The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-10-01
The Wire Fence.

A western farmer writes to an agricult-
ural journal as follows; AS l have a wire
fence, built some twelve years ago, which
has stood well and answered every purpose
of good fence, and is likely to do so for a
score or more years to come, will now de-
scribe how it was made, and recommend it
as the lest l have seen. My fence is made
of four wires, with six-inch board at bot
tom and narrow strip of inch white-oak
plank on top. 1t is 40 rods in length, and
runs along the public road in front of my
farm buildings and lawn. After trying two
kinds of board fence was obliged to re-
sort to wire to obviate the blocking up of
the gateways by snow, which had to be en-
countered every winter, as well as to pro-
tect the plants and shrubbery in my front
ward from being broken down. 1t was
made as follows: l first got two white oak
posts exactly seven feet long and consdera-
bly, stouter than those commonly used for
post and railing, only the portion of them
to be above ground was hewn to about four
inches in thickness-the stouter the butt
ends the better. l planted the butt ends of
these two posts three feet in the ground.
one at each end of the intended line of
fence, and braced them on the side facing
each other with three-foot brace, the
lower end of the brace resting against
stone planted in the ground and the upper
end fitted TO q notch made in the post about
two feet above ground. The intermediate
posts were of much less size and only five
feet in length, foot or so of the lower end
of which being sharpened and driven into
the ground in holes made with a crowbar,
and about a rod apart along the line of the
intended fence, taking care to have these
posts all as near level on top as possible.
Four half-inch holes for the insertion Of the
wires were then bored through the two end
posts-the first about eighteen inches from
the top, the next ten inches below that, the
third about eight inches lower, and the
fourth four inches still lower. In proceed
ing with the work, we run the end of the
wire through one of the holes in the begin
ming post, commencing at top, and after
twisting the eud of it into a knot to pre-
vent it from drawing cut in stretching,
we ran a smooth stick through the spool
containing the wire, when two of us, by
passing along the line of fence, unwound
the wire until the other end post was
reached, whereupon leaving the spool on
the ground, we returned to the beginning
post, and after lifting the wire up sufficient
ly high alongside the first intermediate post
to correspond with the top hole in the be-
ginning post, we stapled it in place, but not
very tightly, to said intermediate post, and
so on to all the other intermediate posts I'M
til the other end post was reached; after
which we cut the wire, leaving enough end
TO pass thI ough the top hole in the endpost.
We then got a pole, about three Inches
thick at the butt and some six or eight feet
long, around which and about foot above
the butt end we twisted the end of the
severed wire as firmly as possible; and then,
usi the pole as lever, we placed the butt
end of the same against the post and
stretched the wire as tight as possible.
Then, still keeping the wire stretched, we
took stout pair of blacksmith's tongs (al-
though a money wrench would have done
as welD, and catching the wire close up to
the outside of the post. held it firmly in
place while the end Of the same was being
twisted into knot. We so proceeded until
all the wires were in place. The staples hold
ing the wires to the intermediate posts were
then driven up tightly, so as to keep the
wires securely in place. And then, after
mailing a strip of plank some six inches
wide ali along the bottom Of the posts, and
another strip of inch white oak stuff, about
half as wide, all along on top of the posts,
we have fence which has proven a COM
plete barrier to all kinds of stock, not even
excepting pigs. We used No. s galvanized
barb wire, with short, straight barbs, cost
lug 70 cents pound or rcd--a pound max
ing rod.
1t may be proper to add that being in
formed that if young cedar or locust was
planted alongside of every intermediate
post they would become large enough to
staple to by the time the posts rotted off, l
accordingly did so, and, although the posts
are sUill sound, the young trees are almost
large enough now to take their place, so that
l expect shortly to have a fence of live
posts and wire of which mono of us now
above ground will live to SEQ the end.
Bound to Make Money.
The farmer in the south, says the New