5 . .
- S TAKE S IN AN G EL S .

angles Close to the rail s and s ecured by a ban d of an

,

nealed wire The work of layi ng the rails proceeds and

.
,

when within on e rail of the top a secon d wire ban d i s ,

put in place O r the upper wire may be put on ab ove

. ,

t h e top rail An nealed wi re is plentif u l and cheap

’

. .
’
 RAI L A N D OT HE R P RI M ITI VE wO O D F E N CE S .
11

A FE N CE OF S TA KE S AN D R I DE R S .

A v er y common meth o d with the or Vir “worm '

inia ' rail fen ce i s t o dri ve slanting stakes over the corn er
g
s aw -ho rse style an d lay the top rail into t h e angle
,

Fig 6 —A
. . S TAKE AND RID ER FE N CE .

t h u s fo rmed The stakes resting o n the rail s and s tan d

.
,

ing at angle brace the fence fi rmly B u t the feet of the

, .

s takes extending beyon d the j agged corners formed by the

e n d s o f th e rail are obj ection able
'
This is re medied i n
.

t by putting the stake s over the mid d le of the panel

'

p a r
— a t considerable distance apart— a n d l a in in them l ong
y g
p ol es horizontally In this case th e stakes should be set
.

a t such a n angle as to prevent their m oving si d ewise

'

along the top rail which shoul d be a strong one These

, .

stakes an d long ri ders are fre q uently used to raise the

hight o f l o w ston e walls F igure 6 shows a fen c e nearly
.

all compo se d of stakes an d riders which is straight an d ,

requires fewer rails than a worm fence First crotched .

,

stakes formed by the forks of a branchin g tree limb a

, ,

foot or more long are driven a foot or so into the groun d

,

at a d istance apart cor re sponding to the length of pol es

u s ed . Th e b o tto m p oles are lai d int o these, and tw o
12 F ENCE S ,
G A TE S AND B R I DG E S .

s tak es plit or r ound poles are d r iven over these and

, S ,

the next pole s lai d i n Then tw o more stakes an d e u

.

o ther pole a n d so on as high as th e fence is required

, .

This w ill answer for larger animals an d be strong a nd ,

F ig 7 — A . . PO LE FE NC E .

not e xp en s1ve F or swine and other small live -s tock

.
, ,

the crotch stakes may be replaced by blo cks or ston es an d ,

the lower poles be s mall an d begin close to the g ro und .

A P OL E F E N CE .

A fen ce w h ic h i s ch eaply constructed in a timbered

region and call s for n o outlay whatever besides labor i s
, , ,

ill u strated at figur e 7 The posts are set in a straight

.

line , havin g p r eviou s l y been bo r e d with an inc h au gur t o

 R
AI L AN D OT ER H PRIM ITIV E W O OD FE N C ES .

r ec e i ve th e
pins When they are set the pins are dri ve n
'
.
,

diagonally into the posts an d the poles laid in place It

, .

would ad d much to its strength if the poles were lai d so ,

“
as to break j oints '
A mo d ification of this fenc e i s
.

sometime s made by usin g withes in s tead of pin s to hold

the poles in place The withe is m ade o f a young sap
.
,

ling or slender limb Of beech iron -wood or similar tough

, ,

fibrous wood with the twigs left on This is twisted

,
.

upon itself, a strong loop made at the top through whic h ,

the butt is slipped Wh en in place the butt en d i s

.
,

tucked un der the body of the with e .

FE N C E S FO R SO I L L IA B L E TO HE AVE .

The main point in s uc h a fence is either to set th e po s ts

F ig 10— E ND
. . VIE W OF FE NCE .

a ndplac e a pin thr o ugh them near the bott o m s o t ha t ,

the frost may not throw them out or to s o attac h the ,

14 FENC E S , GA TES A ND B R IDGE S.

boards that the posts may be re -d riven , w ithout splitting

them or removing the rails fr Om th e fence The latter
, .

is , perhaps , the best plan , and may be ac complish ed in

Fig 11 — S IDE
. . e w or FEN CE .

s everal w ay s t h e most desirable of which is sh o wn in fi g

‘

u res 1 0 an d 1 1 The post It is dr iven i n the usual

.
, ,
.

manner when a strip of board g is fasten ed to it by

, , ,

thr e e o r fo ur Spikes depending upon the h ight

,

Fi g 12 — F E NC E W ITH
. . RON H OO KS
I .

fen ce A space j ust suffi cient to insert the en d s of boa rd s

.

a a figur e 1 1 is left between the post and outside strip

the end s of the boards resting u p on the spike s Many

, , , ,

.
 RAI L AND OTHE R PRIM ITI VE W O O D F EN ES C . 15

miles of this fence are in use It looks neat ; be sid es .

any portion is easily removed making a pas s age to an d ,

from the field A new post is easily put in when required

.
,

an d an y m ay be re -d riven when hea v ed by the fr o st .

Where iron is cheap a rod about thr ee e i ghth s of an

, f

inch in diamete r is cut in lengths of about seven and a

half inches on e end is sharpen ed while the oppo s ite ,

end for three inches is bent at right angles Af te r the

, , .

boards are pl aced in position the b ooks sho u ld be driven ,

in so that they wil l firmly grasp the b oards an d hold

them i n place The general appe ar a nce of the fi n ish ed
.

fence is shown in figure 1 2 an d is one ad apted to al ,

most any l ocality .

A much better m ethod i s to fas ten the board s temp o

r a r il y i n pl ac e an d th e n bore a half inch hole through
,

Fig . 13 .
—HORIZ O NT AL SE C T ION .

b o th b o ar d s and the post into which a com m o n s cre w

,

bolt i s then inser te d and the nut screwed on fi rmly The .

two ends should h o wever be put on opposite sides of the

, ,

post O ne bolt thus hold s the en ds of both boards fi r m

.

l y to the post as shown in fi g ure 1 3

, With this style of .

fence old rails or r o u nd poles may be u s ed in s te ad of

,

b o ards .

OT HE R P RIM ITIV E FE N C E S .

In the h eavilytimbered parts o f the country w h ere ,

the settler s a fe w
years a g o were making far ms by felling
’

and burning the huge pine trees a fence w as c o n s truc ted ,

16 F EN C ES, GA TE S AND R
B I DGES .

like the one sho w n in figure 1 4 Section s of tree s ab o u t

“

.
,

four and a half fee t long and often as thick were placed ,

in line and m o rticed to receive from three to five rail s .

Fi g 14 — LOG
. . PO ST S .

This s tyle of fence could be used by the lan dscape gar

d en e r with fine e ffect for enclosing a park or shrubbery .

In t h e s ame regions when a farmer has pull e d all t h e

,

stumps fr o m a pa s ture t h at s l o pes to ward the highway ,

Fi g l 5 —STUMP
. . FE NC E .

th e s tump s may be placed in line along the ro a d with

the t o p e n ds inside of the field The gaps between .

w h ere the s tump s ca n not be rolled cl o se t o gether are ,

Fig 1 6 —W ICRE R FE NC E
. . .

filled wit h b r us h wood A portion of this fence i s s h own

.

in figure 1 5.

Where other m aterial i s costly, or not to be o btained ,

 C HA P T E R I I .

STONE AND SO D FE NCES .

HOW A STO N E W A LL SH O U LD BE B U I LT
.

To build a stone wall some s ki ll is requi r ed The

, .

f o un da ti o n s h o u ld be dug out a foot d ee p an d the e a rth,

Fi g 1 8 — W E LL
. . LAID W ALL .

th r o wn upo n each side which serv e s to turn wa te r fr om

,

the wall . Large stones are bedded in th e tren ch and ,

long stones placed cross wi se upon them A s many whole .

stones as possible Should be used in this plac e The .

stones are then ar ranged as sh own in the engraving ,

breaking j oin ts and di stributin g the weigh t equally

, .

An y small sp a ces Sh o uld be fi l led with chips broken off

in dressing the larger stones so as to m ake them fi t
,

snugly A s it is a work that wil l las t a century it i s

.
,

w o rth d o ing well .

B U IL D I N G A STO N E FE NC E .

A pe rmanent stone fence should be built from four t o

five feet hi g h two feet wi de at the base and one foot at the
,

top if the kind of stones available allow this co n str u e

,

( )
1 8
 STON E AN D SOD F EN C ES . 9

ti o n If a high e r fence is desired the wi d t h s ho uld be

.
,

corre s pondingly increased The surface of the soil along

.

the line of the fence s hould be made smooth and as

nearly level as possible The hight will depend upon the
.

situation the animal s the smooth ness of the wall

, ,
'

( whether sheep can get foot -holds to climb over

) an d ,

the character of the gr o und along each side If the earth .

foundation be rounded u p previously sloping off to an ,

o pe n depre ss ion or gully less hight wil l be needed Su ch

, .

Fig 19
. .
— LAr rN G UP A
‘

S TO NE FEN CE .

an elevation will furnish a dry base not heaved b y frost

like a wet one Without this or a drain alongside or
.
,

under the wall to keep the soi l always dry the b a se mu st

, ,

be s unk deeply enough to be proof against heavy frosts ,

‘

which will tilt and loosen the best laid wall on wet soil .

T h e foundatio n stones should be the largest smaller

stones packed between them are necessa ry to firmness .

The mistake is sometimes made of placing all the larger

stones on the outside of the wall fil l ing the cen te r with
,

small ones Long bind stones plac ed at frequent inter

.
- a

vals through the wall ad d g rea tly to its strength The .

top of the fence i s most secure when covered with lar ger
20. F E N C ES ,
G A TES AND BRI GES D .

close -fi ttin g ; flat s tones The en graving shows a wooden

.

frame and cords used as a guide in building a substantial

stone fence T wo men can work toge ther with mut u al
.

advantage on opposite sides of the stone w a ll .

T RU C K FO R MOVIN G ST ONE S .

Th e small truck ( figure 2 0) is not expensive , an d may

be made to save a great amoun t of hard lifting in build
ing a st o ne wa ll It is a low barrow th e Side bars f o rming
.
,

F i g 20 —T B U C K
. . F OB S TO NE .

the handles like a w h eelbarro w It rests upon four l o w .

iron wheels A broad plank or two n arrow ones are

.
, ,

laid with one end against the wall and the other resting
on the ground A groove is cut at the upper en d for the
.

wheels to rest in The stone is loaded on the truck

.
,

moved to the place and pushed up the pl an k until th e

,
’

wheels fall into the groov e when by l i fting on the ha n , ,

dl es the stone is unloaded

,
.

B EI N F O RC IN G A STON E W A LL
.

A stone wall which affords ample pro tection against

sheep an d hogs may be quite insufficient for horses and
,

cattle The defi ciency is cheaply supplied in the manner

.
 ON E
ST AND SO D FE N CES . 21

i ndicate d by the illustra tion fig ure , 21 . Ro un d pole s or

rai l s are used and if the w o rk i s prope rly perf o rmed the
,
,

fence i s very effe ctive .

A C O M P O SITE F E N CE .

T h e fe nce i llustrated at figure 2 2 is quite common in

so me par ts o f N ew E ngland A ridge is th ro wn up by
.

Fi g 22
. .
—C o m o s rm FE NCE .

hack -furro wing with a plow an d both th at and th e

,

ditche s fini sh ed b y h an d w i th a sh o vel Light po s t s are.

22 FE N C E S ,
G A TE S AND B RI D GE S .

easily driven through the soft earth and a boar d fenc e , ,

o nly three board s high made in the usual manner T hen , .

the s tones as they are picked up in the field are hauled

, ,
'

to the fence an d throw upon the r idge This clear s the

n .

field strengthens the ridge pre vent s the growth of

, ,

w ee ds and assists in packing the earth firmly around the

,

bot to m o f the p o st s .

A PRAIRIE SO D F E N CE .

Asod fence beside its other value is a d o uble barr ier

, ,

a gainst the prairie fires which are so sweeping and d es tr u c

tive to new settlers if unobstru cted for a wide strip i s

, ,

F ig 23 . .
—s o D r'
C u' r EE .

cleared of sods th e fence standing in the middle of it A 3

, .

very convenie nt implement for cutting the sod is shown

at figu re 2 3 It is made of p l a n ks and sc a ntling the
.
,

method of construction being c l early shown Th e cut .

ting disks are four wh ee l-coul ters from common b r e ak

ing plows all atta ched to an iron shaft six tee n inches
,
‘

apart They are set to ou t three or fou r inches deep

. .

This is run three times along the line of the fen ce mak ,

ing nin e cuts the cutte rs being held down by a man rid
,

ing on the r ea r o f the apparatus Then with a breaking .

 STO NE AN D SO D FE N CE S . 23

plow on e furr owis turned di rectly in the lin e o f the fence ,

comp letely inverting the sod the team turned to the ,

right and a second or back furro w is inverted on top of

,

the first A dditional furrows are cut diminishing in

.
,

width to fi v e or six inche s on the outer Side as sho wn in ,

the diag ram figure 2 4 After the two inner sods a r e

, .

turned the rest are car ried by hand wheelbarrow or a

, ,

tr u ck ( figure
,
and laid on the so d wall care being ,

used t o “ break j oint s and t o taper gradually t o the

Fig 234
. .
-
TE E SO D C U T .

'

more sub s tantial fence is wanted a s trip

If a ,

thirty -two inche s wi d e may be left a s a p a rt for th e

fence the first two f u rrow s i n ve r ted upon the u ncut por
,

ti o n s o that their edge s j ust touch The s od fence i s

, .

then c o ntinued to the summi t j ust twice as thic k as it

w ould be by the proces s j ust described A fter the fen ce .

is laid a deep fu r row Sh o uld be run on each Side throw

, ,

ing the earth against the b a s e Of the fen ce A very e f .

fec ti v e a n d cheap fence is made by laying up a sod

dyke as ab o ve described three feet high th e n d ri ving
, , ,

light stakes along the sum mit, and s tringing two s trand s
o f barbe d W ir e to t h em .
 C H A PT E R III .

BO A D R FENC ES .

B UI L D IN G B O A RD FE N C ES .

In b ui lding a board fence always start righ t an d i t , ,

will be li ttle tro u ble t o continue in the same way Much .

of the board fen cing erecte d i s put together very care

lessly an d the result is a ve ry i nsecure protection to the
,

field or crops A fenc e-post should be set two an d a

.

h alf o r three feet in the ground an d the earth should be ,

packed ar o un d it as firmly as p o ss ible Fo r p a cking th e .

Fi g 25 — F E O F E EL Y
. . C ON STE U C TE D DO AE D FENCE .

soil there i s n othing better than a piece Of oak ab o ut '

three i nches s qu a r c on the lower end and about s ix fee t

.
,

long rounded O ff on the upper par t to fi t the hands e a s

,

ily Pr operly used this ins trument w ill p ack the s oil
.
,

aroun d a post as it w as before the hole wa s dug In put .

ting o n fence bo ards mos t builders u se tw o nails on the

,

en ds of each board and one in the middl e E ach board

, .

should h ave at leas t thr ee n ails at the ends and tw o in ,

the mi ddle and these nails should ne v er be less than ten

,

pe nnys Smaller nails wi ll hold the boards in pl a ce for

.

awhile but when they b egi n to warp the nai l s ar e

, ,

dra w n out or loosened an d the boar ds drop off This, .

wi l l r arely be the case where lar ge nails are used an d a

much stiffer fence is secured Many fence builders do
,

n o t cut off the t o s o f the ost s ev n ly bu t t h is s hould

p p e ,

( ) 24
26 F E N CES , G A TE S AND B RID GE S .

ing s et the p o st s , the board s of the l ower co u r s e ar e nail ed

on Then for the fir s t length the second board from
.
, ,

t h e b o t tom and the top board are only eight feet long ,

reaching to the first p os t F or all the rest the boards .

are -Of the full l ength sixteen feet By thi s mean s they
,
.

'
break j oin ts A f te r the board s are n ailed o n the top
.
,

o f the p os t s are s a wed Off slanting capped if de s ired , , ,

Fig 2 7 —A
. . A
N E T F AE M FE N CE .

and w hol e thing painted A good c o at of cru de p e

the .

tr ol eu m applied before painting wi ll help pre s erve the

, ,

fence and save more than it s cost in the paint n ee ded

, .

We see an o ther style Of board fen ce now an d then th at

i s rather preferable to th e ordinary one ; i t l o oks better
than the o ld straigh t fence It save s o ne b o ard to eac h.

length an d by nailing o n the tw o upper board s a s ,

Sh o wn i n the ill u stration fi gure 2 7 great extra strength

, ,

is given These b o ard s not only act as braces but tie s

.
,

also and a fence built on well set posts and thoroughly

, ,

n ailed will never s ag o r get ou t of lin e until the post s

,

r o t of
f.

FE N C E S FO RLAND SUB J ECT TO O VERF LOW .

T h e fence illustrated in figures 2 8 2 9 and 3 0 h as p os t s ,

the u su al distance apart which are h ewe d on the front

'

side a n d on t hi s are nailed three block s three by four

, ,

in ch e s t h ick an d s ix inche s lo n g the fir s t o ne, wit h i ts

 E O AE D F EN C E S . 27

to pj u st level wit h the ground the s econ d on e ten inches

, ,

in the clear above and the third on e four i nche s le ss

, ,

than the desired height of the fen ce me as uring fro m ,

Fig 28 — P AN E
. . L .

the t o p Of the firs t block A fter th e panel i s put in pl ace

.
,

the rounded ends resting on the bottom blocks nail a ,

piece of board one and one -half by six inches o n the

.

blocks as shown in th e illustrations This board must

,
.

project fou r i n ch es abo ve the upper block forming with ,

it the re s t an d catch for the top framing piece of the pan

el. The panel is made Of a top an d bot tom piece of three

F ig 29
. . Fi g 30
. .

by four scan tling on w hic h

, n ail ed paling s The t o p .

p i ece is left square an d p roj ects three in ches o n each

,

si de bu t on the bottom piece the projection s are cut

,

round so as to turn in th e Slot The wate r will raise the

,
.

panel up out Of the upper catch a llowing it to fall down , ,

28 FEN CE S ,
G A TE S A N D B RI D GE S
.

a s see n at figure 30 so as to Offer n o obs truction to the

,

water n or will it catch drift as fences hung from the t o p

, ,

do F igures 3 1 to 3 5 represent a fence m ade somew h a t

.

like the trestle used for d rying clothes The posts are .

F i g 34
. .

the usual di stance apart bu t only extend a fe w inches

,

o ut Of the groun d j ust su ffi cient to nail a hinge u pon

, .

They mu s t h owever be wide enough to admit Of n ailing

, ,

two hinges on e ach post T he fence consists of two

.

arts — E in figu re 3 1 represents a cros s -section of t h e

p
 B OA RD FE N C E S . 29

fe n ce pr oper , t wo panels Of which are See n in figure 3 4;

D represents the back p art of the fence , a secti on of
whi ch is shown in figure 3 5 a in figu re 3 1 is the post
and the hi nges Th e panel E should always slope
.
, ,

with the c u r r e n t of the stream that the water rushing

_ ,

against it will place it in the position shown by fig ure 33 ,

l yin g fla t on the ground an d out Of the way Of both w a

,
'

ter and d rift The hinges may be or d i n a ry s tr a p kin d

.
,

which can be bought very cheap by the dozen or they ,

may be m ade Of hea v y iron hoop doubled as shown at

“

fi gu re 32 whi c h can be m a de i n any bl ac ks mit h sho p

,
.

A FE N C E B O A RD H O LD ER
.

F igu re h ows a contrivance for h ol d in g fence b oard s

36 S

agai nst the p o s ts at the right distan ce s apart when nai l

,

ing . A two and a h alf by two and a half inch piece of

th e desired lengt h is taken for the upright a A bout its , .

Cen te r i s h inge d the brace c A strap hin g e b or a

,
.
, ,

s tou t i ece of leather for a hin g e

p will answer B locks , .

or stops , d d d d are n ailed on the upright a at the

, , , , ,

requ ir ed distances a ccording to the space be tween the

,
30 FE N CES , G A TES AND BRI D GE S .

boards on the fence The bottom boards Of the fence

.

a re nailed on first The bottom bloc k of the board

.

holder rests upon the bottom board and is held in posi ,

ti on by the brace c The boards ca n be placed in the holder

.

like putting up b a rs an d ar e guided to their places on

,

the post by the blocks d d The boards can now b e

, , .

nailed on the posts an d the h olding devices moved for

,

another length When the boards are too long they can
.
,

be pulled forward a little and the e n d sawed and pushed , ,

bac k t o place O ne ma n u sing the c o ntrivan ce c a n n ail

.
,

on nearly as many boards in a day as tw o persons with ,

o ne t o hold the boards in the ol d way Figu re 3 7 s h o w s .

the m anner Of using t h e fence b o ard holders .

RE IN FO RC IN G A B OA RD FE N CE .

The old meth od of topping out a low board fenc e is

Sho wn at figure 3 8 Since barbed wire ha s beco m e
.

Fi g 38 — ST RE NG THE NIN G
. . A BO ARD FE N C E .

plenty i t i s more usual to i ncrease the height of the

,

fence by string ing one or two stran ds of that on vertical

slats nailed to the tops of the posts Y et in cases where
'

.
,

there are plenty of sound rails left from so m e old fence ,

or plenty p f straight saplings the old me th o d i s s till a ,

v er y cheap a n d convenient one .

 C HA P T E R IV .

PIC KE T FE NCES .

A GO O D G A RD E N F E N CE .

The engraving figure 3 9 represents a goo d su bs tan

, , ,

tial garden fen ce that while somewhat m o re serviceable

, ,
‘

than the ordinary kin d may be con structed a t l e s s cost

, .

It d oe s n ot mate ri ally differ fr om the comm o n picket

Fig 39 — A
. . LA TE AN D PIC E T K FE N CE .

fen ce fu rther than that the pickets are p u t five inches

'

apart with s trips Of lath nailed between The pickets

, .

give the necessary strength while the lath as a shield , ,

against p oultry or rabbit s an d other vermin i s equally as

, ,

good at one sixt h the cost A n Ol d picket fence sur

-
.

