Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1891-05-30
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Farm Fencing.

Fencing is one of the most costly
necessities of the farm. Then when
you build fence be very sure you
need it, and remove all fences that
are not really necessary. If you
have crooked fences make them
straight, and save timber, time, land
and money, and crowd out weeds,
thistles and briars from useless fence
corners. AS timber grows scarcer
fences become more costly.
The crooked rail, or snake fence
takes up from twelve to fourteen
feet, allowing room for whiffletrees
to pass corners. That fence straight
ened would only take up about five
feet. When moving or reaping one
can cut clean, and no fence corners to
haggle at with the old scythe and
waste time in the busiest season of
the year. Doing away with fence
corners shuts out Canada thistles
largely, because if they grow to per-
lection more one place than another
it is in a corner. l don't want this
ties in a corner, nor a "corner in
thistles." Its a poor crooked fence
that will not make a good straight
one and leave quite pile of summer
wood "to boot" In Strengthening
use cedar posts, as they are best, put
as far apart as length Of rails will al
low, and put posts at least three feet
in the ground. If you have plenty
of rails stake set in the ground be-
side the post and two wires, lower
one six or eight inches from the
ground (never use block at the bot
tony, and upper wire two or three
rails from top. Give posts a little
slant from side rails are on, to allow
for sagging.
If you are short of rails you can
make neat looking and substantial
fence by using posts and four rails
fastened to posts by wire looped
across face side of post and fastened
in centre of loop Figure eight with
small staple. Banking at bottom al
lows of putting rails closer together,
making it hog tight. This fence is
covered by a SIS patent. A good
board fence can be made three boards
high by banking each side. In dig
ging holes use what is called a dig
ger-an auger is no use on hard
strong soils. The digger is made like
a pair of tongs, with long handles
greatly reducing labor, which is real
ly the reason, together with costs o
good posts, why we see so many pa
tent "make.shifts" called fence
throughout the country. Beware o
straight fences set on top Of tn
ground; they blow down with ever.
wind storm, and in the long run post
will be found cheaper.
For the front road fence I prefer
board fence four boards high, wit
one on top of posts which have bee
sawed off slanting. Beside the fenc
plant a row Of naples about twent
feet apart, which not only serve as
wind break and beautifier Of the farm
but to great extent prevent post
from heaving; shovel of sand c
loamy earth also helps to prevent i
another preventative is a ditch PIT
parallel with the fence. If lumber
not prcurable wire fence is perhaI
the next best, using cedar posts an
banking well at bottom each sidt
Put a good tamarack pole, bar
peeled off, or strong scantling an tol
so that stock can see it, the great oil
lection to barbed wire fences bein
the frequent and serious injury il
flicted upon animals. Brace the en-
posts firmly, and if the fence is lonI
braces are needed about halfwa
along.
The average farm in this count
(MiddleseX) has about twice as muC
fence as is necessary, and the small,
the farm the more fence you usual
see. The average snake fence talk
up about eight feet Of land, not coun
ing space for passing; a straigl
rail one and a half feet, a different
of six and half feet, which in re
amounts to a little over 100 squa
feet, in 100 rods to 10000 square fee
or nearly quarter of an acre. l kno
two tifty-acre farms on each of whiC
the land unnecessarily taken up wi
snake fences amounts to nearly OF
and half acres. In most cases ]
crop but weeds grows on all th
valuable land, "fence-cOrner hay
as a rule being why, useless stuff.
So far as l have seen hedges ha'