Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Nov., 1888
Specification Accepted, 31st Dec., 1888
I, ALFRED NAYLOR PEARSON, of Cunningham Street, Northcote, in the Colony
of Victoria, Agricultural Chemist, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :—
This invention of improvements in wire netting and in fences to be made therewith
has been devised mainly for the purpose of providing a wire netting whereby
rabbit-proof fencing can be more cheaply erected, and which will also have several
other advantages over the wire netting fences now in use.
Hitherto wire netting for fences has almost invariably been made of a hexagonal
mesh and this I find is undesirable by reason of its want of rigidity, as well as by
reason of its requiring a larger amount of wire to cover a given area, than wire netting
constructed according to my invention.
In addition to this I have devised certain simple contrivances which can be used with
or made part of my wire netting for the purpose of acting as traps-in the one case
for animals such as rabbits, and in the other for birds such as sparrows. And in
further addition I have also devised a certain specific means for converting my ordinary
wire netting into barb wire netting, and for so constructing fencing from my wire
netting, as to produce at one and the same time, a rabbit, dog, and cattle proof fencing
as will be more readily understood on reference to the drawings hereto attached, and
to the further description of my invention which is hereinafter contained.
Instead of making wire netting of a hexagonal mesh as has almost invariably been
the case hitherto, I make wire netting with a square mesh, as shewn in Figure 1 of
my drawings, using what may be termed a warp and a woof wire, and winding the
one around the other at their points of intersection or crossing, as shewn in Figure 2
of my drawings.
As an alternative the wire which is wound around, may also be twisted around itself
as shewn in Figure 3 of my drawings.
An alternative method of joining the two wires together is shewn in Figure 4 of
my drawings in which the wires are tied together by a separate piece twisted around
both as clearly shewn. This inay again be modified by leaving a portion of the ends
of such additional wires untwisted and turning them in opposite directions so as to
form spikes or barbs as clearly shown in Figure 5 of my drawings.

page_text: By using an additional tying piece of wire and by turning the barbed ends thereof
in the opposite direction a barbed netting is produced such as is shewn in Figure 6 of
my drawings.
A very simple form of trap and which can be used in connection with my square
mesh wire netting being economically woven into it is shewn in Figure 7, in which
two pieces of wire A. A. are bent around one of the horizontal wires in my netting,
and are connected together by a cross-piece B so as to remain suspended as shown,
the operation being that if an animal such as a rabbit were to endeavour to push its
way through the trap it would be unable to return without being impaled upon one
or more of the spiked ends of the wire A.
Figure 8 shows the same contrivance in duplicate.
A further modification of my invention is for the purpose of constructing a sparrow
trapping enclosure into which a bird can enter, but cannot return. This is shewn in
Figure 9. It consists simply of the suspended wire (). C. covering the meshes of the
netting and having their ends turned inwards and sharpened so as to form barbs.
A bird can push its way inward, but having done so is prevented from escaping
by reason of its inability to reopen the suspended wires, and also by being warded off
by the inward projecting barbs. This contrivance also can be readily woven into the
netting.
In the construction of fencing according to my invention it would be quite
practicable and I think desirable to make those meshes which are above the height at
which a rabbit attempts to pass through the netting, larger than those below, and
terminating in a row of barbed meshes, or even with ordinary barbed wire fabricated
as a part of the netting so as to constitute a fence which would keep out rabbits, dogs,
and cattle.
This method of construction is clearly shewn in Figure 10 of my drawings.
I would have it understood that I do not confine myself to the gauge of the wire,
or to the size of the meshes used in the manufacture of my wire netting.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is―
First. Wire netting made with a square mesh and with the one wire bound to the
cross wire as shewn in Figures 1. 2. and 3. of my drawings.
Second. Wire netting made with a square mesh and having the one wire bound to
the cross wire by means of a separate wire tie as shewn in Figure 4, and also with
its ends turned outwards so as to form barbs, or spikes as shewn in Figure 5 of my
drawings.
Third. Wire netting made with a square mesh, and having double barbs affixed at
the junction of the wires as shewn in Figure 6 of my drawings.
Fourth. Wire netting made with a square mesh and having the animal trap
contrivances attached thereto as shewn in Figures 7 and 8.
Fifth. Wire netting made with a square mesh and provided with the bird trapping
contrivances shewn in Figure 9 of my drawings.
Sixth. Wire netting fencing made with a square mesh, the size of which is greater
above the height fitted for rabbits, and the top of which terminates in a row of barbed
meshes as shewn in Figure 10 of my drawings.
Dated this First day of October One thousand eight hundred and eighty-eight.