“
rounding a garden or yard may be lathed in th e '
,

manner h ere indicate d at little expen se .

A SOUT H E RN PIC E T K FE N C E
‘

T h e p i ck e t fen ce in very general use in t h e So u th ern

States is shown in figure 40 It will be observed that
,
.

the pickets in s tead of te rminating in a n e q ual -Sided

,

( )
31
32 FEN CES, G TE S AN D B R
A I D GES .

point h ave but one slanting side while the oth er is

, ,

s trai ght Such a fence looks quite as well a s one with

.

the o ther s tyle of points and is exceedingly neat an d

,

servicea ble along the line Of the s tree t or to ,

boundar y between two estates TO facilitate the sawing

.

o f the pi c kets the benc h o r ho rs e repre s ented in figu re

,

fi g 41 — B E N C E
. . FO R S AW IN G P ICKE TS
.

41 is empl o yed This has a stop at one end W hile near

.
,

the other en d are two u pri g h t piece s to serve as g uides

in sawing The edge of one of these is far enough in
.

the rear of the other to give th e desire d Slope In saw , .

34 FE N C E S ,
A TES A ND
G B RI D GES .

Fi gu rerepresent s a fenc e-made entirely of split tim

43
ber the only ca s h outlay being for nails This may be
, .

made so as to turn not only all kin d s of stock but

, ,

rabbits etc The picket s are s harpen ed and driven s ix

, ;
,

Fi g 43 -CE E AF
. . FE N C E O F SP IT TIL MB ER .

o r eight inches into the ground and firmly nailed to a ,

strong s tring-piece at to p .

A nother g oo d substantial fen c e is repre se n te d by figure

44 which
,
th o ugh somewhat expen s ive i s es pe cially
, ,

Fi g 44 -C Om
. . IO N PI C KE T FEN CE .

adapte d for yard orch a rd and vi neyard enclosure Thi s

, .

nee d s no explanation The post s shoul d not be set fur

.

ther t h an eight feet apart ; two by four inch s cantli n g s

should be us ed to n ail to and spli t paling s s h o uld be ,

n ailed on wi t h an nealed s te el n ai l s .

O RNA M E NTA L PIC K ET FE N CES .

Th e fen ce sh own in figu re 45 may be c on s tru cte d

with flat pickets three inches wide and thre e fee t five
,

inche s l ong Th e n otc hes in the pick e ts are eas ily

.
 PICKET FENC ES . 35

mad e wit h a compas s sa w or a fo o t-p o wer scr oll -s aw

, .

The t op and b o tt o m pieces between the picket s may be

Fi g 45 —O RN
. . AMEN AL
T P IC KE T FENCE . Fi g 46
. .

painted some other colo r than t h e fenc e if SO desire d ,

.

A ny carpenter sho uld be able to c o n struct it at a small

advance ov er a fenc e made fr om plain picket s making ,

the pattern as in figure 46 .

A pl ai n er bu t s till v e ry n eat form o f pic k e t fence i s

,

F i g 47 — A
. . P L AINE R P IC KE T F E NC E .

illu s trated at fi g u re 47 The intermediate pi ece s

.

n otch e d at one end an d s q uare at t h e o t h e r .

36 FE N CES , G ATES AND BRI D GE S .

RU STIC P IC K ET FE N C ES .

Wh e n the far mers on the prai ri es prevent the Spre ad

ing of the prairie fi res young oak and h ickory s aplings
,

spring up as if by magic near all the w oo ded stream s .

The s e saplings c o me fr o m huge r oo t s who s e t op s h a ve

F ig 48
. .
- RU STIC SAF LIN G FE N CE .

y e arly been destroye d by fire In that s ection fa r mer s

.

of ten construct a ver y neat rustic fence from two o r

three year Ol d sap l ings having the appearance Of fi g ure
,

48 . The rustic picke ts are trimmed SO as to lea v e th e

branche s proj ecting about two inches and are n ailed ,

o n with four-pen ny nails A fence o f this kin d would

.

n o t last long unless the pickets posts and rail s wer e

, , ,

free of bark or saturated with cru d e petroleum

, .

A very neat an d pictures q ue fence for a garden o r

Fi g 49 —
. . RUSTI C P IC KE T FE N C E .

a lawn i s shown at figure 49 It i s made of rou n d

.

pol es wit h the b ar k o n the post s being of simil a r ma te

, ,
 PIC K ET F E N C ES . 3?

rial Three ho riz o ntal bars ar e nailed to the p o sts at

.

e q ual intervals the slats or pickets wo v e n into them and

,

then nailed in place O ne or two coats of c ru de petro

.

leum app l ied to this an d other ru stic work at first and

, ,

renewed every year adds to i ts appe aran ce and greatly

,

increa se s i ts durability .

L IG H T PI C K E T F E N CE S .

F or en cl os ing poultry yards garden an d gr o und s

'
, , a

cheap fence w ith pickets of lath Often serves a good pur

pose If not very durable the cost of repair or rene wal
.
,

is light F igu re 50 shows one of this kind w h ich is

.
,

suffi ciently high for the A sia tic and other heavy a nd
q uiet fowl s The panels are sixteen fee t long an d ar e
.
,

F ig 50— P
. . AN LE O F PI C KE T FE N CE .

compo s ed of two pieces Of or d inary six -inc h fencing for ,

top an d bot to m rails with lath nailed across two an d a

,

half inches apart ; the top ends O f the lat h exte n ding
ten inches above the uppe r edg e o f the to p rail P osts .
,

three or fou r inches through at the top end are large ,

enough and after sharpening well can be driven into

, , ,

the ground by first thrus ti ng a cr o w -bar d own and wrench

ing i t back and for th A post is necess ary at the middle
.

o f eac h panel B oth rails of the pan el should be well

.

nail ed to the posts These panels may be neatly a n d

.

rapidly m ad e in a frame con structed for that pu rpose ,

.

Thi s fra me shown in fi g ure 5 1 consis ts simply Of

, ,

th r ee c r o ss - iece s of Si x b
p y Si x
,
fo u r feet l o n
g u p on ,
 38 FE N C ES , G A TES AND B RID GES .

w h ic h are s piked two planks one foo t wide an d three fe et

apart fro m outside to outside F ou r inche s from the
,
.

'

inner edge of each plank i s nailed a straight s tr i p o f inch

stuff to keep the rails of the panel i n place whi le the
,

Fig 51 — FR
. , AME FO R MA KIN G FE N CE .

l at h are being nailed on the pr o jecting end s o f

. A gainst
the cross -pieces spike two by six posts twelv e in che s
,

long on the inside Of these p os ts n a il a piece O f six -in ch

fencing to serve as a stop for the top ends of the laths to
, ,

touch when n a i ling them to the rails These pane l s can

, .

be m a de in the shop or on the barn floor at odd times ,

and piled away for fu ture u se N ail a wide bottom board .

a round on the inside of the enclo s ure after the fen ce i s

in position .

F igures 52 and 53 Sh o w l at h fence s h i gh en o ugh for

all kind s of poultry The posts i n figu re 52 are eig ht
.

feet apar t A horizontal bar i s nail e d t o the p o s ts six

.

Fi g 52
. . Fi g 53
. .

inches above the ground a second one eigh teen inches , ,

and a third four an d a h alf fee t To two lower str i p s .

nail laths th at h ave been cut to hal f length first d riving ,

the l o wer p art of th e lat hs tw o i n che s i n to the grou n d .

 PIC K ET F E N C E S
“

. 39

On e dvantage o f t h is fen ce i s that the tw o strip s n ear

a ,

the bottom being so close together sustain p r essure fr o m

, ,

dogs or outside intruders better than any other fence con

s tructed of lath and dispense s with a foot-wi de board s o
, ,

generally used .

The cheapest lath fence is m ade with the po sts four

feet apart fi i st sawing them i n two lengthwise at a saw
,

mill and n ailing the lath di rectly to the post s without

,

the use of strips The tw o u pper laths have Short verti

.

cal pieces fastened to the m with cleat nails an d pre s ent ,

points to prevent fowls alighting on the fence Such a .

fence ( figure 53 ) will cost for fo u r feet one -h alf post

, , ,

th r ee c en ts t wen ty laths eight cents an d the nails , ,

three cents per running foot s ix feet high o r on e -h alf

, , ,

ce nt p e r sq u ar e f oo t .

H AND -M A D E W I RE AN D P I C K ET F E N CE S .

A very desirable and popular fence is made of p icket s or

s lat s w o ven into horizontal strands of plain wire Sev .
.

Fi g 54 — SID E VIEW
. . OF B EN C R.

r l m ac h in es h ave been inven te d and p a ten te d fo r d o ing

e a

thi s work but it can be done by han d with the aid of the
,

bench illustrated here with The wire should be a little .

larg er than that used on harvesting machines an d an ; ,

nealed l i ke it The bench Of which figure 54 is a side

, ,

view and figure 55 a top vie w should be about sixteen

, ,

feet long and have a scre w at each corner for raising and
l o weri ng the h oldi ng bars F or the s crews a t the end s
.
 RID GE S
°

40 FE N C E S ,
G A TES AND B .

of the frame one -half to three -fourth -inch i r o n r o d w ill

answer Tfi e wire is twis te d close and tigh t to the slats
.
,

and given two or three twists between them If the .

Fi g 55 — TO P
. . VIE W OF B E NC H .

slat s are o f green s t u ff fasten th e wire to them wit h s mall

,

s taples to prevent their slipping when th ey Shrink The

,
.

fence i s fas te ned t o the post wi th common fence staples .

Fi g 56 — P O RTIO N O F
. . H FE N C E
T E .

Wh en this s tyle Of fence is used on o ne s ide of a pasture

o r highway its e ffectiveness may be increas ed b y a sin gl e
,
 l

42 FE N C E S ,
G A T ES A ND B RID GES .

fas te n the en ds Of two nu m be r nine unannealed wire s ,

to it . Str etch the wires alon g to the other end of the

line an d a few feet beyon d the las t post O ne pair is
, .

to be stre tched n ear the top of the posts and one near the
groun d When the wires are stretched taut fa sten them ,

to some po s ts o r other weight that will drag on the

groun d the up p er an d lower wires shou l d be fa stened to
separate weigh ts an d these Should be heavy en ough to
,

keep the wires at a great tension Having don e this you

.
,

are ready to commence building the fence O ne m an .

spread s the s tran ds while another places the picket be

,

tween them ; the other end Of the picket is th e n raised

up and placed betwee n the upper w i res and then driven ,

up with an axe or mallet In inserting th e pic kets the

.
,

wi res are to be crosse d alternate ly as sho w n in the en

,

gravi ng The pickets should be dry an d should be about

.
,

three inches apart It takes two persons to build thi s

.

fence su ccessfully but it can be built more rapidly by

,

thre e ; one to spre a d the w i res one to place the picket in

,

position an d one to d rive it h ome This is espec ially

,
.

a d a p te d for a li ne or other fence which i s not re q u i red

to be Often moved It i s fastened to the post by nailing

.

one of the pickets to it with common fencing nails .

F ences of thi s k i nd are al so made wi th straight round ,

limbs of willow or other trees in place of the sp lit picke ts .

Se v eral di fferent machines have been patented for m a lf

i n g this s tyle of fen ce .
 C H A PT E R V .

B A RB - W I RE F E N C E.

The invention of bar b wire wa s the mos t imp o rta n t

event in the s ol u ti on of the fence problem Th e question
.
.

o f providing fencing mate r ial had become s erious even ,

in the timbered portions of the country while th e great ,

prairie region w as alm o st wholly without r e so u e e save r

the slow and expensive process of hedging A t thi s .

juncture came barb wire which was at on ce seen to make

,

a cheap e ffective and durable fence rapidly built an d

, , ,

easily moved The origin al patent for barb wire was

.

taken out in 1 8 68 but i t was n ot until six ye ars 1a ter

,

that an attempt w as made to introduce it into genera? us e ,

an d more than ten years elapsed before the industry a t

ta i n e d any considerable magnitu de The rapidity an d .

extent Of its s ubse q uent growth will be seen by the fo l

_

l o wing table showing the esti m ate d amount of barb wire

,

manufactured an d in use during the years n amed the ,

estimated length being in mi le s Of single stran d

YE AR
. TO N S . M ILE S . YE AR . TO N S .

TO T AL S

T h er e are now fifty establish ments engaged in the

manufac ture and t h e o utput for 1 8 8 7 is estimate d at
,

t o ns .

Barb wire i s n ot W i thout i ts drawbac ks as a fenc i ng

materi al th e m os t c o mm o n on e being the liability Of s er i
,

( )
43
 '

44 FEN C E S , GA T E S AND B RI D GE S .

inj u r y t o valuable domestic animals coming i n con

‘

ou s

t a ct with the sharp barbs Many means hav e be en de

.

vised for O vercoming this evil Some of them are.

i ll ustrated in the next ch apt er The di rect advantage s

.

Fig 58 — TR
. .E KE LLY BA B R WI R E.

o f barb wire are : F irst— econ omy not only in the com ,

ti v e cheapness of it s first cost bu t al s o in the smal l

pa r a ,

amount Of land covered by it S —

econ d e ffectivene ss as
.

a barr ier agains t all kind s of s tock and a protection ,

agains t dog s and wild beas t s Third — rapidity of con

.

—
s truction an d ease of moving F ou rth freedom from .

—
h arb o ring weeds and cr eating sn o w drifts F ifth dura
,
.

bil ity.

B ar b W ir e, li ke the har ves ter the ,

s e wi ng m ac h ine , an d

Fig 59 —E O RSE-N
. . AIL B ARB .

m os t o ther v alu able in vention s h as attained i t s pre s en t

,

form from very cru de begi n nings The original barb .

wi e
r c o n s i s ted o f d o uble p oin ted-m etallic di s cs , stru n g
 B AR B -W IRE FE N C E
‘

. 45

loo se ly upon plain wire T h e next ste p was to t wi s t this

.

with another wire as Shown in figure 58

, .

A nother crude be ginn ing was the “ h or se -na il ba rb ,

Fig 61 - STE R
. L1N G
. R
BA E W IRE .

which c on s i s ted o f a c omm o n h or s e -shoe n ail be nt around

a plain wire and th e whole wrapped spirally with a
,

s maller w ire as Shown in figur e 59 V arious forms of

, .

two -pointed and four-pointe d barb W ire are manufactured ,

t h e principal differen ce being the s hap e o f t h e barbs an d

Fi g 63 . .
—IOW A F O UR-PO INTE D RRW IRE
BA .

t h e man ner of c e il i n g them ar o u nd one or bot h of the

strands A few of the leading styles are illustrate d here
.

with F igures 60 an d 6 1 Show two varieties Of tw o

.

po inted bar b wi re .
46 FE N C ES ,
G A TE S AN D B Ri DGEs .

Of numerous s tyles of four pointe d wi re th r ee typ

th e -
,

ical form s are ill ustrate d i n figures 62 63 an d , ,

Th e Gl idden patent s te el barb wire i s made in t h ree

s tyles as s h own i n figu re s 6 5 6 6 and 6 7

, , , .

6 5 s hows the two po int wire in which like the o thers

-
, , ,

the barb is twi ste d aroun d onl y one of t h e wire s .

Fi g 65 . .
—GLIDDE N
L Tw o-PO INT P ATENT STEE .

“ '
6 6 shows the thick se t which h as barbs like the othe r
-
,

but se t cl os er together for such purposes as sh eep folds ,

g arden s o r o ther p l ace s w hi ch re q uire extra pr o te ction

, , .

66 —G LIDD EN
'
Fig . .
P ATE NT STEE L H
T IC K SE T .

T h e four-point b arb w ire ,

figure 6 7 h as barbs o f th e
,

s ame form as the two other styles that is a sha r ply prick
,

i n g barb atta ch ed t o one of the wi res o f the fen ce st r an d ,

u pon which the other wire i s twis ted holdi ng the barb
,
 RW
BA B- IRE FE NC E . 47

fi rmly i n plac e The barb is at ri g ht angle s to t h e Wire

.
,

and d oes not form a h ook but a straigh t short steel thorn
,
.

A sharp point which inflict an instantaneo u s prick repels

an animal more safely than a longer an d duller barb .

B arb wire of nearly if not quite all the popular kinds

, ,

is shipped fro m the factory on strong s p oo ls eac h h o ld ing ,

Fi g 67 . .
—GLIDDE N P A TE N T F OUR-PO INT .

o ne hu ndred pounds in weight o r eighty rods i n length

, .

T he se spools are bored through the center to admit a

stick or bar which can be u sed as an axle in unreeling
,

the wire The following tabl e shows the w eight o f wire

.

re q uired for fencing the re spective areas n amed

W E IGHT OF W IRE .

t
1 S r an d . 3 S ra n d
t .

LB S . LB S .

60 Ro ds .

20 A c res
40 A c re s 1 M il e .

80 A c r e s

2 Mi l e s .

It will be ob served that the larg er the area enclosed the ,

s maller is the amount of fence required per a cre The cost .

O f fence complete can be esti m ated by adding to the

amount Of wire indicate d in the las t c ol umn th e co s t of ,
48 F EN C E S ,
G TE S AN D B R
A I GES D .

sixty p os ts and three an d three qu arter pounds o f s tapl es

, ,

fo r e v ery sixty rods To as certain the weight of wire re

.

quired for any desir ed n u mber of s trands m ul tiply the ,

Fi g 68 —B RIN KERROFF
. . STEE L RAP
ST AND B ARR .

figu res of the fi rst column of weight of wir e by the

numbe r of strands proposed to be u sed .

There i s a k ind of barb fencing in w hich fla t stee l

s traps are employed i nstead Of wire In the form shown .

i n fi g ure 68 the barbs are bent aroun d a plain strap an d

,

t h e whole is t h en galvanized which firmly fixes the barb , .

A n o t h erform shown at figure 69 consists of a soli d

piece Of steel ribbed through the middl e an d wi th barbs
, ,

c u t o n both e d ges These an d similar forms are more c x

.

pensive than w i re and are empl oyed o nly in limi ted quan
,

Fi g 70— BB IN K E RH
. . OFF FE N C IN G TW ISTE D .

tities for enclosing lawns pa d docks e tc Still an o th e r

, , .

form is l ike that shown i n fi g ure 70 withou t barbs , ,

an d twisted T hi s is much used to enclo s e lawn s an d

.

o rnamental gr o u n d s It is light neat an d strong d oe s

.
, ,
50 FE N C E S, G TE S A ND BR
A I D G ES .

HOW TO SET B A RB W IRE FE N C E .

The ti mber for posts should be ou t when t h e sa p i s

dormant Midwinter or A u g ust is a good time to cu t
.

post timber They should be split an d the bark taken

.

of f as soon as possi ble after cutting th e tim ber F or end .

posts select some o f the best trees about six teen inches
, ,

in diameter from whi ch take cuts eight an d a half feet

,

i n length s plitting them in q uarte rs for brace posts

, .

They should be set three feet in the ground which is eas ,

ily done with a po s t-hole digger When setting the .

bra ce posts tak e a s tone eighteen inches to t w o feet

,

long twelve inches wide and six inche s thick w h ich

, , ,

i s p u t d o wn a gainst the post e dgewi s e on the Oppo s i te ,

side to the brace as seen in figure 7 5 putt ing it

, ,

down about even with the surface of the ground This .

h olds the post soli d against the br ace A heart-rail te n .

,

feet in length makes a g ood bra ce P u t one of the long

.

posts every si xteen or twenty ro d s along the line of fence ,

as they help to strengthen it and set lighter an d Shorter

,

p o sts al o ng the l i n e abou t sixteen feet apart Af te r th e .

posts are set two or three furrows should be turned

,

agains t them on e ach s ide as it helps to keep stock from

,

the wire Such a fence shoul d be built of a g ood hei g ht

. .

It i s better to buy an extra wire than h ave stock inj ur ed

There 18 n o pullin g over e n d posts or sagging wire .
 BARB-WIRE F E N CE . 51
-

To make an extra solid wire fence , brace the posts,

as shown in fi g ure 76 on both sides i n order to
, ,

r es ist the tension in eit h er direction E ve ry eighth po s t .

s hould be thus braced and it makes a mark for m eas u r

,

ing the length of the fenc e for eight p os t s s et one r e d

,

apart make eight rods or a fortieth o f a mil e for each

, ,

braced pos t The braces are notched into the t o p o f

.

Fig 76 — A W I R
. , E FE N C E WE LL B RAC ED .

the po s ts just below the top wi re an d a spike i s d riven

, ,

through both the bra ce and the post The brac e s ab u t .

u p o n large s to ne s which g ive the m great firmne s s .

UN RE E LI N G AN D STRETC H I N G B A RB W I RE .

The gene ral in troduction of barb wire fen cing h a s

brought out a great variety of de v ices for handlin g the
wi re O ne of these is Shown in the illustrations Two
. .

pi ec es of sca ntling are attached to the rear end of a wag

on from which the box has been remo v ed as sho w n in ,

figure 77 A slot near the en d of each admits the roun d

.

stick thrust through the reel of barb wire to serve as an , .

axl e The en d of the barb wire is fas tened to the fenc e

.

post t h e team in front of the wagon started up and

, ,
52 F E NC E S ,
G A TES A ND B RI D GES .

so me three yards o f wir e u nreele d Th en th e hi n d ax le .

o f the wagon is m a de fas t by a ch ain or rope to the near

.

es t fence p ost the h in d wh eel neares t the fen ce lif ted

,

from the gro u n d and held there by a wagon -j ack o r piece

Fig 77 —
. . DE VIC E FO R UNROLLI N G W IRE .

of b o ard O ne tu rn is then m ade in the bar b wi re as

’

.
,

Sho w n at A figure 7 8
, ,
to which is attached one end o f a
pi ece of smooth wire , some te n feet long The other .

en d is placed be tw een tw o screw s b b in the end o f t h e

, ,

h ub a s sho wn
, The wire t h u s fas
i n the illustra tion .

te ne d i s coile d aroun d the hub ,

an d the operator can
tighten it an d the barb wi re to which it i s attached by ,

employi ng the leverage Of the spokes an d fel l oes .

