The Grand Haven news., 1865-02-22
About Fences.


Among things uecdful 10 successful
farming besides capital, manure, good i'm
plements, good help, good stock, good
seed, ETC., are good, substantial fences. ~
The farmer who undertakes To farm with
poor fences, is not only in constant dan
ger Of having his crops destroyed, but be
will be at the mercy Of The whole neigh
borhood, where the vile practice still pre-
walls of allowing cattle to run at l,~ge
upon the highMays.s Nothing is . more
fruitful source Of qnarrels, litigation, etc,
than bad line fences. There have been
thousands of dollars spent in lawsuits
caused by want Of a little timely atlen-
tion 10 keeping fences in proper order.
My experience teaches ME that the best
plan is, in the spring, after the heavy.
winds and storms Of winter are over, to
make a thorough examination and repair
ing Of all your fences. This, j find, is
the way to be on the safe side. Fencing
is an expensive item to the farmer. Near
cities, where timber is dear, wire, hedge
and stone are much used MS substitute.
Post and bar have superseded, in many
places, the old fashioned worm fence.
The most durable timber for posts gener-
ally used, is cedar, white oak, locust, sas-
safras and chesnut. The durability of
posts depends much on the nature, wet
ness or dryness of the soil. / have dug
out posts along the Delaware, perfectly
sound where they have been in mud and
water for ut least twenty y-five to thirty-fiye
years. The part imbedded would be
sound, while the upper portion would be
entirely decayed. Many persons have
tried charring and cyanising to make posts
more durable. 10 making worm fence, be
careful to have them hog and sheep proof.
Good sound stakes, well sunk in, aud
heavy riders are very essential. Much
tact is required in setting the stakes, so
as the rider will lay on right. To keep
posts from being washed out from fresh
els, especially along rivers and streams,
very good plan is what is termed spin
ning," viz: Bore hole through ihe butt
ofa post with ] ! augur, then make pin
eighteen inches long and drive in, leaving
about an equal length on each side. Some
use two pins, resembling the spokes 10
wagon hub. Dig hole big enough for
post and pins. Some farmers l see have
improved on the old zigzag fence, by bor-
ing holes 10 the end of each rail, and rum
ming stiff iron rod perpeAdicularly thro'
each joint Of fence. This mode dispenses
with stakes and heavy riders. One OBJ
jection to zigzag fences is that they will
not stand strong hurricane. / remem-
Der in my boyhood, when lived on
farm OF three hundred acres, in Salem
County, N. j., that we had repaired our
fences as usual before turning to pasture;
but about the middle of June there came
Q tornado in the night, and swept every
pannel Of our fences into what the printer
would call "pip' In the morning, we
found cattle, horses, hogs, etc., enjoying a
delightful range among corn, oats, wheat
and grass fields. After hunting up and
securing stock, ETC., it kept all hands busy
for ten days rebuilding fences; but the
worst of the story is, that about the time
we got all finished, there came another
hurricane and swept our fences all to the
ground again! s5I
But, of all fences for the farm, there is
mono, in my opinion, equal to that which
is commonly known as "post and rail-"
With cedar, chesnut or white oak material,
either charring the portion Of the post
going into the ground or smearing it With
hot gas or coal Tar, they will last, on a
fair calculation, twenty years. Live
hedges are Objectionable on several nc
counts, but more especially for the care
which they require; dying out of some
of the plants; the space which they oc-
cupy, and the substance Of the soil, which,
at best, some Of them absorb on either
side by the rowing Of the roots.- Ger.
Telegraph. @
ONE Of the many young men in the
army who have advertised for can agrsea-
bic female correspondent, 10 vile away the
ennm Of camp life, " received a reply from
| N Nav Radford LADY, norvoero,,d dorco