Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1865-01-19
BUILDING STONE FENCES.

A New Hampshire correspondent of the
Genesee Farmer writes as follows on this
subject:
"a stone fence built upon light porous
soil if laid with tolerable skill, will stand
for a long time but to construct one that
will stand upon wet, spongy tract of land,
especially if it is sloping, is far more diff
icult. The action of the frost will grad
ually loosen the foundation, and when the
ground becomes soft in spring the stones
are crowded out of place, and in a few
few years the fence is in ruiEs. When the
line of direction is east and west, fences
are injured most by frost, for the ground
upon the south side is thawed earlier in the
spring.
These difficulties, however may be
overcome. If the proposed fence is to be
on a loamy soil that is not very wet, it will
be sufficient to make small ridge or en-
bankment, say four feet wide and one foot
high, to build the wall upon and if the
land is spongy, dig ditch three or four
feet wide and deep enough to remain unin-
iured by the frost fill it with small stones,
or partly fill and cover, and then your fence
will have foundation that cannot be sha-
ken.
"The foundation we'll prepared, the next
thing is to have the fence well laid Only
such stones should be used as will be firm
and afford good surface to build upon
They should be 50 laid as to secure these
results, and endeavor should also be made
to have each principal stone, in all except
the lower course, rest upon two below it.
1t requires no little skill to build a stone
fence we'll but by following these rules one
is not likely to go far out Of the way and
when it is once made it is very durable"
Another correspondent in Oneida County,
New York, writes as follows, adding that
stone walls constructed according to this
method in the most frosty sections of Wales
have stood for centuries:
Plough four furrowS six or eight inches
deep and ten inches wide take all the sods
or turf, and lay them on one side-also all
the loose dirt that is easily taken up with
a shovel and lay it on the opposite side
from the stones for the wall then com
mence setting stones on the side of the
trench large enough to raise three or four
inches above the outside surface then fill
in with small stones until within two or
three inches of the top of the border stones 4;
then throw on a few shovelfulls of the fine
dirt, passing the shovel over it to make it
level then commence laying on the bor-
der stones, being careful to have them tip
a little toward the centre then commence
again with the small stones and dirt as
above described. When the dirt is used
up, cut the turfs at suitable lengths and
lay lengthways of the wall, bringing the
edges of the turf close up to the edges of
the border stones, filling the middle space
with small stones. In this way there will
be about two tiers of dirt and two of turf,
if more, all the better
at will be seen that this wall will be
about forty inches on the bottom and twelve
inches across the top, when raised about
four feet i'll height If there is no stone
handy large enough to reach across the top,
continue on as before until the top is well
rounded ef1.n