A lighter form of reel ho lder is s ho wn at figu re 7 9 It .

i s m ade of two pieces Of two by four scan tling s fas ten ed

to the axl e of a sulky corn plow . They must be placed
 B A RB-W I RE F E N C E . 53

far e n o ug h apart to allow the reel or spo o l to r u n be t wee n

them Make a s q uare axle fi g ure 80 of s ome h ard
.
, ,

to ugh w o od roundi ng i t where it runs in the sl o ts o f the

,

Fig 80 —TE E
. . A 'LE .

cantling drive it th rough the h ole in the s p oo l an d a t

'

s .
,

tac h the crank In moving fence place the s pool on the

.
,

fra me remove one en d Of the wire from the post fas te n ,

i t to th e spool an d while one man holds the pole an d

,

s te ers and s te adi es the sulky— h e will have to p u ll back

a li t tle — another tu rns the spool and winds up the wire .

Wh en a corner i s re ac hed the wire i s l o osened the sul

, ,

ky tu rned an d the w inding continued

, When the end .

of th e wire is re a ched i t is carefully loosened from the

,

p o st and firmly fas tened to the spool

, .

It i s bes t to h ave a sepa r ate spool for e ac h wire e s pec ,

i a l l y if t h ey are of grea t length The s ame contrivance .

may be used for unreeling the wire A ttach a gentle .

ho rs e to th e s ulk y fa s ten the pole se curel y t o the h ames

, ,

Fi g 81
. .
—A L
S E D W IRE-H O L D ER .

an d h ave a b o y lead
’
mslowly
along the fence li n e
hi .

once i n fifty yards stop the horse g rasp th e han dle m o v e , ,

forward very slowly and dra w th e wire straight an d

,

taut If no s ulky plow is at han d a lig h t double

’

.
,

end e d sle d shown in figu re 8 1 may be used A man

, ,
.

h old s the s h o r t p o le extending from o ne en d s tead yin g ,

54 FE N C E S ,
G A TE S A ND B RID GES .

an dpushing a little w h ile the other winds th e reel Th e

, .

sled is d r awn forward by the wir e as i t is wound on

the reel To unree l attach a Slow
.
,

Fi g 82 — AN O T E E R S
. . LE D FO R W IRE .

r o p e fas tene d to the Opposi te en d of the Sled .

mu st walk behind the horse and hold the pole to stea dy

Managed in this way the removal Of a bar bed
,

th e sled .
,

wire fence is not at all the formidable Operation that h as

been supposed it can be taken down and set up aga in ,

e a s il y safely and quite rapidly Figure 82 s h o w s an

, , .

F ig 83
. .
—TIGE TE NING TE E W I E R .

o th er form of h om e-mad e sle d which i s very u s eful for ,

carrying r o ll s o f wire for m aki ng a fence The roll i s .

supported on a rod which h a s round en d s to fit into the

,

uprights and whi ch tur ns in the Slots When the wire

,
.

i s run out the en d is f a s te ned to the clevi s on the centre

,

beam and a n otch e d s take figur e 83 being put under

, , ,

the wi re the sled i s drawn up to tighten the wir e whic h

, ,
 A RB -w1RE FE N C E
“

B .
55

. is then s tapl e d This sled is u seful f o r many o t h er pur

.

poses and is large enough t o car ry fi ve rolls o f the wire

,
,

so tha t by going back and forth the whole of the fence,

can be put up very q uickly It is drawn by o ne horse

“

.
,

the draf t chain being fas tened to the fro nt bea m .

W IRE STRE TC H E RS .

F or s tre tching b arb wire there are var i ou s impl ement s

in the market a nd other q uite Simple an d e ffective de
,

vices can be mad e on the farm F igu re 84 shows the .

C LARK R H R
ST E TC E .

C l ark s tre tc h er
the manner o f u sing it A not h er
an d .

'
stretcher called the C ome A long stretcher figu re 85
, , ,

is used n o t only for tightening the wires but al so f o r ,

h andling it in building o r m o ving fence s

, .
56

Th e seful W ire stretc her

u ,

mowi ng machine knife -guard bolte d ,

C OSiE ALONG '

o ne cu rved , s ho wn in the l o wer en gr a vm g i s
as ,

ble to a straight one as i t will not turn i n th

,

When u sing it the W i r e is held firmly in the S

,

may be e a sily stretched by applying the s tic k as

Fi g 86
. .
—
IIO ME ~BIAD E W IRE STRE T cm s :

woo d o r Of iron or s te el bars It c o nsists o f th r ee pieces

.
,

two arm s and a splicer fas te ned toget h e r in the m an ne r

,

Shown in figur e 8 7 lea v ing a Sl ot n ear o ne en d tb

, ,

hol d the wire The lon g er arm is mad e immova ble u p On

.
58 F E N CE S , G A TES AND BRI D GES .

bec o me s u seless The al te rn ate contraction and exp an

.

sion caused by ch an ge of tempe rature soon stretch the

wi re t o s ay n o t h ing of other cause s The c h eap an d ef
, .

fecti vem et ho d employed by telegrap h c o mpanie s is i ll u s

in figure 90 It consists of a pair of g r ip to n g s
tr a te d .

and a set Of small tackle -blocks The tongs m ay be .

mad e by any blacksmith and the blocks are sold at all

,

hardw a re an d to ol s to re s A n ir o n hook is u sed to cou

.

Fig 90
. .

ple the to ng s to the bl ock , an d as the wi re i s dr a w n u p ,

the f re e end of the rope m ay be given a tu rn around the

sam e post to h old it while the s ta ple i s ti gh ten ed to
,

ho ld the wire .

L
SP IC I NG R
BA B WI RES .

The a cc o mpanying engra vings Show an i ron imple men t

for spli ci n g wire and the manner of using it To m a ke .

this splicer take a bar O f half inch round iron ni ne ,

i nc h es lon g . Heat a bou t three inches of o ne end an d

 BARB -W IRE F E N C E . 59

h a m m e r it
‘

flat
until it is on e inch wide With a cold .

chisel cut a one -fourth in ch Slot a q uarter of an inch

from the right s ide an d an i nch deep as s e n in figu re , e

fi g s 91
. an d 92 .
— TEE SP L ICE R .

91 . part marked d so that it will be a quar

B en d th e ,

ter inch from the flat part as shown in figure 9 2 The

‘
, .

lower part of th e Slot 0 s h ould be about a half inch from

the bend at d Smooth wit h a file
. T o use it let 6 and .

93 —
. MARING TE E SP ICE L .

f,fi g u re 9 3 repre s ent t w o wi res t o be j o ined B end th e .

ends s o they are nearly at righ t angles Hold them .

with pincers at g place the h e c k of the splicer on the

wire f while the wir e 3 falls into the s lot Twis t the
, .

piece s ar o und th e w ir e f when one half of the spli ce i s

'
~
,
60 F E N C ES ,
G A TE S A ND B RID GES .

mad e R epeat the O peration for the other e n d U se

. .

abou t fou r or five inches of eac h wire to twis t aroun d

the other An other form Of spli c er shown in figure 9 4
.
, ,

is made of cast iron an d is us ed in the sa me manner as

,

the first Fi g u re 9 5 sh o w s the m anner of h olding the

.

wire with nipper s m a de for the pu rp os e an d the fin ,

i eh ed splic e .

B UIL D IN G W IRE FE N C E S ON UN E VE N ROUN D

G .

O ne of the great pe rplexi ties ab o ut buildi ng wi re

fences on rolling ground i s how to m ake the posts in
,

th e h o llows remain firm for the p ul l Of the wir e in w et

,

Fi g 96 — FE
. . NCE ON UNE VE N ROUND
G .

w eather or w h en the frost is coming ou t lifts th e m a n d

, ,

ca uses the wire to sag an d they c ease to be an effe cti v e

,

ba rrier .P osts sh ou ld n ot be u sed in the lowe s t depre e

 FE N C E S OF BA B W IRE R AND B OA RD S . 61

s i ons , b ut in the i r
place at the lowest spots a heavy ston e
‘
.

should be partially sunk into the ground about whi c h a ,

smoot h fence wire has be en wrapped as seen in figure 9 6 , .

When the fence is buil t the fence wires are brough t down
,

to their place an d the wire about the s tone is twisted first

abou t the lower wire then the next an d so on to the
, ,

top This pre v ents the wire from raising and d oes away
.
,

with all trouble of the posts bein g pulled out b y the

wires In fencing acr o ss s mall s t r ea ms the s ame pl an
.

i s suc ce s sful .

C H A PT E R VI .

FENCES O F BA B R W IRE AN D BOARDS .

C OMBI NED W IRE AN D B O A RD F E N CE .

A very cheap fence is made o f two boards below

an d th r ee strands of barb wir e T o make the fence pig .

pr oo f with o ut the boards five strands of wire three inc h es

, ,

Fi g 97 — MANNE B
. . OF B RA C IN G E ND -P OST .

apart would be re q uir ed at the bott o m Tw o c o mmon

, .

fencing boards wi ll occupy the same space when placed ,

three inches apart an d cost less B u t for the upper part

, .

of the fen ce wire i s much cheaper than boards The

, .

most considerable i tem in this greater economy is the

saving O f posts The wire requires a pos t e v e r y sixteen
.

feet ; hence half the posts are saved A stou t s take, .

62 FE N C ES, GA TES AND BRIDGE S.

driven midway between the posts h o lds t h e cen te r of t h e ,

boards i n place The se st akes nee d extend only eigh t een

.

inches above g roun d P o s ts that have rot ted Off in the

.

groun d wi l l be long enough for these stakes Some say .

that the posts can be set thirty f eet apart but s ixteen
‘

feet is bet te r The po s ts s hould be at leas t thi rty inches

.

i n the ground and well tamped It is easy to stretch the .

wire Its durab il ity depen ds upon the quality Of t h e

'

wire an d posts and the prope r se tting of them N ail

,
.

on the two boards three inches apart the first strand is

,

S i x inche s above the top board the s ec o nd strand is ,

twelve inches a b ove the first an d the third sixt ee n i n ,

ch es above the sec ond Wh en banked up as hereafte r .

,

de s cri be d this fence wi ll turn all farm st oc k A n i m

, .

F ig 98 — SE C TI O N
. . OF F E N CE CO MP LE TE D .

p o rtant poi nt is the bracing O f the en d-posts If t h is be .

neglected or improperly done the fen ce wi ll be a failu re , .

Figure 9 7 shows ho w the end-post sh ould be braced It .

should be a large po st an d set at le ast three fee t in the

groun d T he short post w h ich hold s the lower end of
.

the brace shoul d also be well set W rap the W ire

, .

aroun d the end -post se v eral times an d dri v e s taples ,

to hold it on all Sides If the line of fence is more .

than forty rods lon g at leas t two posts at each en d ,

s hould be brac ed Afte r the po sts are se t and before a t

.
,

taching t h e boards or w i re plow a deep fur row along ,

each side throwing the earth in ward This m ak es a

,
.

bank along the line allowing the fence to be s evera l

,

in che s h igher ; and the furro w dr ai n s th e wa ter a way

 FE N CE S OF B A RB WIRE A ND B OA RDS . 63

from the p ds ts and also re s train s an animal that m ay be

,

tempted to j ump the fence A section of the completed .

fence is sho w n in fig u re 9 8 Do not hang pieces of tin .

,

e tc upon the top strands of wire as often recommen d e d

.
, , ,

that the animals may see the fence and be able to avoid ,

it because it is never necessary

,
.

A modification of this combined fence i s Shown in fi g

ure 9 9 It is mad e of one rail along the top an d
.
,

thr ee wire s bel o w After s ettin g the pos ts pl o w a fur

.

Fi g 99 —A
. . C HE AP AND GO O D F E NC E .

r o w two feet from the po s ts on each side throwing the ,

fu rrow Slice towards the fence and forming up the ridge ,

neatly with a spade ; then stretch the th ree wires and ,

nail a two by four scantling edgewise TO prevent an .

unpleasant sagging of the rails the posts should be eight ,

feet apart an d the rails sixteen feet lo n g F or c o mmon

, .

fencing go o d s traight poles will answer well

, .

A BRA C K ETE D FE N C E .

Thefeat u re s sh own in fi g u re 1 00 are : fir s t in havi n g ,

two six -inch boards at the bottom Seco n d in pla c ing .

,

the wires very close together It being necessar y to h ave .

barbs only on one side of each spac e between the wires ,

'

plain galvanised wire may be used for every alternate

strand thus greatly lessening the expense Thi r d by
, .
,
°

th e use of strips and s h ort stakes the posts may be placed ,

s ixteen feet apart and the fence remain as perfect as if

,

there were p e s ts every eight feet F ourth t o make the .

,
64 FENCES, GA TE S AN D BRIDGES .

fence man -proof m ake use of a bracket of t h ree-eight h

,

inch i ron or of one by two-inch wooden strips The

,
.

form of the bra cke ts is shown in figures 1 01 102 and 103 , .

A barb -wire is attac hed to the s hort arm of the brac kets ,

w hi ch are fas te ned to the posts i n such a manner a s to

Fig 100 -. O NE P ANE L OF I MP ROVED W IRE FE N CE .

stretch two wires on the same horizontal plane and fi f ,

teen in ches a p art The ma te rial required for e ach panel

.

of the fence shown in figure 100 are : Two posts th r ee , ,

barb -wir es two plain wires of N o 1 2 galvanized iron

, .
,

two six -inch boards s ixteen feet l ong three stakes abo u t
, ,

three fee t long an d s harpe ned at one end four strips

, , ,

four feet long an d one an d one -half-inch s q uare To .

build the fen ce : Lay ofl th e groun d by setting small pe g s

’

e ight feet apart th e n d i g the ho les an d s et the po sts at

, ,

Fi g 101 — IRO
. , N B RA CKE T .

every fo u rt h p e g D rive the sh arpen ed sta k es in to the

.

groun d at the three pe g s bet w een the po sts so th at the ,

top of the sta kes will be n ineteen inches above the

round N ail th e boards on th e first stake near the
g .
66 FE N CE S , GA TE S A ND BRID GES .

arm to the p o st and s lip the wi re into the angle and

“

, ,

close the bracket by closing the arms on the wire .

Fi gu re 1 02 shows the method Of attac hi ng the ir on

brac ket t o the p os t .

D OG-P ROO F F E N C E S .

Figu re 104 shows a sheep -yard fence built of wi re and ,

b o ard s as a safeguard against vicious dogs It c o n s i s t s of

,
.

Fi g 104 . .
-
A FE NCE AGAINST DOGS .

o rdinary po s t s and three lengths of boards with an

, ,

equ al n umber of barb -wi res for the upper portion and a ,

Single stran d placed near the ground The sheep are in .

n o danger of inj uring themsel v es With suc h a fenc e and ,

it is an effecti v e barrier to blood thirsty dogs -

.

Fi gure 1 05 Shows a cheaper fence for the same pur

po se It has one stran d of barb wire below the boards
.
,

Fi g 105 — A
. . OM AP E B FE N CE .

w hi ch p re v e nt s attempts of dogs to dig under it .

“
‘

'
F or fencing Sh eep against dogs the t hi ck s et barb
-
,

Wi r e i s the m os t eff e ctive of any .

 C HA P T E R V II .

HE DGES .

HE
T B E ST H E D GE P L ANTS .

The fir s t emigrants from E ngland to the A meri can

shores brou g ht w ith them me m ories of green hedge-rows ,

like those which still adorn the motherland B u t they .

found the country whither they had come covered with

a dense growth of timber w hich furnished abundan t ,

material for fences Hedges were almost unknown i n

.

this country until after civi l ization had reached the tree
less prairies Then the wan t of fe n cing material tu r ned
.
,

attention to h edges and they became so p o pular that

,

many miles of them were plan ted not only i n the prai rie ,

re g ion but also in the more eas tern States where cheaper
, ,

fencing material was plenty No w the invention Of .

barbed wire supplies a material so cheap and easily put

i n place that hedges have ceased to be regarded a s
‘

economical for general farm purpose s B u t they have .

by no m eans g one wholly out of u se A s a boun dary .

fence especially upon the roadsi de there is much to be

'
, ,

s a i d i n favor of th e hedge N othing gives a nei g hbor .

hood such a finished rural aspect a s to h ave the roads ,

bordered by he d g es The groun ds ar oun d the summer

.

cottag es on the N e w J ersey coast an d other popular Su m ,

mer resort s are larg ely enclo s ed wit h hedges F or i n

, .

te r i or divisions as they cannot be removed they are not

, ,

to be commended A n orchard the most per m anen t of

.
,
'

all th e p l an ta ti on s upon the farm may be appropriate ly ,

enclosed by a live fence Hedges are either protective .

barrier s really live fences or merely o rnamental In

, , .

p rope rly regulated c o mmunities w he re cattle are n ot a l ,

( )
6 7
68 r EN C S, R A
G TES A ND BRI D GES .

lowe d to run at large the roads ide hedge may be orna ,

mental w hile one around a n orchard Should be able to

,

keep out animals an d other intruders A fte r many ex .

p e r i m e n ts and failures the O sage O r ange ( M

’
a el u m
,

a u r a n tzcw a ) has been found to mak e the best hedges

, .

B eing a native of Arkansas it h as been found to be hardy ,

much farther N orth an d may be regarded as the most,

u seful hedge plant in all localities where the win ter i s

n ot severe Where the O sage O range is not hardy
.
,

B uckthorn J apan ' uince and Honey L ocust are the be st

,

substitutes Honey L ocust is a most u seful hedge-plant

.
,

as it i s readily rais ed from seed grows rapidly be a rs

“

, ,

cutting well and in a few years wi ll ma ke a barri er tha t

,

wi ll tur n the m os t Vi o lent ani mal .

P LANTIN G AN D C A RE OF O SA GE H E DGES .

Th e first re qui si te for a h ed ge o f any kin d i s to s ecur e

th rifty plan ts of uni form size Os age O range plan ts a r e .

rai s ed fr o m s eeds by n ur s erymen an d when of the right ,

si ze Shoul d tak en u p i n autumn an d

be in “h eeled .
,

The gr ound which it i s prop os ed to o ccupy by the

,

hedge s hould be broken up i n autumn and then r e

,

plowed in spring unless i t is a raw prai rie so d which

, ,

sh ould be broken a yea r be fore the hedge is plan ted It .

is a very usual bu t very ba d practice to plow a ridge

, ,

wi th a back-furrow as shown in figure This lea v es

,

an unplowed strip of hard soil d i rectly u nder the line

upon which the h ed ge is to stand When h a r r o vi e d it
’

.
,

appears very fair o n the surfac e but it i s u sele ss to e x ,

 H E DGES . 69

pe e t young plan ts to thrive on such a bed of h ard soil ,

and its result will be a s s een in figu re 1 07 The first
-
.

growth i s feebl e irreg ular and m any vacan t s p o ts ap

, ,
o

Fi g 107 — HE
. . DG E P LAN T ON HA RD RID GE .

pear The land should be plowed as in figure 1 08 When

.
.

the sod is rotted the land should be harrowed lengthwi s e

,

of the furrow s an d the dead furr o w left in the fir s t

,

Fig 108. .
—PROPERL Y P LOW E D G ROUND .

plowing cl o sed by twice turning back the ridge There .

is then a deep mellow well -drained bed for the plants

, ,

in which the root s have room to grow an d gather ample

nutriti o n F igur e 1 09 sh o w s the e ffect of this kind of
.

F ig 109
. .
— EE D GE P LANT IN ME LL OW SOI L .

culti vation A s a barrier again s t s tock or a windbreak , i t

.
,

is best to p lant in double r o ws each r o w being set oppo ,

site the s pace s in the other thu s ,

a: a: a:

Itis highly desirable that the hedge s hould be i n true ,

uniform rows either strai g ht or in regula r cu r v es

,
.

This can be done only by setting closely to a line O sage .

Oran ge plant s m ay be r ais ed f ro m s eed but a s this is a ,

70 FE N CE S ,
G ATE S A ND B RID GE S .

diffi cult operation i t is usually best to buy y o ung plant s

,

from a reliable nurseryman They are best cu t d own to

.

about six inches high an d the roots partially trimmed

, .

'
It is an advantage to p u ddle the roots which is done ,

by dipping them i n a mixture composed of one half -

earth and h alf fresh manure from the cow stable wet ,

to the consiste ncy of a thin p as te There are various .

metho d s of setting the plan ts Some use a tr o wel with .

a blade about ten inches long ; others a dibble an d a ,

larger number than either o f the others a spa d e Fo r , .

setting long lines i n s ituations where appearances ar e of

,

Fi g 110— E FFE C T
. . OF C UL IV A
T TIO N .

Secondary importance youn g O sage plants are set very

,

rapidly by running a furrow where the rows are to stand ,

layi ng the plan ts with their roots spread on the mello w

soil one side of the furro w A furro w is next turned
,
.

upon the roots and the plants which m ay have been d i s

,

arran g ed are restored by hand A tread of the foot will . .

consolidate the earth around each plant U nless the .

subsoil is naturally very porous the groun d m u st be ,

thor ou g hly un d er d rained A line of tiles Should be laid

.

six or ei g ht feet from the line O f the hedge The g round .

for four or five fee t on either Side of the he d ge should ,

be kept thoroughly culti v ated the first three or four

years after pl anting This cultivation i s to be done
.

earl y e ach s eason a nd ce ase the first of J uly to give the ,

 H E D GE S . 71

n ew wood a chance to r ipen The plant s s hould be per

.

m i tte d to grow the first year un d isturbed The following .

spring the hedge should be cut o ff close to the ground

,

with a scythe or mowi ng machin e and all vacancies ,

where plants have died ou t or been thrown ou t by frost ,

should be filled The groun d on bot h sides of the ri d ge

.

is to be kept well cultivate d Figu re 1 1 0 sh ows the dif

.

ference in r o ot growt h in cultivated an d uncultivated

ground .

