The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1850-05-22

that those who have constructed wire fences.
will be disappointed as to their durability and
efficiency, that the swaying Of the wire will have
a tendency to break it off where it goes through
the posts, and that the accumulation of water in
the holes Of the post, will rust the wire, and
weaken and destroy it. If these premises were
correct, the conclusions would not be so far out
of the way. But will say in all kindness that
your correspondent, i'll this matter, is deficient
in that wisdom which is "profitable to Direct l
propose in this communication, to give my ex-
per:ence and method Of constructing Wire Fence.
In Is45, I constructed the first wire fence that
I, or any of my neighbors ever saw; it was some
thing entirely new. This piece of fence is about
twenty five rods long. have made more every
year since, and now have more than mile OF
wire fence on my farm, and l think shall make
no other kind unless it may be around yards
where shelter from tho wind is desirable. In
the first that made, which has stood nearly five
years, the wire appears Us sound as when it was
put on. am of opinion that wire of the size Of
No. 10, will not be injuriously affected by rust,
If it is not IN contact with the ground, and care
should be taken that it should not be. The ad.
vantages of wire fences over other kinds are, il
costs less, is mole durable, is not injured by high
winds, is not likely to be broken by unruly cat
tie, where the frost heaves the post out, they
may be driven down without difficulty, it olivia
ties the difficulty of snow drifts where roads are
thus fenced, gives an appearance of neatness to
a farm, and feeling of satisfaction to the owner
that his crops are safe. The best method Of con-
struction is to set the posts one rod apart, and
three of smaller size between, so as to have the
spaces four feet between the posts to which the
wire is fastened, by staples made of wire. The
end posts Of the line of fence must be firmly set
and braced. have machine for straining the
wire, made similar to wheelbarrow, with a reel
l6 inches in diameter on an iron shaft Id in d.
ameter, with long crank for strain,ng the wire,
and a shorter one for Keeling the wire on the
machine. We unite the wire by looping it to-
gether as we reel it from the coil on to the reel
in Keeling, one takes a coil unbound in his left
hand and delivers it with his right, as another
turns the reel with one hand and guides the wire
with the other, on which he should have thick
leathern mitten to prevent liberation from the
flaws and slivers on the wire. Enough should
be reeled at one time to reach at least, the dis
lance required to be made. Place the machine
about ten feet from the end post, in line with the
fence to be made. A loop is formed on the end
of the wire; one takes it from the reel to the fur
ther end post, and fastens it by driving staple
in the loop and another across the twist;-then
turn the reel till the wire is drawn nearly stra ght
then place the wire properly against the posts,
and fasten it by driving staple in the loop and
another across the twist, then turn the reel til,
the wire is drawn nearly straight, then place the
wire properly against the posts, and fasten it by
driving the staple about half way in, then strain
the wire as tight you wish, drive the staple
in the end post near the reel, tightly upon the
wire, as the reel slackens, turn the wire back and
cut it;-form loop, and drive a staple across
the twist, as at the other end then drive the in
termediate staples not exactly tight upon the wire,
and it is complete.
For rod fences, seven wires are sufficient ifa
bank is formed by two back burrows with a plow'
for dividing fields, six are sufficient, or five,
where cattle and horses only are to be guarded
against. One pound of No. 10 is about 90 feet,
which at 1-2 cts, is cts. a rod, nearly, which
for wires, is % cts rod for the wire, which
think is less than any other material can be fur
nshed for, that the wire, exclusive of the sta
pies, will cost at that rate from 20 to % cents
rod. The whole cost of the fence, including
posts, which are worth from 2 to 4 dollars per
hundred, and the labor of erecting, is less than
fifty cents per rod. The wire should be anneal-
ed before using, as it works better, and is not
so apt to break in twisting. The tools necessary
in making the fence, are two pair of pinchers, to
make the loops, such are used by shoemakers
will do-a hand-saw, file for cutting the wire,
stick about four feet long, marked with the pro-
per distances for the wire, by which the posts
are to be marked for the wires.
The best way that we have tried to make sta
pies, is to take piece of wire about 20 feet long
fasten one end in vice and then upon flat bar
of iron, 1-2 or inches wide, and about quar-
ter of an inch thick wind the wire from the
sharp cold chsel cut the wire in the middle on
both sides of the bar, 20 feet of wire will make
about 100 staples, which can be done in few
minutes. Wire No. l is large enough for
staples. The staples drive and hold much bet
ter by being flattened at the ends, and the dura-
bility of posts is much increased by charring the
ends few inches above the ground line. l
think there would be no great difficulty in con-
structing machine to make staples as fast as
nails can be cut, and hope some machinists
will do it. The staples should be from 3-4 to
inch in length-three-quarter is best when
driven into oak posts, and one inch for chestnut
or cedar.
have been thus minute in this description,
IN compliance with the request Of your cores
pondent in the February No. of The Cultirator,
and hope if any ofyour contributors can give
further information they will let us hear from
them. consider the introduction of wire fen
ces, the most important improvement in farming
that has been made since the invention of the
cast-iron plow, and that greater amount ofiron