Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1875-03-12
A Winter Chat About Fence.


|
This subject may seem at first thought to
be out Of season for presentation to-day, but
as no work can be properly done without
thorough preparation and as winter is the
proper time to prepare material for fence
| building, l will venture to suggest TO you
a few practical hints which have learned
| by experience upon my own fnrn For
winter work we must prepare our boards
md posts or at least put the logs into our
/ nearest saw.mil and get the posts out on
/ some road whore We can get them 10 the
I spring | select for logs, tomarac, spruce,
/ FIR and homlock, and consider them to
rank in vame 10 the order named cut
| them up with a cross-cut saw, FROM II to Is
/ feet long, aud have them sawed six inches
wide and one inch thick. Tneu, with iow
logs sawed into cleats = IL inches wide and
one inch thick, the bill for boards is COM
| pete. Next come the posts. | would set
nothing but cedar. Saw them up also with
a cross-out saw, 6 l-2 feet long, and leave
them, the larger the better, for post begins
to rot on the outside and works toward the
heart. So the larger the post the longer it
will last in dry ground Also, have the
posts seasoned before setting. But if you
want to set them in wet land, smaller ones
will answer. We had better, at this season
OF the year, also get supply OF five and
six-inch spikes, and few pounds of eight
| penny nails.
Thus, with our boards, posts and nails on
hand, we are ready for building fence in the
spring.
Now let us imagine that it is spring, and
try our hand at building few rods of fence.
Are our tools all ready? We want good,
stout shovel, iron bar, a sharp ak. a tamp-
ing stick five feet long and two inches
through, line four or five rods long, good
hammer, a bit-stock with a 3-S bit, and
cross-cut saw. Let us clear away where we
propose to build and put down our line,
within six inches of the ground. Then let
us scatter our boards and posts. If the
bark has not been removed from the posts
now is our last chance, and it certainly
should be done. Sort over our boards, so as
to have them Of an even length. Lay them
along the line, four together. Then the
posts, little back, one for each joint and
one in the middle. Have the posts all of an
even size. 1t is wrong idea that anything
will do for middle post.
Now We are ready to build Bring the
shortest board up to the line, aud so on with
each stock, giving them lap of six inches.
Then, with the bar, mark the post holes.
Next, my rule is to dig the post holes the
length OF the shovel, handle and ALL Set
the posts into the holes with as little surface
as possible next to the boards. Now | take
my tampiug stick in my right hand, and
with my lett hold the post in position.
While my man puts in the dirt, | lamp it
down. Never put in any stones - nothing
but 6ue dirt. After putting in about one
third of the DIRT, l step back a little each
way and see that the post is perfectly plumb.
| Then put in the rest of the dirt, and SO
along the whole line. Having set the posts,
| next trim them smooth with au AK. |
then measure and mark my posts, three feet
eight inches from the ground, as that is
high enough for an ordinary fence. Next,
tack on the top board, all along the line,
with elght-penny nails, and so continue down
each course, putting them five inches apart.
Now we have our boards all nailed on. But
if we step back rod or two from the line,
we shall see some lengths that want to be
raised or lowered trife, to make them look
just right, for we must conform somewhat to
the surface of the ground. Then come the
clelts. Saw them up the right length, and
bore them 80 as to have the spike come a
little below the center of the board. Put
them on with six-inoh spikes at the eud
posts and fve.inch in the middle posts.
Now let two men take the cross.cut saw and
saw off the tops Of the posts even with the
top of the fence, and we have our job COM
pleted.
In wet ground l use smaller posts; sharp
en- and drive them. But never put a post
small end down, for one.half the secret of
good fence is to make it top light and bot
tom heavy.