A thick growth of young shoots will appear and ,

t h ese are to be cut b a ck to four inches high the middle ,

of s ummer and again i n September T he obj ect is to .

obtain a den s e growth close to the ground The third .

year the pruning is to be repeated only the shoots mu s t ,

be left four to six inches abo v e the last previous cutting .

The lateral shoot s which are near the groun d are to be ,

left undisturbed The trimming should be such a s to

.

leave the hedge broad at the base with a reg ular slope to
,

the summit like a d ouble -span roof .

A nother method is to permit the he d ge to grow un

tri mmed for four or fi ve year s It i s then pla s h e d or
.
,

F ig 1 1 1 — HE
. . D GE P LAS HE D ' .

laid o ver sidewise This is d one by cutting the plant s

.

about h alf through on one side with a shar p axe and ,

bending them o v er as shown in figure 1 1 1 The hedg e .

is first headed back and trimmed u p to reduce the top .

In a short time n e w shoots will sprin g from the stubs an d

stem s , making a dense g row th of interlaci ng stems a n d
72 FE N C E S ,
G ATE S A ND B RI D GE S .

branc h e s A nother method of laying a hedge is to d ig

.
,

away a few in ches of earth on one side of each plant to

loosen the roots the n lay the plant over to the desired
.

angle and fasten it there The earth is then replaced .

a round the roots and tread down fi rmly We believe

, .

that a patent is claimed for thi s process but its validi ty ,

is seriously questioned .

It i s essential that hedges whether planted for orna ,

‘

ment or utility shall be kept in shape by trimming

,
‘

every year It is les s labor to trim a hedge three times

.

duri ng the year when the bran ches are small and soft
, ,

than once when the branches have made a full seas on s ’

growth If the hedge is trimmed once in J une an d

.

again in A ugust it will be kept i n good shape and the

, ,

labor will be les s than if the trimming was p ut o ff until

spring In A ugu st the branches can be cut with shears
.

or a sharp corn knife Th e foliage on them will aid in .

their burning wh e n they have d ried a few days in the

,

s un Th e thorns are not so hard as in the spring The

. .

bru sh will be less and o n account of their pliability and

,

greater weight will pack in to the heap much better If

, .

trimmed i n A ugust the hedge will not make any con ,

s i d er a bl e growth d u ring the fall A u g ust tri m m ing doe s .

not inj ure the hedge rather helps i t as it ten ds to ripen

, ,

the wood preventing a late A utumn growth to be inj ured

,

by the win ter The loss of sap i s less than when the
.

tri mming is done i n the early spring as then the woun d s ,

are larger an d do n o t heal before the sap flows D o not

, .

neglect to burn the brush as soon as it has dried s u ffi

c i e n tly . If allowed to remain on the ground it will har ,

bor m ice and other ver m in Trim the hedge in A ugust .

and burn the brush The trimming should be don e in .

such a manner as to expose the g reater amoun t of foliag e

t o the direct acti on of the light air rain an d d e w This , , .

i s attained by keep ihg the sides at every trimmi n g in the

f or m o f s l o ping wall s f rom the bro ad b ase to t h e s u mmit
74 FENC E S ,
G A TE S A ND B RI D G ES .

high The plants that were i n the line of the fen ce were
.

left growing an d those cleared from the field were w o v en

,

into a formidable barrier to anythin g larg er than a rab

bit While n o two rods in this fence ar e alike i ts
.
,

general appearance i s like that shown in the engraving .

O RNA M E NTA L H E D GE S A N D SC REE N S .

Hedges and screens for o rn amen tal purposes alone d o ,

n ot co m e strictly wi thin the scope of this work but we ,

will briefl y menti o n a few de s irable plant s for the p u r

Fig l l 3 —B R
. . ANCH OF J P A AN 'UINC E . Fi g 1 14 — F R
. . UI AND FL OW ER
T .

pose The J apan '

. ui n ce Cyd on i a J ap on i ca of which
, ,

figure s 11 3 and 1 1 4 sh ow a branch flower an d fruit is

’

, ,

one of the best deciduous plants for an ornamental

hedge It will grow i n almost any soil ; if left to itself
.

it form s a d ense strong bush but i t may be clipped or

, ,

trained into any desired form Its leaves are of d ark .

glossy green they come early in s p ring an d remai n until

,

l ate i n A u tumn T h i s i s o ne of t he ear liest sh rub s to

,
 PO RTA B LE F EN C ES AN D H U RD L E S .
75

bl oom i n sp ri ng ; its flow e rs ar e ge ne r ally in te n se scarl et ,

though there are varieties with white rose -colored o r , ,

salmon -c ol ored flowers A hedge of thi s plant i s not .

only highly ornamen tal but its abun d an t th orns m ake ,

a good barri er P rivet Lig u s tr u m vu lga r e makes a

.
, ,

very neat s creen bu t will n ot bear severe cu ttin g back

, ,

and is therefore su i ta ble onl y for groun ds o f sufficient

extent to ad mit of its being allo wed to make u n r e
strained gro wth The com mon B arberry B er ber zs vu l
’

.
,

g a r i
, s also makes an excee di ngly pretty screen in time ,
'

but it is of slow growth The B uffalo B erry Skep er ch a .

,

a rgen tea has been tried for h edges but for some reason
, ,

it has never a ttained any pop ularity In the Sou thern .

States the C herokee Rose has been found quite success

,

ful for the purpose and n othing i n the shape of a hedge

,

can exceed in striking e ffect one of these in full bloom

, , .

F or evergreen screens n othing is better than the Hemlock ,

Ts uga Ca n a d en s i s The N orway Spruce is of rapid

.

growth and bears cutting well The A rbor V it ae Thuj a .

,

is also very successfully empl oyed f o r the

’

occi d en ta l zs ,

p u rp os e .

C H A PT E R V III .

R
PO TAB LE FE NCE S AND HU RDLES .

PO RTA B LE B OA RD F E N CE S .

Figure shows a very s trong and secu re board fence

1 18 ,

c o mposed entirely of ordinary fence boards The tri an .

gular frames which s erve as posts are each of two piec es

, ,

of inch boards crossed and br a ced as sh own in fi g ure 1 15

,
.

The panels figure 11 7 are sixteen fee t long each c o m

, , ,

os ed o f f o r bo ar d s , six i n ches wide The s p a ce betw een

p u .
76 FE N C E S ,
G A TE S AN D B RID GE S .

the lo wer two boar d s is two an d a half inches , s econ d ‘

space three an d a half inches A con v enient w a y of .

making the panels is to u se three hors es like that shown ,

in figure 1 1 6 the length of each being e q ual to the to ta l

,

F ig . Ha t -T E E P O STS .

width of th e panel an d the th ree short up r ight s trips

,

marking the res p e ctive spaces between the boards The .

top is c o vered with iron to clinch the n ails u sed i n put

ting the panel together The boards ar e laid on these .

horses an d the upright cross -pieces nailed o n The second

, .

board from the top of each panel is n otched at both e nds ,

a s s h o wn in figure 1 1 7 A good w ay to m ak e the tr i a n

.

Fi g 116
.
— “HORSE S
. FO R MAKING H
T E m an.

gu lar frames alike is to cut the pieces by a unifo rm p at

,

te rn Then make one frame of the size an d form de

.

sired and at e a ch of the three plac es where they are

,

nailed together fa sten a plate of iron thick enoug h to

, ,

pre vent the penetra tion of a common wrought n ail dri v e n

again s t it No w l ay this pattern fr a me o n the floo r wit h
.
 PO RTA B LE F E N C E S AND H U RD LES .
77

the ir o n bolt s upperm o st Then lay three piece s on t h is

.

i n exactly the right p o sition drive wrought nails through

, .

the tw o pieces and against the iron plates which will ,

clin ch the n ails firmly as fast as they are driven This .

will e n abl e t h e m an to nai l the fram e s to gether q ui te

F ig 1 1 7 — A
ANE L . . N
SI G E PL .

rapidl y In setting up the fence e ac h triangular fram e

.
,

supports the en ds of two panels The upper and l o wer .

boards of each panel i nterlock with the frame as show n ,

in figure 1 1 8 making a very strong fence On open

, .

prairie or other wind -swept situations it may be n ece s ,

s a r y to stake d o wn s ome of the frames t o preven t their ,

bl o wing o ver Thi s i s quic k ly d o n e by sh a rpeni n g pieces

.

Fi g . 1 18 .
—T EE FE NC E IN P O SITIO N .

of inc h boards t welve inches long a n d o n e inc h wi d e

.
, ,

and driving one beside the foot of the triangle where it ,

re sts on the ground and put ting an eig h t -pe nn y n ail

,

t hr o u gh b o th

PO RTA B LE FE N C E S O F PO LE S OR W IRE .

Fi gu res 1 1 9 and 1 2 0 show styles of portable fenc e s ,

w hi ch are u s ed to some extent In the terri to rie s The .

‘
 78 FE N C E S, G A TE S AND BR D
I GES .

base of e ach i s the h alf of a small log s plit thr o u gh ,

the center For the fence shown in figure 1 1 9 two

.
,

augu r holes are bored a few inches apart and small poles ,

driv en to s erve as posts R ails or roun d pole s of the

'

u sual len g th are laid to the desired height and the t o p ,

Fi g 119 — P O RT
. . AB LE PO EL F E NC E .

of the
po s t s tied together with wire In sit u ati o n s .

w h ere timber is less plentif ul a sin g le stake i s s et in to

,

the base as in figure 1 20 braced an d barbed or plain wir e

, , ,

a ttached by staple s B eside s the advan tage of being

.

Fi g 120— P O RT
. . AB L E W IRE FE N C E .

ea s ily moved these fen ces can be prepared in w i nter

, ,

when there is little else to d o an d rapidly set in place at

,

any time when the groun d is clear of sno w .

F igure 1 2 1 i s a fence made of either sawed stu ff or of ,

rail s or poles having thei r ends flattened and bored A n

, .

iron rod or piece of gas -pipe any wher e from half an

, ,

inc h to an inch in diameter is run thr o ugh the ho les

, ,

an d thr o u g h a base block int o the gr o un d as far a s n ec

 R
PO TA B E L FE N C ES AND H U RD LES . 79

essary A round stic k of tough d u rable wood an inch

.
,

or more i n d iameter will answer Th e size of this rod

, .

an d its s trength will depend upo n t h e am o unt o f zigzag

Fi g l 2 l — P ORT
. . AB LE FE NC E L
OF PO E S O R RAILS .

t ha t is given to the lengths If the c o rners are o ne f oo t

.

on each side of a central l ine the fen ce firmly held to ,

gether by the rods will in e ffect sta n d on a two feet wide

,

base Less than this would perhaps so me times an s wer

.
,

and there are no sharp corners or deep rece ss e s fo r ,

weeds an d rubbish .

PO RTA B LE F E N C E S FO R W IND B RE AK S .

A fence that can be easily moved and quickly set up is

shown in figure 1 2 2 It consists of panel s made o f s trips
.

F i g 122 —
. . PO RT AB L E FE N CE .
80 FE N C E S, G A TE S AND BRID GES .

eight or te n feet long n ailed to two by four p os t s w h ic h

, ,

are beveled to a sharp corner at the lower en d These .

panels are supporte d by pos ts placed as shown in the e n

,

grav ing an d pinned to the fence posts by wooden pins

, ,

driven in by a light mallet The panels are light and

.

c a n be loaded upon a wagon from wh ic h the sides and

ends of the box are rem o ve d A box of pins an d the .

mallet are all the tools re q uire d to set up the fence This .

fence is n o t easily overthrown by the wind which h old s ,

it down firmly when blowing on the face of it F or this .

reas on in wi n d y localitie s the fence s houl d be s et facing

,

the windy q ua r ter .

An otlier g o od form of movable fence is seen in fi g

ur e 1 23 . I is
t m a de of common f e nc e -b o ar d s , s e cu r ely

nailed o n v e ry ligh t po s ts or on th e edg e of narrow boards

and braced a s s hown in th e en graving This style of .

panel is largel y employed by railroads as windbreaks l l ‘

winter to keep t h e tracks from becoming covered with

drif te d snow It is e q ually convenient on the far m whe n
.
,

a te mp o rar y inclosu re i s needed .

PO RT A B LE PO U LTRY FE N C ES .

It i s o ften very convenien t when poultry ar e inclo s ed

du ring t h e growing season to ha v e a fence for the hen
,

yard w h ich can be readily m oved from place to p l a ce .

The illustrati o n F igu re 1 2 4 shows one of these C u t

, , .

the po s ts the s ame length as the pickets and to the i nner ,

82 FE NCES , G TES AND BR
A I GES. D

fenc e Suc h a fence is sh own in figu re 1 2 5; on p re ced in g

.

p age It is made in tw el ve or sixteen feet sec tion s by

.
‘

nailin g laths to light pieces of the proper length The .

uppe r en d o f the laths i s sharpened the en d o nes ar e of

Fig 126 — C ROS S-SE C TION

. . OF M OVAB LE F E NCE .

d o uble thickness The section s are placed wit h the en d

.

'

la ths i n tercrossing at the top and about s i x i n c he s apart

,

a t the bottom as in cross -section figure 1 2 6

, They are , .

held apart by block s; figu re 1 2 7 which rest on the upper ,

ed ge s of the cr o ss -piece s a n d against

th e lath s They .

ar e held together an d t o the ground by stake s drive n

, ,

against the outer s ide of the en d laths A s these stakes .

have the same angle as the laths the y hold the s ections ,

together and also the fence i n its pl a ce and down to the

,

ground The triangular s pace where t h e s ecti on s j o in i s

.

Fi g 1 2 7 — C E O SS—
. . E LO C K FO R FE N CE .

closed by a lath driven in the groun d or tacked to the

block between the cross -pieces C orners mu s t be formed .

of two sections inclined inward and in the sam e way ,

th at s ections ar e j oined Th e stakes are readi ly with

.
 PO RTA B LE FE N CE S AND H U RDLE S 83
’

drawn an d the s ecti on s

, are so lig h t that t hey ar e ea s il y
han dled .

PO RTA B LE FO L D IN G F E N CE .

A very convenient form of portabl e fence o r h u rdl e i s

illu s trate d in figure s 1 2 8 1 2 9 and 1 30 w h ic h was
, ,

Fi g 128
. .
—
FE N CE IN P O SITIO N .

Fi g 129 — FE N C E
. . F O LD E D .

Fi g 130 — As
. . A SD I E H ILL F E NC E .

br o ugh t ou t some fi ve or six years ago It may be .

c o nstru cted with tw o or three u prigh t piec es o f two

84 FEN C ES ,
G A TES AND B RID GE S .

by-four-inc h scantling, and fo u r bar s, figu re 128, h el d

tog ether by carriage b o lts i n s uch a man ner, t h at e ach
panel can be closed when desired , as a parallel ru ler
is folde d together A s the bar s are on altern ate sid es ,
.

t h e panel when closed takes up the space of two

, ,

bars only figure 1 2 9 The fence may easily be r e

, .

mov ed an d fit s it s elf to rolling ground or side -hill as

, ,

shown in figu re 1 3 0 When i n position it may be sup

.

ported by stakes of the same thickne ss a s t h e upright

bars and dri ve n cl os e b eside t h em
, .

TE M PO RA RY W IRE AN D I RON F E N CES .

Several Ends
of wi re and iron fence s are used in
F rance to make temporary enclosures for exh i b i tion pur
p o se s Two form s are illu s trated herewi th F igure 1 3 1
. .

F i g l 31
. .
-
’1‘E MP O B AB Y W IRE F E N CE .

i s made o f plain iron wire with cast or wrought iron posts .

E ach pos t h as a plate on i ts lower end whic h is set ,

e ighteen inches below the s urface of the groun d and the ,

e ar th fille d in compactly about i t The fron t of the e u .

graving shows the holes in section wi th the plates The , .

top stra n d i s a wire rope made by twisting several s trands

t ogeth er The fen ce se en at figu re 1 32 is mad e of nar row
.
 FE N C E S FO R STRE AM S AND G U LLI ES . 85

s trip s o f shee t iron attached to iron p os ts driven into th e

ground The gate like that of the other form is pro
.
, ,

v i d e d with small wheels which run on a tr a ck

, The two .

fences may be modified by using wooden posts sharpened

Fi g 132 — TE
. MP O RARY RON F E NC E
I .

at the lo wer end and driven into the ground then fas
, ,

tening to them with suitable staples strips of rat h er

br o ad hoop iron at the top with plai n wi re bel o w
, .

C H A PTER I' .

FENCE S FO RSTRE AMS AND GULLIES .

F LOO D FE N C E S .

In a situati o n where a line of fence cr oss e s a s tream or

a gully liable to be flooded it is necessary to make special
,

provision for it A fence extending down near the sur

.

face and s uffi ciently rigi d to withstand the current ,

woul d arrest the drift wood and o ther objects floated

down o n the flood an d soon become a dam The right
,
.

kind of a fence must th erefore yi eld to the force

of the floo d an d renew its positi o n , o r be eas ily r e
,
86 FEN CE S , G TESA AND B RI DGES .

p lace d af te r it h as subsid ed F igure 133

. i s a very e f
fec tu al flood -gate for a running stream The p os ts B B .
, , ,

ar e firml y set on the bank and a stick of timbe r A mor

, , ,

Fig 1 33
. .
—STE ONG FLOO D-GATE .

ti se d on the to p of them The three upright s (7 0 0

.
, , , ,

are hi nged to the cross -timber and the board s E fas, ,

-

te ned in place by tenpenny st eel fence n ails The gate .

ea s ily swi n g s with the cu rren t D F igure 1 3 4 shows a

, .

fo rm which ope rate s in a similar manner li k e the o th e r .

Itc on si s ts of two sto ut po s ts five feet hi gh

, a ,

heavy cross -bar roun d ed at e a ch end an d fitte d in to

, ,
 FEN C E S FO R ST RE A M S AND -
G U LL IE S . 7

s ockets in w h ich the bar wit h ga te attach ed ca n s wing

,
-
.

The c o n s truction of t h e gate is easily seen fr om the

engraving .

The above forms are s elf-acting and s wing back to ,

their plac es as the wa te r subsides F or larger streams .

,

it is nece s sary to construct fences that give way before

the flood an d can be brought into position again when it
,

is over On e of these for a stream which i s li able to

.
,

bring down muc h drift wood is Sho w n in figure 1 35 ,

.

Fig 135 — FE C E
. . N FO R A F O RE ST ST RE AM .

The logs are the trunks of Straight trees ab o ut eigh te en ,

inches in diameter which are hewed on two sides posts

,

are morti s ed in each of these logs an d on them planks ,

are firmly n ailed The log s are then linked together

.

with inch iron rods an d the fi rs t one connected by mean s

,

of a long link to a tree or post firmly set in the groun d

upon the bank s of the stream The links must all work .

freely When high water occurs the fence is was hed

.
,

around and left on the bank ; af ter the wate r has sub
sided s u ffi c ien tl y the logs may be dra gged b a ck to t h eir
,

pl aces as sh own in the en gr a ving b y m ea ns o f a ho r se

, , ,
88 FE N CE S ,
G A TE S A ND B R
ID GE S .

h i tc hed to a staple in the end of the log Fi gu re 1 3 6 .

s hows a lighte r fen c e made of poles or ra i ls held by i n ,

te r l i u ki n g staples to the posts on the side of the stream ,

.

As the fl o ods come down the rails are washed fro m the
,

Fig 1 36 — F E CE
. . N OF MOVABLE RAIL S .

cente r an d float freely at either side of the stre am They

, .

can be laid up in pl ac e ag ain when the water subsides .

The fen ce shown in fi gu re 13 7 though rather rude and ,

primiti v e has the ad v antage of being cheaply con

,

s tructe d an d permanent Two str ong posts are d riven in to

.

the banks on the marg in of the s tream to which a log , ,

a foot o r more in diame te r is fa s tened by pins spikes or

, ,

withes about tw en ty inc h e s above l o w water mark Then

, .

Fig 137 — AN
. . E 'TE MPO RISE D FLO O D-FE N CE .

fence r ail s are sharpened at on e en d dr i ven into t h e ,

s tream above the l og upon w hi c h the other ends rest

, ,

proj ec ting about a foot They are then s ecurely spiked

.

p r pinned to the log an d the w ork i s d o ne

, The point ed .
90 FEN C ES , G AT ES AND BR
I DGES .

s uffi ciently to di sen g age the n otches th e gate wi ll be

_
y .

moved by th e force o f the wate r an d if s ti cks or rubbish ,

of any kind float down agai ns t it they will be swept

u n der i t by the wate r W hen t h e wate r s u bsides the
.
,

paddl e swings bac k the pi e ce s 0 c catc h an d k eep the

, , ,

gate clos ed at any height it m a y fall to Le t th e cros s .

piece d fi t is halved into the p os ts be about one fo ot

, , ,

abo v e the ban k s of the ditch The pi ec es f f f f, r ep re

.
,

se nt the fence abo ve the di tch the s mall p o s ts 9 g wi th

, , ,

the p i eces nailed to th em are to preven t t h e s tock from

,

passing when the gate is partly cl ose d at the same tim e ,

brac in g the posts a e; the h ole s at h a re t o raise an d

,

lower the paddle a ; if small a cleat on one of the arms ,

u po n w hich the piec e B is hung prevent s the paddle ,

from s winging to wards the gate

Figure 13 9 shows a kind of fence us e d i n Miss o u ri
.

to pu t a cr o ss It is in e ffect tw o p an els of

Fi g l 39 — A
. . M ISSO URI FLO O D-F E N C E .

porta ble fence The posts are set thr ee to four f ee t

.

dee p with the tops about one foot above ground th e

,

oth er p os ts
,
to w hich the pla n ks are n ai l ed, ar e bol ted .
 F EN C E S ,
F O_ R STREA M S AND G U LLIE S . 91

to th e t o p o f the ins e r te d po sts The en d s o f the p an el .

that con nect with the post on the b an k ar e slightly nailed

with cross -strips near the top so as to be easily broke n ,

loose when the flood comes The re are also temporary .

braces bearing upstream put i n t o prevent the fence ,

from falling but are easily washed out when th e fence

, ,

fal l s down stream an d logs an d other obstructions pass

,

by readi ly A s soon as the flood goes down the fence is

.
,

eas ily raised a pan el at a time to a proper place

, , .

F igure 1 40 sho w s a cheap and e ffective form of flood

fence The material u s ed ar e sq uare -hewn timbers s e ve n
.
,

Fi g 1 40 — F E E SRE T
. . FEN C E .

or eigh t in che s for Sills stone pillars split rail s a bo u t ten

, ,

feet l o ng The rails are dri ven in the groun d about two
.

feet deep ; the u pper ends project above the sil l two or
three feet an d are Spiked down to the s ill with large
,

spikes when the fr eshet comes logs and drift-wood ar e ,

carried over an d the fence wi ll be lef t in as good order

,

as before the high water .

Fi gure 1 41 represent s a gulch fence or gate whi ch i s

in c o mmon u se i n some parts of the P a cific Sl o pe It .

Fi g 141
. .
—C ALIF ORNI A GUL C R FE N CE .

adapted t o the gulches o f the foo t h ill s

is p a r ti c ul ar l y
an d the irrigating ditches of the pl a in s The w h ole .
92 FE N C E S , G A TE S R
AND B I D GE S
'

ga te sw i ngs fr eely by the upper pole , the

rest in l arge h oles in p os ts on either bank
o f s take s The upright piece s may be
.

or sawed lumber as may be the most

,

the stream is likely to car r y floatin g brush logs e tc the , ,

slats should be of heavier materi al than is necessary w he n

this is not the case When construc ted properly the ga te
.

wi ll give allowing rubbish a n d freshets to pas s and then

, ,

r e s u me i ts prope r position The p rincipal advantag e

.

clai med for this gate is that it i s not apt to ga ther the
p assing debri s .

A gu l ly i s someti mes di fficult to fence p roperly but ,

b y ha n ging a fr ame over it as is s ee n in figure ,

Fig 142 —~FE N C E

. . FO RA D RY w a r .

th e o bj ec t may be q uickl y accompli s h ed The fra m e can . e

be spiked together in a short ti me , or framed toget h er if

a more elaborate one is desired To make it se rve i ts .

purpose complete ly the rails must be closer together

,

near the bottom than at the to p of the frame in order to ,

prevent small animals from going thr o ugh it .

A m odification of this las t named device s een at fi g ,

u r e 1 43 gives greater Space for the passa ge of b r us h wo od

,

or other large objects which may be swept down on the

,

flood The wid th strength and Size of the b as es sup

.
,
s

portin g the Side posts and of the braces w i ll depend

, ,

up on the width an d dep t h o f the ch a nnel The W e .

 FE N CE S FO R ST R
EA M S AND G U LLIE S . 93

p iec e s can b e firmly anc h ored by s take s driven s lantin g

o ve r the ends an d outsides , or by stone s piled on : For

wide s hallow s tr eams three or even more braced u p
, ,

right s can be anchored eight or ten feet apart in the bed

with heavy s ton es with two or m o re s winging s ection s
\ , .

Fig 143 — A
. . FRESHE T F E N C E .

If s mall trees or long timbers are likely t o fl o at d o wn ,

the swinging gate may be t w elve or fifteen feet wi d e .

F or smaller strea m s wit h strong hig h ban ks fi ve or six

, ,

feet wil l s uffic e .

P O RTA B LE TI D E F E N CE .

F igure represents a fence for tide -creek s It i s

1 44 .

made u sually of pine t h e larger pieces th os e which lie

, ,

Fig 144 — SE C TIO N

. . OF A D
TI E F E NC E .
94 FE N C E S, GATES AND B RID GES .

o n the ground an d parallel with the run of th e fence ,

are three by four -inch pieces hemlock o r pine an d con , ,

n e c ted by three cross -bars of thr ee by four-inch pieces

, ,

mortised i n thre e fee t apart Into the mi ddle of these .

three cross -piece s t h e upright or p o st s are securely

,

mortised while two common boards are n ailed under

,

neath the long pieces t o afford a better rest for the s tr ue

,

ture w h en floating on the water or resting o n the ground

, .

B arbed o r plain w ire s are s tretched al o ng the p o s ts ,

w hi c h ar e f o ur feet h i g h .

W ATE RIN G P LA C E IN A C REEK .

C attle atura lly s elect a certain pl a ce i n a wat er-c ou rse

n

to drink at where the b a nk is n ot precipi tous During

,
.

a g oo d p ar t o f the year thi s bank i s muddy on a cc o un t ,

Fi g 145
. .
-A C LEAN W AT E RING P LA CE .

of i ts moisture an d trampling of the animal s A s a r e .

sult the horses get the scratches the cows come to the
, ,

milking pen with muddy u dders an d frequently animal s ,

are inj ured by the crowding in the mud Hogs are often .

seriously inj ured because the mud becomes so deep and

,

tough that they are well nigh helpless in it A nother

, .

o bj ection is that the ani m al s wade to the middle of t h e

creek and soon make its bottom as muddy as t h e bank
, ,

an d the wate r becomes unfit for drinkin g The arrange .

ment sh own in our illu stration which may be built o f ,

h eavy pla n k brick or flat s tones preven t s all this It

, , , .
 IAEI NG AN D SETTIN G
A POSTS . 95

i s c o n s tru cted by first maki ng an incline t o a level plat

form for the animals t o s tan d on wh ile drin king This .

p l an e te rminate s in an abrupt de sce nt forming a trough ,

for the wate r to flow through The trough should n ot .

be more than two feet wide that the animals may easily
,

get acr oss it The level floor permits the a n i ni al s to

.

drink at their ease ofte n a matter o f importance Suc h

, .

a drinking place should be mad e at the upper e n d o f the

cree k w h ere it passes through a field t o prevent the ani
,

m al s from s o ili n g the wate r by s ta n di n g in it a bo ve w h ere

th ey dri n k .

C HA PTE R ' .

MAKING AND SETTING PO STS .

M A K IN G FE N C E P O STS .

Th e re i s quite an art in splitting log s int o post s .

E very post s hould have som e heart wood which las ts th e ,

longer for t wo reas on s : That there may be durable

,

w oo d in to which to drive the nails an d w ithout it som e ,

of the p os ts com p os ed entirely of s ap -wo o d will rot

,
'

off long bef o re o thers making the most annoying of

‘

all repairing necessary If the log i s of a size to make

.

t welve po s ts s pli t along t h e lines o f figure 1 46 which will

, ,

gi v e each post a share of hear t wood This wi ll make a .

cross section of the posts triangular the curved ba s e be ,

ing s omewh at more than half of either side This is a .

fairly well shaped post an d much better than a square one

,

having little or n o heart wood A lthough the log may .

be large enough to make sixteen or ei g h te en posts it is ,

better to sp l it it the same way It should firs t be cut

.

into h alve s then quarters then tw elfths If it is a t

, , .
96 FE N C E S, G TE S A AND B RID GES .

te mpt e d to Split one p o s t off th e side of a h alf th e wood ,

“ '
wi ll d r aw ou t m aking the po st larger at one end th an
,

the other— not a good s hape for there wil l be little heart
,

w oo d at the smal l end When th e log is too large to a d

.

mit of i t being s pli t in that w ay e ach p ost may never ,

th el es s be gi ven enough heart w o od by splitting along the

l ines , sh own in figure 1 47 . Fi rs t cut the l o gs into halves ,

then quar te rs then eigh ths Then split o ff t he edge of

, .

e ach eighth enough for a pos t— about on e-fourth only

,

of the wood as it i s all heart wood an d then hal ve the

, ,

balance A good po st can be ta ken off the edge and yet

. ,

en o ugh h eart w oo d f o r th e remaining tw o p os t s rem ain .

A
'
PO ST H O LDE R .

A simple arrangem ent for holdi n g a pos t wh ile it 1 s

bei n g b o red or mortised i s sh o wn in figu re 1 48
,
It con .

F ig 1 48 —A
. . P O ST H OLD ER .

So f tw o lon g pieces of ro u nd or s q uare timber l ying

si s t ,

parallel up o n the ground and two shorter stic ks r estin g

,
98 FE N C E S ,
G A TE S A ND B RID GES .

dr iv e n Wh en one po s t i s driven to its place the wa g o n

. ,

i s moved to the next place an d this ope ration repeate d , .

To dr ive posts a wooden maul should be used This

,
.

i s made of a section of an elm trunk or branch e ig h t or

‘

nine inches i n d iame te r fi gure 1 50 A n iron ring i s driven

, .

on each end an d wedged all around the wood at the

, ,

edge being beaten down over the rings with a hammer or

the poll of an axe To prevent the posts from splitting
.

or being battered too much th e ends of the maul ,

s ho u ld be ho ll o wed a li ttle an d ne ve r r o un de d o ut and

, ,

Fi g l 5o — M AUL
. . FO R D RIVING POSTS .

th e end s o f the p o s ts Should be be veled all a ro u nd Th e .

h ole in the maul for th e handl e sho uld be m a de large r

on one side and lengthwise of t h e maul an d the ha n
, ,

dle spre a d b y tw o wedge s driven i n s uc h a way a s not

t o s pli t t h e m a ul .

TO D RIV E P O STS W ITH OUT SP L ITTI N G .

P os ts are very liable to split in dri vi ng unles s s ome ,

prec aution is u sed This damage and loss can be avoided

.

in a great measur e by prope r preparation of the posts be

fore they are d riven The to ps of sawed p osts should
.

have the Sides cu t off as in figur e 1 51 or simply cut off

, ,

each corner as in figure 1 53 while a round post should

, ,

be shape d as in figu re 1 52 The part of the p ost r e .

m oved n ee d n ot be more than half a n i n c h in thi cknes s

‘

but when the corners only are cut away the chip should ,

be thicker In drivi ng it is very importan t to s trike the

.
,

p o st s q u arely on the top and not at one corner or ,

 MAKIN G AND SETTIN G PO STS . 99

sid e. m o st soils at the N orth the fro s t s heave post s

In ,

m o re or less each se a s on an d they need to be drive n

,

down to the usu al depth To do this with little i n .

j ury to the post the devi ce Shown in figure 154 may

,

Fi g 153
. .

be u e s d . It i s a pi ece
o f t o ugh hard wood s cantling e , ,

e ighteen inche s in length wit h tapering en ds It is

, .

pro v ided w it h a h andle h thre e feet i n length of quit e

, , ,

s mall size an d if possi ble of green timber In us ing it

, , .
,

let on e person ( a b o y will do ) lay the bit of scantling on

top of the p os t t o be r e-driven when with the beetl e or , ,

Fig 1 54 — SC
. . AN L NG
T I w rm HAND LE IN PO SITI O N .

sledge th e scan tling instead of the post i s struck thu s

, , ,

preventing the Splitting of th e post When the top of a .

fence is s urmounted by a stringer as in the engravi n g , ,

the e ffect of the blow is d istributed over a large space ,

1 00 FE N C E S, GA TE S AND B RID GES .

and both s tringer an d post escape inj ury The attend .

ant should keep h old of the handle h while th e posts , ,

are being driven an d move the scantling from po s t to

,

po s t as required .

A P OW E RFU L PO ST D RIV E R .

F or a farmer w h o has a large n umber o f po s t s t o s et a ,

Special apparatu s for dr iving th e m will b e f o un d u s eful .

Fig 155 . . HE
-
T P O ST-DRIVER .

The accompanying illustrations show a machine of this

kind A n axle a figu re 1 55 of hard woo d eight an d
.
, , , ,

one -half fee t lon g ; a hickory sapling will do It has .

spindles Shaved to fit the hind wheels of a wagon which ,

are fasten ed by li nch -pins lea v ing about six feet space be
,

tween the hub s A coupling-pole b thirtee n feet long

.
, , ,
1 02 FE N CE S ,
G ATE S A ND B RID GE S .

recti o ns The m an ] r fi gure 157 of t ough oak fourtee n

.
, , , ,

by eighteen inches by two feet long weighs abou t two

, ,

h undred poun ds i s grooved to fit smoothly between the

,

uides the fo l lower s i s more plainly shown in the e n

g , ,

graving also the simple latch by which the follower and

, ,

m aul are connected and disconnected The square e lev .

is t i s of three -q u arte r iric h iron suspended from the

, , ,

Fig 1 57
. .
—TOP OF UPRIGHT .

same iron pin u o n which the pulley v i s placed It

, , , , .

is partly imbedded in the wooden casing w which i s , ,

eight by eighte en inches ; this casing serves to inclo se

the pulley v and also to trip the latch when brought to
, ,

gether ; the clevis t is caught under the hook fastened

, ,

in the maul i s pre s sed into place by a small hick o ry

,

spring y acting on a s mall iron pin z when it re ache s

, , ,

the top the crotch 1 suspended from the top come s

, , , ,

i n contact wit h the p in , 2 , an d the clevi s, t, is p re ss ed ,

 M A K IN G AND SETTI N G P OSTS . . . 1 03

back, an d relea ses the b ook 93 when th e maul drops , , .

The W indlass 3 figu re 1 55 has two crank s and a

, , , ,

ratchet for convenience The rope passes from the win d

.

lass over the pulley a t the top down an d under the pul ,

ley c then u p and is fasten ed at 7 on the cap j

, , , , , ,

wire braces at 8 By releasing the cranks an d ratchet

.
,

the follower will ru n down the guides and stri king the , ,

m aul will
“ '
click the latch into place ready for a n
, ,

other hoist F or two men it is easy work an d can be

.
,

handled q uite rapidly Dri v e astride the proposed line

.

of fence lay a measuring-pole on the ground to mark

th e s pot for the next post drive forward with the post
driver having the maul partly raised s et up a p os t an d
, , ,

pr o ceed to drive it .

SETTI NG A GA TE PO ST .

No m atte r h o w strong or how wel l braced a gate m ay

be it will s oon begin t o s ag an d catc h on the gr o und if
, ,

Fig 158 — A
. . G A TE P O ST SE T IN CE ME N T .

t h e gate post is not firmly plan ted Sometimes owing .

,

to the so ft n ature of the ground , it i s alm o st impo ss ibl e

104 FE N C E S ,
G A TE S AN D B RI D GE S .

to plant the p ost fi rmly but in such case s the w o r k can ,

generall y be done satisfactorily by packing medium -sized

stones around the post in the hole as shown in figu re , ,

1 58 If it i s thought tha t this will not insure s u fli

.

cient fi rmness add g ood cement P lace in a layer of

, .

stones then cement enough to imbed the n ext layer of

,

s tones and so on un til the hole is full and the post

, ,

planted Do not cover up the stones with earth or dis

.

'
turb the post for a few da ys until the cement has set , .

Remembe r that the po s t must be set plumb while the

work is going on as it can n ever be straigh te ned a fter
,

the cemen t has set “ O nly durable posts should be

.

u sed an d thi s method of setting should only be followed

,

with g ate p osts which are supposed to be permanent and ,

not wi th posts liable to be c h anged .

A still better method is shown i n figure 1 59 B efore .

th e p o st is se t into t h e hole a flat st o ne i s laid e dgewise ,

Fi g 159
. .
—GATE PO ST B RA C E D W ITH STO NES .

in t h e bottom on the side which is to receive the

,

e s t pre s sure from the foot of the post When the post is .

set an d the hole half filled with earth a second stone is

, ,

placed again s t the p o st on the side to which it wi l l be

dr awn by the weight of the gate The stones rece i ve
‘
.

the pre s sure an d h old the post firmly in positi o n .

1 06 FE NC ES
,
G A TES AN D B RID GE S .

treeles s re gi o ns of the Mississ ippi V alley where it i s di f

,

fi c ul t to O btain timber for posts it is n ot an unusual prae

,

tice to plan t trees for the purpose on street boundaries ,

an d other places where the fence is to be perman ent .

White willow is wel l ad apte d for the purpose on suitable

soil s a s it g rows rapidly and bears close pruning
,. In .

situations where the s oil is even moderately damp white ,

willow p o sts four inche s in diameter cut green an d set

, ,

Fig 162
. .

i n spri ng will take root and grow The new branche s

, .

soon form a bu shy he a d w h ich m ay be cu t back from

,

time to time It is n ot advisable to n ail boards or drive

.

staples di rectly into the tree With a board fence the

.
,

swaying of the tree loosens the nails and if barbed wire,

i s sta ple d to the tree the bark and wood will in time
,

grow over them as in figu re 1 61 To obviate this a

.
,

sti ck is n ailed to t h e tree as in figure 1 62 an d to this the,

fen ce i s attac h ed A still b ette r m eth od i s to s ecu r e the

.
 MA KI N G AND SETTI NG P O STS . 1 07

strip of w o od to the tree by tw o or t h ree pairs o f inter

locking staple s .

ME ND IN G A L
SP IT P O ST .

F ence p osts sp lit fr om a variety of causes and when ,

t h ey are in this c o nditi o n they make a very in s ecure

Fig 163 — ME N
. . D NG A
I SP LIT POST .

fenc e T h e u s ual way i s to merely nail an o ld ho rse sh oe

.

or two across the split part j ust belo w the holes in the
,

posts Thi s answers fairly well but does not draw the
.
,

cleft together an d horseshoes are n ot always on hand

, .

A bette r method o f doin g this is shown in figure

1 63. A s hort s tout chain is put aroun d the top of the
,

post j ust tight enough to admit of a strong leve r The

,
.

parts of the po s ts are then brought tog ether by a heavy

downward pressu re of the le v er and held there while a ,

strip of good tin such as can be cut from the bodies of

,

ti n cans , is p u t arou n d and s ecurel y nail ed If the p o s t . _

 FE N C E S ,
G A TE S AND ’

B RI D GE S .

is a h eavy on e and the cleft large it is well to take t h e ,

entire body of a can an d double it to give it additional ,

strength before nailing it on The dotted lines s how .

where the tin is nailed .

H OO K FO R W I RI N G P O STS .

F igure 164 shows

a modified c a nt-hook for d rawing to
gether the upper extr em e ti es of fence stakes that are t o be

164 — A S T K E
. A DRAW E R USE D IN W IRIN G F E NCE S
.

wired as in the engraving The half moon shaped iron

, .
-
,

a is ri vete d fast to th e top end of the lever and is to pre

, ,

vent the en d of the lever from slipping o ff the s take when

i n use Th e second iron from the top 6 is twenty -fi ve
.
, ,

inches long with two hooks at the en d though one W ill

, ,

do this is to catch the stake on the O pposite side of the

fen ce T his iron is fas ten ed i n the l ever by a b ol t in a
.
110 FE N C E S, G A TES A N D BRID G ES .

quickly and easily by this method A good ste ad y tea m.

of horses will do q uite as well as oxen .

LIFTIN G PO STS B Y H AND .

convenien t an d s ensible imple m ent for t a king up

A ,

fence posts W it h ou t the ai d of a team i s shown at figur e,

1 66 It con s is ts of a sto ut pole of the s ize an d

.

Fi g 166 — A
. . CO NVE NIE NT PO ST LIFTE R .

a wagon to ngue The thicker part of this po le fo r about

.
,

fifteen in ches from the end is Shape d into a wedge

, .

Th is is sheathed with a fr ame made of iron half an inch ,

thick and two and a half inche s wi de an d securely fast ,

ened with scre ws or bolts The en d should be pointed

.

and slightly bent upwards The manner of using t h is

.

co nv e nient implement is sho wn in the illustration .

F re quen tly a farmer has occasion to lift po sts and has ,

n o t time to wait for the con s truction of an iron -shod lev

er Figure 1 6 7 sh ows a v ery simple in expen sive con

.
,

tr i va n ce for such cas es A spadeful of earth is take n

.

fr om each side of the post an d a Short strong chain

, ,

l oos el y fa s te ned around the lower en d of th e post a s fa r ,

 M A KIN GAND SETT ING PO STS . 11 1

down a s i t can be placed A strong lever— a s tout rail

.

will answer the pu rpose—T i s pass ed through the chain as ,

shown in the engraving until the en d of the rail catches

,

firm soil By lifting at the other end of the lever the

.

p o st is raised s everal inches w h en bot h c h ain an d lever

,

are pu s hed d o wn again fo r a s e co nd ho ld whic h general ,

Fig 167 . .
— LIF TIN G A PO ST.

ly b r ings the p o st o ut Th e c h ain is furnis h ed

. a
stout ho o k at one end m ad e to fit the links so t h at it
, ,

can be q u ic kl y ad j u s te d t o any o rdi nary po s t .

P LICIN G FE N C E PO STS
S .

There a re pl ace s as cross in g o ver gullie s etc where

, , .
,

u nusuall y long p os t s ar e desirable though n ot always ,

easy to obta in In suc h cas e s properly spliced posts

.

are alm os t as dur able as entire ones The engravin g Of .

the fro n t and side view s figure 1 6 8 show s how the

, ,

Splice may be m a de to s ecure strength an d durability .

The spli c es sh o uld be made with a shoulder at the lowe r

112 F E N C ES ,
GA TES AN D B RID GES .

end and wel l n ailed together afte r w h ic h on e o r two

'

, ,

ban ds of hoop -iron may be p as se d around the sp li ce and

s ecurely fas te ned The hoop -ir o n ban d i s on e

. of

mo s t impor tant poin ts in a splice o f t hi s kin d .

APP LIC ATI ON OF W OOD P RESE RV A TIVE S .

To pr event d ecay at t h e cen te r as well as of all th at

,

part of the post pl a ced be low gr oun d by use of wood ,

preserving solutions the follo wing sys te m is both no v el

,

and valu able It i s to h ave a hole in the cen ter of the

post fr om the bottom upw ar d to a point that sh all be
, ,

abo ve the groun d when t h e p o st is in p osition Then .

bore another hole in the side of the post with a slight i n

c l in a ti on do w nward ,making an opening in the center
hole as shown in fi g ure 1 69
,
A wooden plug two
.
,

or three inches long should be dri v en snugl y into the

,

hole at the bot tom of the post i n order to prevent the

.

escape of any liquid that m ay be used in the operation .

When th e p o s ts a r e se t in a n u p r ig ht p os i ti on a pr ese r v
‘ ,
1 14 FE N CE S , G ATES AN D B RID GES .

an d porou s wood it is q ui te probabl e that a hole b o r ed in

the side of the post and above the grou n d an d deep ,

enough to hold a half pint or more of cre oso te or some

other similar solution would answer bu t a ce ntral ca v
, ,

ity reaching to the b o t to m would perhap s be be s t

, , .

I RON F E N CE PO STS .

The a dvent o f wire fence s w as followed by a c all for

pos t s in the prairie regi o n s , w h ere timber is scar ce Sev .

Fig 171 — DISC

. , .

eral forms of iron p o sts h ave be en devised of which the ,

leadi n g o nes are illu s trated herewith Figure 1 70 is of .

iron one quarter of an inch thick and two and a h alf

,

inch es wide rolled to a cu rve an d pierced at the proper

,

in terval s for the staples which are to be clinched on the

,

conca v e Sid e The disc fi g ure 1 71 is s w e d g e d out of one

.
, ,

fourth inch iron It is sunke n a li ttl e below the g round

.
,

an d the post dri ven through the curved o p e n i hg i nto ,

 M A KING AND SETT IN G PO STS
_

Whi ch it fits closely Fi gure

a flat iron bar with
. 1 72 is ,

slots cut diag on ally into one side to receive the W i re .

The post i s supported by two til es n ith hole s to fit the

post which is thrust through them
, .

F igure 1 73 is made of angle iron braced at the su rfac e

Of th e grou nd with an angular i ron plate rolled for the
,

purpose an d driven to it s pl a ce Figur e 1 74 sho ws an

, .

172 — PO ST W ITH L
TI ES .

iron post with the ground -piece an d d rivi ng tube to the

,

left of it The post is a roun d irori bar or tube w ith

.
,

notches for th e wires which are held in place with short

,

pieces of bindin g-wire woun d around the post The

, .

groun d piece w hich is shown i n the middle of the e n

,

graving is of cast iron eleven in ches long and fi v e inches

, , ,

across the top with two loop s for inserting the i ron post
i
, .

This is driven into the ground and the iron post dri ven ,

through it A t the left of the engraving i s shown the

.

device for driving the post It is a piece of common .

gas -pipe j ust large enough to Sl ip easily over the top of

,

th e post and pro vided on the top wit h an iron cap to

,

receive the blow of the large hammer or maul used in

dri v ing F igure 1 75 shows a cast iron grou n d piece an d
.
,

at th e right i s the lower end of a post resting in o ne o f

1 16 F E NC E S ,
GA TE S AN D B RID GE S .

them The three flan g SS are cast i n on e s olid piece

'

.
,

with a hole through the centre of any desir ed form a n d

F i g 1 74 — P O ST W ITH
. . I RO N GRO UND P IE C E .

size Th e wings or flanges are three inch plates running

.
,

to sharp edg es on the bottom so that they can easily be,

driven in t o the ground They may be of any desired

.

s ize larger sizes being re q uired for a light yielding soil

,

Fig 1 75 — C
. . AS T-I RON G RO UND-P IE CE .

than for a sti ff one F igure 1 7 6 i s an iron post on a

.

wooden base for situations where the ground is sof t and

,

wet The base is preferably of cedar th ree to four feet

.
,

long four inches thick and four to s ix inches wi d e It

, , .
118 FE N C E S ,
G A TE S AND B RI D GE S .

thic k paint before it is placed in its mortise F asten the .

brace to the cro s s -piece with small bolts or wrought nails

well clinched Mortise the ends of the boards into the
.

end posts an d secure them in pl a ce with wooden pins

,

wedged at both ends or iron bolts The best a re m a de

, .
'

of pine fence -boards six inches wide the ends s hould be

Fi g 1 77
. .

four by t wenty -four inch s cantling although the one at ,

the latch may be ligh ter F ive cross pieces are enough
.
-
.

The lighter t h e gate in proportion to strength the better ,

i t is.There i s but one right way to brace a gate and ,

many wr ong ones The object of bracing i s to strengthen

.

the gate an d also to prevent its s agging Gates sag in

,
.

tw o way s by the m oving to the one side of the post s

F ig 1 80
. .

up o n which the gate s are h ung and the s ettling of the ,

gates themselve s U nles s braced the only thing to hold

.

the ga te square is th e perfect ri g idity of the tenons in the

morti s es ; but the weight of the gate will loo s en these
'
,

an d allow the en d of the gate opposite the hin g e s to sag .

It is plain th at a brace placed like th at shown in fig u re 1 7 7

w ill n ot prevent t h is settling do w n The only Oppo sition .

i t can give i s the re s i s tance of the nail s an d the se will ,

 G ATES AND F A STE N I N GS
. 11 9

draw lo o se in the h oles as re a dily as t h e ten o n s in the

mortises A brac e set as s hown at fi g u re 1 78 i s not mu ch
.

better as the resistance mus t depen d upo n the rigidi ty

,

of the upright pi ece in the middle and the bolts or nails

,

h olding it will give way enoug h to all o w the gate to sag .

F ig 18 1
. . Fi g 182
. .

The meth o d Sho wn in figure 1 79 i s fully as faulty w h il e ,

the form shown in figure 1 80 is even worse It seem s .

strang e that any one should brace a gate i n t h ese ways ,

but it is q uite frequently s een attempted The only .

righ t way to brace a gate is s hown in figure 1 81 The gat e .

may be further strengthened as shown in figure 1 82 B e .

f o re the gate can s ag the brac e mu s t be Shortened f o r

,

Fi g 183
. . F ig 184
. .

a s the gat e s ettle s the p o int s a an d 6 must come closer

,

togeth er an d thi s the brace effectually pre v ents

,
.

The po s t s should be s et in s uch a way that they will

not be pulled to one Side and allow t he gate to sag The .

post sho u ld be pu t below the line of frost or else it ,

will be h ea ved ou t of position ; three feet i n t h e

gr o und i s n on e to o deep . H
av e a lar ge p os t an d
 AN D B R
’

1 20 F E N C ES ,
G A TE S I D GE S .

make a big hol e for it B e careful to s et the po st plum b

. .

a n d stamp the earth firmly in the hol e— i h cannot be

stamped too hard While stamping keep walking

.
,

around the post so that the earth will be firmed on all

'

sides B loc ks may be arranged as shown i n figure 183

.

Fig 186
. .

b ut thi s i s not really necessary when the posts have , ,

been rightly set although it may be advisable to take

,

this further precaution .

To re move the pulling wei g h t of the gate when clo s ed ,

the Swin ging end may re s t upon a block ; or a pin i n

Fi g 1 87
. .

s e r ted
in the e n d piec e of th e gate may rest in a slot
sawed in the post or on a shoulder of the post Fi gu re
,
.

1 8 4 shows one end of a combination of two plan s — the

iron rod from near the top of the high post hold s th e gate
while the strain upon the post is lessened by the O ppo
site end o f the clos ed gate being suppor ted on the othe r
p ost ,
1 22 FE N C ES ,
GATE S AND B RI D GES .

'

shou ld be b o re d thr o ugh t h e bl oc k so as to let w h a te ver ,

water c oll ects in i t p ass aw ay ; t h e block s hould n ot be

less than eighteen inche s long— fou r inches above groun d .

I s h o ws w ire fence c o nnecte d J i s a s trong wire carri ed

.

U
S B ST ANTIAL GATE . Fi g 1 90
. .

an d s ecured to the b o ttom of the fi r st fence post K K .

ar e cl e at s attac h ed to pos ts to k e ep them more firmly in

the groun d L ar e stone s for posts A A to sta nd on

.
, , .

Mshows th e hinge m a de so as to take up the sag af ter

,

th e gate s ettl e s an d as the wood we a r s out

, .

A STRON G AN D NE AT G A TE .

T h e po sts a a figure 1 92 of oak or other du rable w o od

, , , , ,

are eig ht inches square an d stan d five and one half feet
,

above the ground The posts 6 6 three and one third

.
, , ,

in ches thick four an d three quar ter feet long are mor
, ,

ti se d to receive the slats c c which are of i nch stu ff;

, , ,

thr ee inches wide an d ten feet four and thre e-quar te r

in c he s l o n g They are let in to post s I) b at the di s
.
, , ,
 G A TES AN D FA STE N IN GS . 23

tance m ark e d in the engraving The s lat s d ar e t h r ee

.
, ,

inche s wi de and one inch thick an d are pl a ced opposit e

, ,

each other on front an d back of the gate as braces e e , ,

are simply battens to make a straight surface for the

hinges f f all except the upper a n d lower o ne s are
, ,

very short and carried back to the post The hi nge s .

,

m a de by a blacksmith from an old wagon tire are one ,

an d one -half inch wide three -sixteen th inch thick and

, ,

are fastened by light i ron bolts thr o u gh t h e batten s at

and t o th e rear p os t .

LL-MADE GATE
Fi g 192 — A W E
. . .

Th e above describe s a cheap light durable gate whic h

, , ,

in o ver twenty three year s u se h as never sagged though

-
’
,

s tan ding in the thoroughfare of three farms an d also for , ,

years past used for access to a sawmill It is made o f

, .

the best pine The hinge i s an impor tant point It is

. .

not only cheap and easily made but acts as a brace for ,

the gate at every point an d thus permits the gate to be

,

lightly made With this hinge s aggi ng Is Imp oss ible A

. .

gate of th is k ind will rot down first .

LIGH T IRON G ATE S .

Th e gate sh own in figure 1 93 may b e m a de o f wrough t

iron an in c h and a h alf wide an d h alf an inc h t h ick o r ,
12 4 F EN C E S ,
G A TE S AND B RID GES .

p r eferably o f iron g as -pipe of any diameter fr o m h alf an

i nch to an inc h In the vi cinity of the oil-regions pipe
.
,

can be b o ugh t very cheaply which is in condition good

,

Fi g 193 — A
. . LIGHT I RON G ATE .

e n o ugh for this purp ose F or guarding again s t hog s i t

.
,

s hould be hung n ear the groun d an d have on e or two ,

more h o r izontal pipes near the bottom .

F i g u re 194 shows the constru ction of a gate intended

f o r situation s much exp os ed to trespasser s It i s made .

Fig 194 —A W RO
. . UG H T I RO N A
G TE .

Of up right strips of flat iron pointed at the top and

, ,

fastened by rivets to a s tout frame -work of iron The .

pickets are placed t wo to three in ches apart as de ,

s ired for the appearance of the gate or according to the

, ,

size o f the poultry or animal s to be kept fr o m p a ss in g .

12 6 FE N C E S, GA TE S AN D B RID GES .

in the engraving They are made to play on e into the

.

o th er Thi s style of hanging may be u s e d o n an y o rdi

.

n ary kind of gate but is specially u s eful for a s mall

,

s treet gate opening into a door-yard .

There i s a style of gate for foot -paths w hich is not n u

,

c o mmon that keeps itself always clo s ed an d latc h ed by

, ,

m ean s o f a single upper and d o ubl e l o wer h inge w h ich ,

F i g 198 — SE
. . LF C LO SIN G FARM GATE
-
.

ar et o b eobtained at most hardware store s The lower .

“
hinge has two thumbs which are emb r aced by two
,

open socket s When the gate is opene d it swings upon

.
,

on e so cket and its thumb and being thr o wn off t h e cen

,
 GATES AND A
F STE N IN GS . 12 7

ter t h e weight of the gate d raw s it back and swinging

, ,

too i t latches A farm gate entire l y home -made may

, .
, ,

be constructed o f which figure s 1 98 an d 1 9 9 Sh ow the

,

gate an d the hi nge The gate is braced and supported by

.

a stay-strip exten ding to the top of the upright which

, ,

forms the uppe r hinge f being attached to the top of ,

the gate -p o st by an oak board with a smooth hole in it

, .

The lower hinge is separately sh o wn at fi g ure 199 It .

c o n s i s t s o f an o a k b o ard 0 an inch and a h alf thick int o

, , ,

Fig 199 — LOW E R HI

. . NGE OF G TE A .

whic h t h e upright e i s m ortised In th i s tw o s o ckets

, , .
,

are cut a foot from center to center The sockets in

, .

thi s case are three inches in diam ete r an d when the gate ,

is in place and s hut they fi t again st two stakes of h ard

,

wood ( locust ) two an d a half inche s in diameter d

, , ,

whi ch being curved are n ailed to the gate -post a A

, , .

smooth stone la id across in front of these stakes take s

, ,

the weight of the gate and relie v e s in a measure the pres

,

sure ou the top of the post The hinges must be kept .

well greas ed and it is well to blac k-lead th e m al so to

, ,

prevent creaking .
12 8 F EN C ES ,
G A TES AN D B RI DG ES .

G A TE FO R V I LLAGE LOT .

F i g ur e 200 shows a light strong gate m ade of wood an d ,

wire The top wi re is barbed to prevent s tock fr om

.

pre ss ing agains t it an d be au x an d belles fr o m h an g in g

,

ov er it The bottom wi res are also bar be d

. p r e v ent
cats dogs and fowls from creeping under This gate is
, , .

cheap may be easily con stru cte d and is suitable for

, ,

e ither fr o nt or bac k yard .

A C H I N E SE DO O R O R GATE SP RIN G .

Fi gure 2 01 shows the mann er in which the C hine s e

u se a bow as a spring for closing the light doors and
gate s Th e bow is fastened to the gate by a cord or
.

ch ain Anoth er cord or chain is attached t o the mi ddle

.

of the bo w -string by one en d and the other end is made ,

fas t to the gate pos t in such a man ner th at when the

,
130 F EN CES , GA TE S AND B RID GE S .

which is pe culiarly well adapted to a region visited by

‘

deep sno ws in winter The post firmly set extends a

.
, ,

little higher than the length of the gate In front o f .

this an d firmly fastened to it at bottom and top is a ,

board at su fi i c i e n t di s tance from the post for the ga te to

‘

move easily between them A n i r o n bol t through t h e

.

large p o st an d the lower end of the tall upright gat e ,

bar s er v es a s a balance for the gate to turn on A

, .

rope attac h ed t o the bottom of the gate runs o ver the

Fig 203
. .
—GATE O PE N .

pulley and h as a weight of iron or s ton e th at nearly bal

a n c e s the gate
. The opened gate i s s hown in figu re 203 .

F igure 2 04 Shows a gate balanced in a similar manner ,

an d arranged s o it can be opened by a person desiring to

drive thro u gh w i thou t leaving the veh icle It is sus

, .

pended by ropes which pass over pulley s near the top of

long po s ts and cou nterpoised by weights upon the other
,

ends of the ropes Small wheel s are pl aced in the ends

.

of the gate to move alon g the inside of the posts and ,

thu s reduce the friction The gate is raised by m eans of

.

r o pe s attached to the cen ter of the upper side of the

gat e fro m w h ich they p ass up t o p u lle ys in the c en te r of
,
 A
G TES AND F A STE N INGS . 131

the arc h way and then out along hori zontal arm s at right
,

a ngles to the bars which connect the tops o f the posts .

By pulling on the rope the gate which is but a trifle

, ,

h ea vier than th e balancing weights i s raised an d after , ,

the ve hicle has pa ss ed the gate fall s o f it s el f In pas s in g

, .

Fig 204 —A
. . SE LF-O PE NIN G A
G TE .

in the Oppo si te direction another r ope is pulled when

, ,

the gate i s raised as before .

F igures 2 06 and 2 07 Sh o w a gate specially designed for

snowy region s The latch -post fi gu re 2 05 i s fixed in th e
.
, ,

groun d and connected with the fence : It is an ordinary

square fe n ce -post to the side of which a s trip of board is
,

n ailed with a Space o f an inch between the board an d

,

the post : A t the opposite extremity of the gate a heel

post is se t s lan ting as sh own in fi g ure s 2 06 and 207 Th e
,
.

gate is made by layi ng the five horizontal bars on a bar n

fl o or or other level place wi th one of the sloping cross
H
,

bar s under th em an d the other ab o ve t h em alf inc h .

132 FE N CE S ,
GATE S AND B RID GES
“
.

h ole sare bored through the three thickn esses carriage ,

'

bolts in serted from below an d the nuts screwe d on The

,
.

gate thus secured at one end i s carried to the place

, ,

. LA TC H P OST
Fig 205 —
.
- Fi g 206 — TH
. E GA T E O P E N . .

where it is to remain and the oth er en ds of the horizon

tal bar s se c ured to the heel -post by similar bolts The s e .

sh ould work freely in the holes The lower bar is four .

LO SE D
F i g 207 —
. . T HE G A TE C .

feet long an d the upper bar seven feet To the heel of .

the upper bar is h ung a wei g ht nearly heavy enough to ’

balance the gate so that i t may easily be swung up as

, ,

sh ow n i n figure 2 06 and the weight will keep it raised

, .
1 34 F EN C E S ,
GATES A ND B RI DGES .

Fi gur e 2 10 shows R
n i mproved form of
th is ga te with
ou t posts In this cas e the s m all board str ips ar e ou t
.

only as lon g as the ga te is to be mad e wide an d a diago ,

n al cross brace run n ing be tw een t h em as shown In the

-
,

Fi g 21 0 — A
. . S MALL GATE IN A PI C KE T FE N CE .

eng ra vi ng The hi n ges are fas te ned to the hori zon tal
.

bars of the fen ce by wooden pins Shown at a an d b A .

piece of rope or a short wire passing over the ends of tw o

of the pickets serves to keep the gate Sec urely fastened .

These ope nings are not designed for a regular gate and ,
'

Fi g 211 —
. . M OVAB LE P ANEL .

coul d not be u sed for the p as s age of any vehicle a s the ,

horizontal bar s would be in the w ay F or a back ga te to .

th e g arden su ch an openi n g would frequently be found

convenient an d save m any ste ps .

Fi gure 2 1 1 Shows a l if ting-ga te or rather, a movabl e ,

 G ATES A ND F A STE N I N GS . 135

panel wide enough to permi t the passage of a tea m and

,

vehicle Thi s might be use ful in pl a ces where it w as

.

not desired to pass frequently .

F igure 2 1 2 sh ows another very convenient form of gate

for use in a coun try where the snow is deep It is fitted .

mg . 2 12 — A G
. ATE L
N O T C O GGE D W ITH S OWN .

in a strong frame an d is balanced by weight s so that it

, ,

can be easily raised The engraving sufficiently explains

.

how this very u sefu l gate i s m a de and hung in t h e frame .

RU STIC G ATE S .

A pict ure sq ue ru stic gate i s shown in figu re 2 1 3 T h e .

fence and posts are made to c o rrespond Its manner of .

co nstruction is clearly shown in the illustration The .

v ases on the top of the posts may be omitted unles s time ,

can be taken to keep t hem properly watered .

A very neat cheap and strong ru s tic gate is shown in

, ,

fi g ure 2 1 4 The large post and the two upri g hts of th e

.

gate are of red cedar The horizontal bars may be of

.

the same or other wood The longer upright is five and

.

a h al f f eet long the Sho rter one fou r and a h alf feet
,
.
136 F E N C E S GA TE S AND
, B RID GE S .

Th e ends of the former are cut down to s erve a s h ing es ,

as s hown in the en graving Fi ve h o le s are bored through

.

Fi g 2 13
. .
—O RNAME NT AL G ATE .

ea ch o f the upright pieces tw o inches in dia mete r into

, ,

the ends of the horiz ontal bar s are inserted and

Fig 2 14 —
. . LIGHT RUSTIC GATE .

'
w ed ged s ecurely F or the upper hinge a piece of pl ank
.

is bo red to re ceive the g ate , an d the o ther en d redu ce d

138 FE N C ES ,
G A TES AND B RI D GES .

Fi gure 2 1 6 shows a balance gate which is u se d in some

par ts of N orth C arolina It is a picket gate framed in to
.

Fig 216 -C
. . AROL NA AL AN CE GAT
I B E .

the l o wer side of a long pole which is hung near it s ,

middl e to a pivot dr iven in to the top of the gate -pos t .

F ig 2 1 7 — A
. . TI DY B ALAN CE GATE .

F igure show s a more elegant form the

217 of “ h eel '
,

the gate r em aining o n a level with the top line of the

fen ce .

G A TE FO R SNO W Y W E A THE R .

The ga te sho wn in fi g ure 2 1 8 is sui table f o r all wea th e r ,

but especially u s eful when there i s a d eep sn ow ; for it is

eas i ly lif te d up above the snow and kept in place by put
,

tin g a pin through holes in the h inge -bar w hich is firmly ,

fas tened to t h e gate p ost The hin ge -bar Sh ould be o f

.
 G ATE S AND F A STE N IN GS . 13 9

goo d t o ug h w o od an d made round and smooth so that

, , ,

the gate can swing and slide easily B oards can be used .

in pl a ce of pickets if preferable T h e latch -p o st t o the

.

Fi g 218
. .
—G ATE FO R SNOW Y WE ATHER .

right h as a l o ng slot for the latch to work in in s te ad o f

, ,

a hasp so th a t i t c an be fastened when the gate is at any

’

h eigh t .

W E ST I ND IA F A RM G A TE S .

The illustrations figures 21 9 and 2 20 Sh ow two forms

, ,

of gates u s ed on the island o f J amaica The s e gate s are .

i
Fg 2 19 — W1D E
. . F ARM A
G TE .
140 FE N C ES ,
G A TE S AND B RID GE S .

tw enty-on e feet long each an d cannot possibl y s ag

, , ,

even if any number of s mall boy s swing on them In .

ga te figure 22 0 the main post is nine by Si x i n ches ; the

bars— marked 2 3 5 and 7 -are let in th e wood three
, ,

inche s on the upper side and one and a half Inches on

the lower . The tenons in dicate d by the do tted lines
, ,

go entirely through the posts an d are fastene d with ,

pins B race 6 i s att ached to the upper bar eigh teen

.

inche s beyond the cen te r F ; D is a s t o ut fence wire

,

Fi g 220 —
. . AN O HR W D
T E I E F ARM A
G TE .

fastened by a screw nut at E ; the wire B i s h eld , ,

tightly by the screw hook A; the iron ban d 9 is an , , ,

inch thick and i s bolted to t h e post It w or ks on a .

pivot one an d a q uarter inches in d i ameter and whic h ,

turns on a flat piece of iron at the bottom of a piece

of a one and a half inc h iron pipe which is soldered ,

with molten lead in the stone 1 0 O nly har d wood is , .

u s ed in the construction In the gate s hown in figure 2 1 9

.
,

the construction di ffers from the one just described in

that it has a light chain fastened i n the shackle C , ,

an d is s crewed firmly at A It is attach ed to th e post

H
.
,

,
b y a p ivot ,
as s een in o ur ill u strati o n .
142 FE NC ES, G A TE S AND BRI DG ES .

The form shown at figure 2 2 3 is made ofa s tout lit h e

sa pling or limb of beech hickory or other tough h ard
,

wood or if it is attai nable a pi ece

, iron rod
, .

Fi g 223 — A w r r R
. . E HI NGE .

A gate can be made without hinge s by h avin g th e

h an ging stile somewhat lon ger than the fron t s tile an d ,

mak ing b o th ends r o unded T h e lower o ne i s to w o r k

.

in a h ole in the end of a sh ort po s t rai se d s o t h at the so il

will not readily get in and the upper one work s in a
,

hole made i n an oak pie ce attach e d to the top of the gate

post Gat e s of this ki n d can be mad e an d hung with but
.

l ittle more expense than bars and will be found far mo re

,
'

con venien t and s a vi n g of time than the latte r .

 GA TES AND Z '
FASTE N IN GS . 143

F ig re
u 2 25 small han d-gate hung u pon an
r ep r es en ts a '

iron pin driven into a hole bored in the bottom of the

hinge p o st and o ne of similar Size and mate rial bent to a
-
,

Fi g 225 — s 0 0KE '

. . r HIN GE S .

sh arp angle an d fitted in the top The lower pin re s ts

, .

in the s ill and the upper one exten d s th r o ug h the p os t

to w h ic h the gate is h ung .

DOU B LE GATE S .

2 26 sh ow s a s ubstantial meth od o f hanging tw o

gate s t o the s ame po s t The post may be of maso nry
.

F ig 226 — A
. . D O U B LE G ATE .
 1 44 FE N CE S , G A TES AND BRID GES .

and the hinge bolts pass through the post thu s preven t ,

ing any sagging It i s fr equ ently convenient to have

.

gate s in the barnyard hu ng in this manner then yards ,

Fi g 227
. .
—
D OUB LE B ALAN CE GATE .

may be s h ut off one way or th e other by simply sw in gin g

the ga te s.

F igure 22 7 repre s ents a bal an c e d gate for a double drive

way The total lengt h is t hi rty fee t—s i x teen fee t on on e
.

tree the larger en d being on the short side it s addi tional

, ,

t hi ckn e ss servi ng to counterbalance the longer extremity

1 46 FE N C ES ,
G A TE S AND B RID GES .

of w o od planted firmly in the ground i n the center of

,

the gate w ay The middle post of the g ate frame is

.

round ed at each end to fi t these holes and this post is

.

the pivot on which the gate turns With this gate one .

cow cannot block the passag e beside s there is no s aggin g ,

of g ate posts as the weight of the gate is wholly

,

upon the block i n the cen ter To make the latch .

,

fi g ure 2 2 9 a bar of iron one an d a half inch wide an d

,

e ighteen inche s l o ng i s bolted t o on e of the end uprights

o f the gate an d a similar bar to one of the pos t s of the

,

gateway F or a catch a rod of three -eighth inc h ir o n

.
,

passe s through a half-inch hole ne ar the en d of the bar

upon the gatew ay Thi s rod is bent in the form shown
.

in the engr aving an d welded It will be seen that the

, .

lifting of thi s ben t rod will allow the two bars t o come
t o get h er an d w h en droppe d i t will h old t h em firmly
, .

D O UB L E -L ATC H E D G ATE S .

F igu re 23 1 represent s a s ubstantial farm gate with two

l a tch e s T h i s i s a very u s eful precaution again s t the
.

Fi g 231 — A. . D OU L B E -L AT C IIE D F ARM A

G TE .

wile s of such cattle as have learned to unfasten o rdinary

gate -latc hes The latches work independently of each
.

o ther the wire s 6 6 being fastened to the hand lever a

, , , , ,
 A
G TE S AN D F A STEN TN GS . 1 47

and then to the latches e e A rogu ish ani mal will , .

“

s ometimes open a gate by raising t h e latch with i ts no s e ,

bu t if one atte mpt it with this it can only raise one latch ,

at a ti me always the upper one while the l o wer one r e

, ,

m ain s fastened A s soon as the animal lets go the latch

.
,

s prin g s back an d catches again A hog can n ot get .

through for the lower latch prevents the gate from open
,

ing sufficiently t o allow it to pas s A cow will fin d it .

.

difficult to open the ga te because sh e cann ot raise the

,

gate hig h enough to unlatch it The latches e 6 work up .

, ,

and down in the slides c c and when the gate i s fas tened
, ,

they are abou t half-way between the top and bottom of

the slides .

F i g ure 2 32 shows another form of d ouble latches ,

w hi c h are closed by ab s olute m o tion instead of depend ,

Fi g 232 — A
. . KA
G TE F O R ALL LIVE STO C .

ing up o n their own weight There are two la tches fas t

.

ened to a j oin te d lever so that when the upper en d or

,

handle is pushed backward or fow ar d the latches both ,

mo ve in the same direction The con struction of the .

g a t
,e an d the form an d arrangemen t of the latche s an d

lever are plainly shown

,
.

IM P
ATE RO VE D L DE
S I G .

The old style Slide g ate is an un wieldl y contri vance ,

an d the only excuse for its use is its simplici ty and

cheapne s s Numerou s devices have been inven ted an d
.
148 FE N C E S A TES AN D B R
’

,
G I DGES .

p atented to make it slide easier an d swing easier b ut ,

t heir co s t has prevented them from co m ing int o gen e ral

u s e an d the old gate still require s the same amoun t of
,

tugging an d heavin g to o pen an d close it .

Fi g ure 23 3 s hows the attac h ment The blocks at top .

an d bottom are hard wood one inch and a qu arter thick , .

The two boards should also be of hard wood B etween .

the boards are one or two small iron or hard wood wheels ,

tu rning upon half inch bolts which pas s through both ,

b o ards The bar s o f the gate run o n the s e wheels The

. .

F i g 234 — TH
. E . A
G TE C O MP LE TE .

gate complete with attach men t is shown in figu re 2 3 4 the

, , ,

gate being closed To open the gate run it back nearly

.
,

to the middle bar then swing open AS the attachmen t

, .

turn s with the gate the lower pivot should be greased

,

occasion ally It is wel l to fasten a barbed wire along the

.

upper edge of th e top bar to prevent stock from reach

,

ing over and bearing down on the gate Where hogs are .

encl o sed it is advisable to fasten a barbed wire along the

,

lower edge of the bottom bar as it keeps small pigs from ,

passing under and prevents large one s fr o m lifting the

,

gate up o r trying to root un der

, .

A C O M B I N E D H I N GE AN D S I D IN G GA TE L .

The illu stration s fig ures 235 and 2 3 6 Sh ow a gate very

, ,

h and y for b arnyards It is fourteen feet wide for ordi

.
 RID GE S
‘

1 50 F E NCES ,
G AT ES A N D B .

2 36 i t i s se en clo sed This gate has no latch A barri

. .
o

yard gate is not u s ually opened wide A space large .

enough to ad m it a man or horse is all that is necessa ry in

mo s t c as e s It is more easily opened th an the ordinary
.

gate and it will stay where it is pl aced By cutting a

, .

notch i n the third board and elevating it to the upper ,

catch on the middle post a p as s age i s m ade for h o g s and

,

sheep excl u ding larger ani m als

, .

G ATE S OF W O OD AN D W IRE .

O ne o f the cheapest an d most popular style s of far m

gate i s made of plain or barbed wi re s upp o rted by ,

Fi g 23 1 — A
. NE A A
T G TE O F SC ANTL N G AND
I W IRE .

w o o d en frames Fi gure 2 3 7 sh ows a very neat form of

.

combi nation gate To make it obtain three upri gh ts

.
, ,

three inches by one and a half in ches fi ve and a half ,

feet long an d fo u r strips t h ree inches by one i n ch

, , ,

eleven feet long O ut sh o ulders i n the ends of the s trips

.

and sa w out corr espon ding notc h es in the uprights ,

 A TE S
G AN D FA STE N IN GS .
'

1 51

make t hes e one and a half inch or half the wi dth of the ,

s trips The bot to m notch is two and a hal f in ches from

.

the end of the upright and the upper On e nine and a ,

half inches from the top end Fi t the strips into the .

no tches There is then a space of one inch between the

.

strips In to which pu t i n ch strips so as to make all solid

, , ,

and fas te n together with ca rr iage bolts B races three by .

one and a half inches are inserted and held in place by ,

bolts or wro ught n ails B ore as many holes in the en d

.

pieces for one -quarter inch eye -bolts as i t is desired to ,

have wires Twist the wi re fi rin l y into the bolts on one

.

upright an d secu re the other end to the corresponding

,

bolts on the uprig ht at the opposi te end In stretc h in g .

the wires pass them alte rn ately o n Oppo site sides of the
,

Ben ter piece an d faste n in place by staples

, This will .
,

in a meas ure prevent warping B y screwing down the

, .

bolts with a wrench the wires may be drawn as tightly

,

as d esire d Th e hinges are to be p u t on wit h bolts an d ,

any so r t of faste ning may be u s ed that i s m os t con ven

l ent B arbed o r s m oo t h wire may be u se d
. .

A GOOD AN D C H E A P F A RM GATE .

sh o ws a gate of c ommon fence b o ar d s and

F i g u re 2 38
wire which can be made b y any farm er The lon g er
,
.

upright piece seven feet long may be made of a round

, ,

stick flattened a little on o ne side The horizontal bars

,
.

are of common fen ce boards cut to the desired length and ,

the shorter vertical piece may be made of scantling two

, ,

by four i nches Three wires either plain or barbe d ar e

.
, ,

stretched at equal in terv als be tween the uppe r and lower

bar A d o uble length of wire is extended from the top
.

o f th e lo ng upright to the op p o site lower c o rn e r of the

1 52 FE N C E S ,
G A TES A ND B RID GES .

gate A s tout stic k i s inserted be tween t h e tw o s tr an d s

.

of thi s diagonal brace by whic h i t i s twi s ted until i t i s

,

s ufficiently taut If the gate should at

. an y tim e
to s ag a few turns brings i t back
, .

AN I M P RO VE D W IRE GA TE .

Fi gu re 2 39
shows an improved form of wi re farm
gate in w hic h the wires can be made tight at
, .

Fi g 239 — IMP RO
. . VE D W IRE G TEA .

ure Inste ad of at taching the wires to b o th of th e

.
en d
s tandards of t h e g ate a Sliding standar d is put
, on
1 54 F ENC E S , G ATE S AND BRI D GE S .

-h alf feet
a nd one -half feet and the cente r four and one .

tw o s tran d s of barbe d wire one between the boards and

, ,

Fi g 241
. .
-
B ARB D
E W IRE TN A GATE .

the o th er at th e t o p of the uprights . It i s hu ng the

s ame a s the c o mm o n form of gate .

TA KI N G UP T HE SA G I N G A TE S .

V ari o u smean s have been devise d for ove rc o ming the

s agging o f gates In figure 242 the hi nge-p os t o f the
.

Fi g 242 — RE
. . ME DY FO RA A
S GGI NG GA TE .

gate -frame extend s some w hat above th e upper bar o f 't h e

gate A board is fastened to the top o f this post a
.
, ,
 G TES AN D
A FA STE NIN GS . 1 55

w h ic h ru n s down ward to 6 n ear the middle of t h e upper

,

cross -bar an d then connec ts with a Short double ban d

,

one o n each Side of the long board— w hich is provi d ed

wi th a bolt fitting into notches 0 cut in the under side , ,

o f the upper bar of the gate The form of the double .

latch piece with its bolts an d its attachment to the

, ,

board is shown at d .

F igure 2 43 represents an arrangement which n ot only

provi des for taking up the sag but also for raising the ,

gate above en c u m be r in g snow The g a te i s made of or .

d i n ar y inch boards put together with carriage bolts upon ,

which the j oin ts play freely The end of the gate a i s .

, ,

made of two boards and the post 6 is four by si x inches

, , , .

F i g 243 — A
. . LIF T B AR F OR A GA TE
- .

O ne bo ard o f the end is notched The diag o nal piec e

,
a, .
,

a is fastene d at d
, by mean s of a bolt through it an d th e
,

lower board The en d a of the diagonal p i ec e is

.
, , ,

shaped to fit the notches by mean s of which the gate can

,

be raised and lowered It can also be used as a passage

.

for pigs between fields by simply raising the gate s u ffi

,

c i en tl y to let them go through A board not sho wn in .

,

th e engraving is tacked to the notched board to prevent

, ,

the diagonal piece from slipping out of its place .

A mu ch firmer gate is shown in figure 2 44 The .

hinge -post is about twice the height of the gate an d has ,

a cap-piece a near the top This cap is of 2 by 6 hard

, , .
 1 56 FE N CE S A TES
G AN DB RID GE S
, .

w oo d s trengthened by tw o b olts e e and held in p lace

'

,
, , ,

by two wooden pins driven j u s t above it and thr o ugh

,

Fi g 244 — A
. . RE M E DY FO RA AGGING GA TE
S .

the ten o n en d of the post Wedges c an d d are dri ven

.

in the cap on each Si d e of the post Should the gate .

sag the wedge d may be loosened and c driven further

, , ,
,

w
do n The lower en d of the gate turns in a hole bore d
.

d -
in a har wood block placed in the ground near the foot
o f the post .

Figure 2 45 s how s a gate similarly h un g on pivots

driven into the ends of the hinge -bar Th ese play in e
ye
.
1 58 FE NC ES, G TE S AND BR
A ID GE S .

“
piece of se as oned hick o ry o r other elastic wood cut in
, ,

th e Shape as s hown at a i n figu r e 2 47 Thi s is fast .

a

ened strongly to t he side of the gate with the pin 0 , , ,

working through the top loosely so that it w ill play ,

e asily . The catch 6 is fastened to the wall or post a s

, , ,

the case may be The o p eration will be easily under

.

stood from the illustration and i t w ill be fou n d a servi ce

,

able s ure and durable c o n trivance The g ate cannot be

, ,
.

s wung to without catching an d i t may swing bO Lh w a ys ,

.

A very simple and convenient style of fastening is il

l u s trate d in figure s 2 48 to 2 51 It can be m a de o f o ld .

Fi g 248 —
. . L ATC H IN P O SITIO N .

bu g g y springs or any fi a t steel an d should be one inc h

, ,

broad by three six -tenth in ch thick an d abou t eigh teen ,

inches long at the distance of four inches from the lower

,

end The lever is slightly bent an d has two screw or

.
,

bolt holes for fastening figure 2 49 E ight inches of the

, .

top portion is rounded and bent at right angles The .

uppe r part passes through a n arrow mortise i n the head

post of the gate figure 2 48 A flat staple large enough .
,

to go o ver th e spring holds it in pl ace A n iron hook .

,
 GA TES AND FA STEN IN GS 1 59
‘

fi gu re 2 50 d r iven int o t he po st holds the latch A

, , .

w oo den l ev e r bo lte d to t h e top b o ard of the gate fig u re

, ,

Fi g 2 51
. .
- L AT C H W ITH T O P LE VE R .

2 51 ,
_ nabl es a p e r so n on horseback to open o r close the
e

gate Thi s latch can be applied to any kin d of a gate

.
,

an d i s especially desirable in yards or gar dens when by , ,

the addition of a chain an d weight one may alway s feel ,

that the gate is securely close d The l atch does not cost .

m o re than fifty cen ts an d if pr o perly made and put on

,

will l as t as l o ng a s the ga te .

Fi g 252 . .
-G ATE L ATC H .

In figur e 2 52 i s represented a style of gat e latc h in use

in s ome Sou th ei n States It po ss e ss e s marked a d va n
'
.
tages for certain purposes o ver ot h ers It holds to an
, , . .

absolute certainty un d er all c i r c u fn s ta n é es an d by allow

, ,

Fi g 253 —
. L A T C H AN D PI N .

ing t h e latch pin to rest on the bottom of the sl o t in the

post i t relieves the hinges and post from all strai n The
,
.

latch may be form ed by a common strap -hinge m ade to ,

work very e asil y and the pin should be either a stro ng

,
“
oak one or an iron bol t or lag scre w .

F i g ure 2 53 shows a latch which cann o t

Fig 25 1 — G
. . A TE LATC H .

themost i ngeni o us cow or other an i mal The l atch o f .

wood slides in two i ron or wood bands s cre wed to the

162 F EN C E S ,
G ATE S AND B RI D GES .

t h read work s in a n ut which nut h as a bolt sh an k and

,

nut whereby it i s firmly att a c h ed to the top bar of the

,

gate If the gate sags at all it must be simply lifted off

.
,

the thumbs an d the hin g e given a turn or two in t h e

,

n ut ; and the s ame is to be done i n case of sub s e qu ent

sagging The hinge b o lt m us t of course have some
.
, ,

opportunity to move in the s tile and must be set l o ng ,

enough at first to allow the sl ac k t o be tak en up w h en

'

ever fo u nd nece ss ary .

G A TE W AY S IN W IRE F E N CE .

R g lar p o sts an d bars at a passage -way thr ou gh a

e u

wire fence are i nconvenient and u n s ightly A good sub .

Fi g 2 56 — G
. . AT W AY
E IN A W IRE F E N CE .

s ti tu te for a gate is illustrated in figure 2 56 Light gal .

'
v a n i ze d iron chains h ave a swi v el near the end by ,

which they may b e lo os ened or tightened s o as t o be of ,

F i gs . 257 an d 258 — B . UC KL AND E SNAP HO O K FO R C HAIN G TEA .

j u s t the ri ght length and a Snap hook at the other These

,
- .

are b o th s h o wn o f larger s ize i n fig u re s 2 57 an d 2 58 .

 A
G TE S AND FA STE N IN GS . 1 63

The c h ain s are attached by s crew -eyes to the pos ts and ,

sh o uld correspon d in number, a s well as i n position with ,

the wires Thus they appear to be a continuation of the

.

same and as they are larg er they appear to the animal s

, ,

to be s tr o nger an d even m o re dangerous than barbed

,

F i g 259 — TH
. E A
G TE C O SE L D .

Wi r e— hence are avoided A short rod of i r o n may b e

.

m ade to connect th em at the hook-ends and so in open ,

ing and closing th e way they may all be moved at once

, .

A cheaper an d simpler form of wi re gate is shown in

figures 2 59 and 2 60 It consists of th e same number of
.

strands as in th e adj oining fen ce attached to a post in ,

th e o r d i n a r y way at one end w h ile the other wire ends

'

are sec ured to an ir on rod This rod i s p o inte d at the

‘

l o wer end and w h e n the gate i s close d as s een in fi g u r e

, ,

Fi g 260— TH
. E. G ATE OPE N
.

2 59, t his en d passes down through a loop an d the upper ,

en d is secured to a ho o k In opening the gate the rod

. ,

is loo s ened and s wings out when the sh arp end i s thrust
,

into the earth or a hole in a wooden bl o c k s e t in the

,

gro und at the proper place to receive it .

1 64 F E N C ES ,
G ATE S AND B RID G ES .

hows a Somewh at similar arr angement

' “

Figu re 2 61 S .

The gate wire s are fastened to one post with staples a n d ,

attach the loose ends to a fi ve-f oot pole To shut the .

gate tak e thi s pole or gate -head and p u t the lower end
,

F ig 26 1 —A W IRE
. . G TEA .

back of the lower pin an d spring the upper end beh ind
,

the one above If the wires are a ll of the right length

.
,

they will be taut and firm Two slats fastened to the .

ga te W ires will keep them from tangling A short po s t .

'

s et at one side of the gateway may be f o un d convenien t

to ho ld the gate when o pen .

C HAPTER 'I I .

W IC KE TS AND STILE S .

I RON W I C K E TS .

Wickets an d stiles are convenien t p ass ageway s t h rough

or o ver fences crossing foot-paths The bow wicket has .

the advantage of pro v id i n g a gate “ alway s open and

'
always shu t and n ot apt to get out of repai r A
, .

wrought Iron bow wicke t W i th Short vertical bars i s

, ,

shown In figure 2 62 F igure 2 63 has the bars hori zo n

.
 '

1 66 FE N C E S ,
G AT ES

po s t s set far enough apart ’

Fi g 26 4 — A
. G A TE FO R FOO T-P ATH .

en d in the fence The engravi ng shows the can

.

of the en d of the fence with the ,

which the gate swings .

F igure 2 65 is an other form of gate which con sists , of 3

ends of the V bein g fix ed to posts equ al ly dis tant

and in a line wi th one of the po sts in th e
ri ght an gl es to it Thi s is im p roved b y u sin g ben t
.
 W IC K ETS AND L
STI E S . 1 67

figure 2 66 instead of th e Straight piece s form

w h ee l -ri ms , ,

in g the V sh aped panel

- Kept well painted the hickory
.
,

rims will bear the exposu re to the weather perfectly The . .

pali ngs Should be of oak an inch wide an d half an inch

,

thick fastened on with screws The opening in these

, .

stiles must be su ffi cient to allow a corpulen t pe rson to

pas s eas ily even if a frisky bul l is in unc omfortable pr o x
,

Fi g 267 — A C O
. . NVE N IE NT L
STI E .

i m i ty, an dfor this figure 2 6 6 is really th e mo s t c on ven

i en t form The objection to both of these stile s i s that
.
,

there is no actual closing of the pass age C al ves sheep .

,

and pigs , not to men tion d og s work their way through , .

To prev ent this the gate -s tile figure 2 6 7 was i nvented

, , , .

It h as a small gate swingi n g on the middle post but ,

s toppe d in its movement by the end p os ts o f the V A .

per so n can p ass by stepping well into the V an d moving

the gate by him where he has free exit Thi s fo rm i s
, .

efficient but inconvenient A fourth form the best of

, .
“

,
'

all is the s w in gi n g A-Stile fi g ures 2 68 an d 2 69 In this

, ,
.

there are two li g ht gate s made upon the s ame hin g e

,

post spreading like the letter A an d br a ced with a cross

, ,

piece between the rails o f each si de , like the center p a r t

1 68 F E N C ES , G A TES A ND B RID GE S .

of the A This gate is set to swing on e ac h Side of the

.

center -po s t as sh o wn It is so much narrower than the

,
.

V-stiles that i t is almost impossible for small animals to

,

pass but i t is eas ily h ung s o that it will alway s remain

,

Fi g 269 — SW I N GIN G
. . STI E L .

cl os ed and so o ffer n o temptation to a n im al s on the o u t

, .

side A t nigh t or wh en not in use a wire ring or withe

.
, ,

h oop thro wn over the top of the p o st and the upright

part of the gate frame will securely fa s ten it T o make
, .

Fig 2 70 — A
. . NE AT G AT E .

th e gat e s wing shut all that i s n eces sary i s to s et the eye

,

o f the lower hinge of the gate well o ut towards th e out

s ide In figure 2 70 we give a neat A-gate made of pine
. ,

o r an y s trong an d light wood .

STI LE S FO R W IRE -FE N C E S .

T h e ex te nsive u se of wire -fence s calls for a farm cou ve

n i en c e h ere to f o re bu t l ttle k nown n t h is country
i i — the
,
 1 70

requ i res no climbing a nd ,

b a rrier to large anim als i s re adily ,

co fp u l en t p erson s It
ori ginate d an
.

E n gland, but w e believe there is n o re

'
c o ns tructi o n and use in thi s co untry .

C H A PT E R 'I I I .

F E N C IN G OUT O B F E N CI N G IN :

Th ecommon law of E ngland which to a ,

'
be came the law of the origi nal States,
to fence his lan d at all E very p erson i.

that law to fence hi s own cattle i n , bi i

fence oth er cattle out E very owner of domestic an imals
.

is liable fo r inj ury committed by the m o n the l an d s of

‘

othe rs even though the lan d was w h olly unfenced B u t

,
.

thi s fe a t u re o f the E n glish co mmon l aw was n ot s uit ed

 FE N C E LAW . 1 71

to the condition s which surrounded the early s ettlers in

any p art of this country So long as any region is .

spars ely settled the amount of unoccupied land is so

,

much greater than the occupied that it is cheaper to ,

fence stock out than to fence it in Hence the E nglish

, .

comm on l a w in regar d to fencing has been superseded by

statute in many of the States In others it has always .

remained in force or has been revi v ed by later statutes

, .

There is such great d iversity on this point in the Statutes

of the several States that to quote from Henry A
, ,

Haigh a excellent Manual of F arm L aw

.

’
every one ,

having occasion to look up any point of law should as ,

certain the statutory pro v isions conce rning i t from some

Offi cial source . Do n o t depend upon this book or any
other book for them because they are liable to change
, ,
'

an d do change from year to year ; but g o to you r town

clerk or j u s tice o f the peace and examine the statu te s ,

th e m selve s
.

D IVISION F E N C E S .

The legal obligations of adj oining owner s to build an d

m aintain div ision fences rests entirely u pon the statutes
,

of the respective States save in cases where long usage

,

h as created prescripti ve rights or special agreement ex ,

i s ts
. Such fence s are to be built on the b oundary lin e ,

th e expense to be borne e q ually by the partie s or each ,

one s h all make and maintain half the fence If they .

cannot agree or either refuses or neglects to d o his share

, ,

the statute s provide methods by which the m atter m ay

be determined In some of the States two or more pub
.
,

lic o fi i cer s cal led fence -vie w ers are elected annually i n
, ,

each town ship whose duties as prescribe d by statute

, , ,

are when called upon to h ear an d decide question s re

, ,

lating to fences in th eir respecti v e towns In oth er

,
.

States these du ties are performed by overseer s of h igh

,

w ay s or Sele ctmen , ex ofi czo Wh en ever an y own er or

’

-
.
1 72 F E N C ES ,
G A TES AND B RI D G E S .

occ upant o f land ref use s to buil d Or main tain h alf the di
vi sion fence or cannot agree with his adj oining neighbor
,

as to whi ch portion they shall respecti v ely m aintain the ,

fence-v iewer may be called U pon being so called the .

,

fence -viewer Shall upon reasonable n otice and after ,

vie wing the premise s determine an d assig n the respecti v e

,

portion s of the fen c e to be maintained by e ach The as .

s ig n m e n t when so made and recorded by the proper o f

fi ce r becomes bi ndi ng upon the present and all s u bs e

,

quen t owners of the lan d ( 2 Wi s When by rea

. .

son of a brook water course or n atural impedimen t it i s

, , ,

impracticable or unreasonably exp ensive to buil d a fen ce

o n the tru e line between adjacent lands and the owners ,

thereof disagree respe cting its posi tion the fence viewers ,

may upon application of either party de termine o n

, ,

which s ide o f the tr ue line or whether partly on one ,

s ide an d partly on the other a n d at what distances the , ,

fe nce shall be bu ilt and m aintained an d what portion s ,

by either party an d if either party refuses or neglects to

,

bu ild and maintain his part of the fen ce the other sh all ,

have the same remedy as if the fence Were on the true

li ne When a di vision fe n ce shall be suddenly destroyed
.

o r prostrate d by fire win ds or floods the pe rson who

, ,

ought to repair or rebuild the same should do so i n te n

days afte r bein g notified for that purp ose and in the ,

meantime he will be li able for damages d one by estray s .

There is n o legal obligation i n any of the Sta tes upon ,

any proprieto r of uncultivated unimproved and un ,

occupied land to keep up di v ision fences When a p 50

, .

p r i e to r improves his land or encloses lan d already i m

,

prove d the lan d adj oining be in g uni mproved he must

, ,

make the whole di vision fence a n d if the adj oining pro ,

p r i e tor af terwa r d improves his land h e is r eq u ired to ,

for one h alf the di vision fence according to the v al u e

‘

a
p y ,

th ere o f at that time The laws of the respec tive S tate s

.

ar e not uni fo rm to u c hi n g the obli gati o ns t o m aintain o n e

1 74 FE N C E S GA TE S
, AN D B RID GE S

l and must enclose it wi th sufficient fences if h e woul d

cultivate it E v en W here there is n o such statuto ry pro
.

visions i t is practicall y necessary to main ta in hi ghway

,

fences as a protection against cattle which are driven

,

along the highway The u se of barb wire for fencing

.

along the public roa ds has given rise to q uestions for

which there were no prec edents A case was decided in .

the United States C ircuit C ourt at W atertown N e w , ,

Y ork December 1 7 1 8 8 5
, The action w as brough t by
, .

a horse breeder to recover damage s from his neighbor for

’
inj uries sustain ed by the plaint iff s horse fr om a barbe d
W ire fence stretched along the roadside in front of the
,

defen dant s premises A n on -suit w as grante d on the

’
.

ground that the animal recei v e d the inj uries through the
co ntributory n egligence of its owner A mong the rul .

i ngs of the court was on e pe rmitti ng the p l a i n ti fi to be

questioned to Show the fact that he had on his o wn farm
,

a si m il ar fence bu t of sh arpe r form of barb The cou rt

,
.

fur ther h eld that it migh t be a question whether i t

would not be com petent testimony t o Show the common
employm en t of barb wire fence in that region an d held ,

that for the purp ose of thi s c as e a barbe d wire fence if

‘

, ,

properly constructed upon the highway must be deemed ,

a legal fence .

It may be s ai d in a general way that though there i s ,

n o legal obligati on resting on the land holder to main tain

fences along the public highway he n egl ects to do so at ,

his Ow n risk and peri l .

W HA T Is A LE G A L F E N C E ?

Wh at sh all be necessary to consti tute a legal and suf

fi c i en t fence is specifically defin ed by th e s ta tu tes o f the
se veral S tate s bu t there is n o uniform rule amo ng all
aine Ne w Hampshire Mas s achusetts an d many
.

In M
,

, ,

other States it is provided that a l l fences four fee t h i gh

, ,
 FE N C E LAW . 5

an d i n go o d repai r consisting of rails ti mbe r b o ards or

, , , ,
‘
stone wall an d all brooks rive rs ponds creeks ditches
, , , , , ,

hed g es and other things dee m ed by the fence Viewers to

,

be equivalent thereto shall be accoun ted legal and s u ffi

cient fence s In V ermont C o n nectic u t Michigan an d
,

.
, , ,

so m e other Sta tes a legal fence m ust be four and a hal f

feet high In Missou ri post fences must be four and one
,

half fee t high hedges four feet high tu rf fences fou r

, ,

fee t high with ditches o n each side three feet deep in the
,

middle and three feet wide ; worm fences must be fi v e

an d one hal f feet high to the top of the rider or if n ot
-
,

ri dered five feet to the top of the tOp rail an d must be

, ,

rocked with strong rails poles or stakes stone or bri ck ,

fences must be four an d one half fee t high .

In Ne w .

Y ork the elec t of each town may by vote d ecide for , ,

themselves how fences s hall be made an d what shall be ,

deemed sufficient N o part of the fence law is so d efi

.

n i te l y regulated by the statutes of the respective States as

the r equirements of a legal fence In all cases where .

prac tical questions arise involving this point it is best to ,

consult the statutes which wil l be f o und in the offi ce of

,

the to wns hi p clerk .

RA IL RO A D F E N C ES .

In n early every State rai l ro a d companies are re q uir ed

,

by sta tute to construct and maintain legal an d sufficient

fences on both si des of their roads except at cro ssings of ,

public highways in front of mills depots and other

, , ,

places where the p ublic convenience requires that they

shall be left open The legal obligations of railroad com
.

panics to fence their roads res t w holly upon such statute s .

In N e w Hampshire it i s provided that if any railroad

company shall ne g lect to maintain such fences the owner ,

of adj oining land may build them an d r eco v er double the ,

c o st thereof of the company It is generally held by the .

c o urts in all the States that in the absence of such fen ces ,
1 76 FEN C ES, G ATES A D B R N
ID GE S .

the railroad company is liable for all resulting damage to

li v e s tock a n d n o proof of contributory neg ligence on t h e
,

par t of the owner of l ive stock is allowed as a plea in d e f

fence the statute requirin g such fences being a police

,

re g ulation When the railroa d company has built a suffi

.

cien t fence on both sides of its road i t is n o t liable for ,

inj uries which may occur withou t negligence on its part .

If the fence i s overthrown by wind or storms the com ,

pany i s entitled to reasonable time in which to repair it ,

and if cattle ente r and are injured without fault on t h e ,

company s part i t is not liable If cattle stray upon the

’
, .

tra ck at a crossing of a public road an d are killed the , ,

owners cannot recover d amages u n l es s the rail road com ,

pany is guilty of gross negligence or intentional wrong .

A law in Alabama making railroad companies absolu tely

liable for all s tock killed on the tracks was held to be ,

u nc o n st ituti o nal .

C H A PT E R 'I V .

ST ER N GTH OF B RI D GE S .

B ridge building i s a profe s si on of it s elf an d so me of the ,

great bridges of the world are j ustly regarded as among

the highe s t achievements of m echanical sc i ence and Skill .

B u t i t i s prop o se d to speak i n this work only of the cheap

an d simple s tructures for spanning small stream s The .

mea s ure of th e strength of a brid g e is that of its weakest '

part Hence the strength of a plain wooden bri d ge

.
,

resting up o n timbe r stringers or chords is e q uivalent to ,

1 78 F E NC E S ,
. GATE S AN D B RIDGES .

'

t h e en d of the s ill to ab o ut foii r feet above the center .

The tr u ss rod , d, is on e in ch in diameter for s h ort bridges

Fi g 275
. .
-A SI MP LE F O RM OF B RID GE SP AN .

up to two inches for longer spans ; it is provided with an

iron wa s her at the top The rod passe s through t h e s ill
.
,

F i g 2 76 —A
. . ST RO N GE R SP AN .

and a cros s s ill e which passes under the main Si ll S thu s

, , ,
.

adding fir mn ess to the whole structure L ogs f f are .

, , ,

F i g 277 — A
. . S HO RT B RID GE .

f
placed a g ainst the ends of the sills to keep them in place ,

an d where the wheels will first strike them instead o f the

 CO U NTRY BRID GE S AN D c nt vE r SR . 179

fl oo r plank thus greatly equalizing the pressure F igu re

, .

2 76 represent s a modification of the above The tw o .

truss rods and braces g i v e the structure greater st rength

and solidity a d apting it f o r span s eighteen feet in
,
~

length Fo r the l atter lengt h sill s should be of g oo d

.
,

F i g 278
. .
—
A BO LT T RC SS .

mate ri al te n in ches wide and fou rteen inche s dee p wit h

, ,

three middle sills of about the same Size .

F igure 2 7 7 is a more improved s tyle of bri dge the trus s ,

serving bot h to support the structure and as a parapet , .

The top railin g i s of the same width as the sill about ,

one foot The lower s ide may be cut away giving the
.
,

bridge a more finished appearance The railing at the .

cente r is six inches thick and three inches at the ends, .

The tie it is full width an d four inches thick A bridge

, , .

of t hi s ki n d will answer for heavy traffi c even if twenty ,

Fig 279—B RI
. DG E B RAC E D F RO M B ELOW .

fee t in length The b e l t trus s in figure 2 78 i s ad apted

.
, ,

for a span of twen ty fi ve feet This mak es a bridge of

-
.

great firmness E ach se t of truss -rods support a cross

.

sill The road planks are laid crosswi se of the br idge

. .

The middle sills are s o metime s half an inch l o wer than

180 FE N C ES, GA TES AND BRI D GE S .

tho se al o ng the sides an d Should be f e a r or fi ve in n ufn

,
,

he r
. The en ds of the planks fi t clo se ly agai n st th e i n
side of the truss sills th ereby k eeping the plan k s secu rel y
,

in place .

A common method of bracing i s fro m below as shown i n

'

figure 2 79 This is not us u ally a good practice as the

.
,

braces are liable to be carried away by ice or floods .

A B UTME NTS ,
P IE RS AND RA ILI N GS .

If the sil ls of a bri d ge are lai d directly upon the d ry

wall s of a n abutment or upon a h eavy pla nk th e jar of
, .
,

pass i ng teams soo n displaces some of the s tones an d ,

bring s un due s train upon c e rtain portions of the

Fi g 280—E N D
. . OF A B RIDGE .

To a void this abu tm en ts are be st ma de of cut

,

an d laid in cement A wooden bent for the support of

.

the ends of the bridge may be m a de as Shown in fi gure

2 80 . The whole should be constru cte d of h ea vy timber ,

pinned togeth er A coat of white l ead sh ould c Ove r the

.

in te rior surfac e of all j oints The numbe r an d pos ition . .

of the pos ts of the w ooden abu tment are seen in the eu

gravi ng A log s hould be laid u p on the wall at i n to r e
.
,
1 82 F E N C ES , G AT ES AN l) B RID G ES .

w o od and other floating matter be come p il ed agai n s t it ,

s e riousl y imperiling the enti re structure B u t in cases .

where the length of th e b r i d ge is 80 great as to r equ ire

one or more piers they may be cons tructed on the pl a n
,

Fig 285 — P
. . L ANK FL OO R O F B RIDG E .

sh o wn in figure 2 81 or in case the bottom i s so s oft as to

,

render th e mudsill insecure a line of piles supporting a ,

cross timber as in fi g u re 2 82 A strong reliable para

-
, .
,

e t o r railing should always be pro vided The wan t of

p .

one may be the cause of fatal accidents to persons and

horses Fi gure 2 83 gives a side Vie w of a goo d railing
.
,

and figure 2 84 sh ows the manner of brac ing the posts to

the ends of the cross -beams They should be thus braced .

at e v ery a l te rn ate post of the railing The floor should .

be double as shown in figure 2 8 5 the lower plan ks laid

, ,

diagonall y and the upper layer crosswi se

, .

B RI D GE S FO R G ULLIES .

Fo r s mall gu l l ies w h ich cross roadways or l an e s in

farms and are not the beds of c onstant streams but are
, ,

oc casion ally filled with surface water a very si mple bridge ,

is suffi cient O ne like that shown in figure 2 8 6 is as

.

good as any The sills a a are sunk in a trench dug

.
, , ,

against the bank an d at least to the level of the bed of

the creek The cross-s ills b b are not morti se d into
.
, , ,

them bu t s i m p l y laid betwee n them The pressu re is

,
. .
 CO UN TRY B RID GE S A ND C U LVE RTS . 1 83

all fr o m the o utside hence it will force a a tighter

, , ,

against the ends 6 b which must be sunk a lit tle into the
, ,

bed of the cre ek at its l o west point The posts are mor .

ti s e d in to the sills a - and pla tes 0 c an d d d upon ‘

a
, , , , , , , ,

whi ch the planks are lai d P rops m ay be put agai n s t the

.

lower sides of the po s ts to h old the bridge against the

s tream.

A cheap but practicable bridge is shown in fi g u r e _28 7 .

.

Two logs are laid across the gully their ends resting on ,

the banks a n d to them puncheons or planks are spiked

,

to form the bridge Stout posts w ell propped and reach

.
,

i n g above the highest water mark are placed ag ainst the ,

lower s ide o f the logs If the creek ri s es the bi i d g e

.
, ,

Fig 28 7
. . C ON
— VE NIE N T FARM B RID GE .

being free wi ll be raised on the surface of the water

, ,

while the posts wi l l preven t its bein g carried away .

Should it not rise w i th th e water it o pposes so lit tle s ur ,

face t o the c urre nt tha t the p o sts wi ll h old i t fas t .

184 F E N C ES ,
G A TE S AN D B RI DGE S;

O RNA M E N T A L B RI D G E S .

N o feature adds more to the appearance of ornamenta l

grounds than tasteful bri d g es A stream or narr ow
,
.
.

channel connecting two parts of a small Sheet of water ,

affords an opportunity for the i n tr o duction of a bridge .

Fi g 288 —RUSTIC
. . B RI DGE .

In the absence of such feature s a brid g e may be thr own

across a dry ravine Whatever style may be adopted
'
.
,

should har monize wi th the general character of the sur

roundings A n elaborate bridge of wo od o r mas onry
.

wo u ld be as much out of place on g roun ds un adorned b y

other structures as a rude rustic one w o uld be near highl y
,
-

Fi g 289 - A
. . B RID GE OF B O OKS.
'

fin i s h e d su mm e r -h ou s es an d other archite ctu ral feature s .

O n m ost grounds a n e at rustic b ridge somethin g like the ,

one s hown in figure 2 8 8 would be in g ood keeping with

,

its envi ronments . Su c h bridges may be made of red

 F E N C ES ,
GATE S A N D B RI D GE S .

Where flat Stones enough cann ot be easily procured ,

Cul vert s may be built of concrete The abutmen ts are .

_

first made as i n o ther cases then empty barrels or sugar

,

Fi g 29 1 — STO
. . NE C ULVE RT .

ho gsheads cc o rding to the capacity of the opening are

, a ,

fitted in or better still a temporary arch is ma d e of

, ,

rough n arrow boards The concrete of cement s and

, .
,

Fi g 292 — C HE
. . AP E R STO NE C ULVERT .

an d gravel i s the n prepared and p oured in te mporary

, ,

supports of lumbe r having been fixed ac r oss eac h en d of

the culvert to k eep the concrete i n place until it harden s .
 CO UN TRY B RI DG ES A ND C U LV E RTS . 18 7

Small s tones may be mixed wi th the concrete as it is

poured in to place an d the whole topped Off with a row
,

—
of them This protection of stones on the top is valu
.

able in case the covering of earth is worn or w asted away

,

Fi g 293 —
. . ARC H D
E CO N C RE TE C ULV E RT .

at any time while it is in u s e F or a longer culvert a .

flatte ned arch is mad e of concrete as shown in figure ,

2 93. L ight timbers are laid across the ends resting ,

lightly on the abutments A cross the middle of these a

.

round log i s placed to suppo rt t h e crown of the arch .

E lasti c spli t p o l es ar e s prung o ver all an d upon these ar e ,

i
Fg 29.4 — AN GULAR C ONCRE TE C ULVE RT .

n ailed thi n narr ow boards extend i ng leng thwise o f the

,

culvert The end s being temporarily prote cted the con

. ,

crete is mixe d and poured on as before AS soon as the ,

.

'
c o ncrete h a s become thoroughly we l l set the light ,
188 FE N C E S
, G ATE S AND B RID GES .

cros s-sticks are c u t in two a y d the temporary w o rk re

m oved. A cross -section Showing another forni of con
,

cre te culvert an d the method of construction a r e shown

, ,

in fi g u r e 2 9 4
. Such a culvert is more easily built than
the la s t b u t i s not as strong The best an d most dur
,
.

able cul vert is of ston e with a re gular half-round ar Ch

, .

Such work can only be done properly by a regular mason ,

but i n the end i t is chea per wh ere the s tone can be Ob

,

ta i n e d than an y kind of make -shift

,
.
 U n ive rs i o f C a lifo rn ia
HR R
SO UT E N EGIO ALLIB A Y FAC ILITYRR
H
405 ilg a rd Ave n u e , Lo s An g e le s , CA 9002 4-
138 8
Re tu rn this ma te ria Ito the lib ra ry
fro m w hic h it wa s bo rrowe d .