IMPROVE- MENTS IN FENCES AND MATERIALS THEREFOR
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Lemuel Edward Evans, of New York City, in the State of
New York, in the United States of America, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN FENCES AND MATERIALS THEREFOR.”
Sealed the 1st December 1870, and dated the 22nd August 1876.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Lemuel Edward Evans at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 22nd August 1876.
LEMUEL EDWARD EVANS, of New York City, in the State of New York, in the
United States of America. "IMPROVEMENTS IN FENCES AND MATERIALS THEREFOR.”
"
The Invention pertains to the small metallic material ordinarily known as wire,
and to bars or analogous extended pieces which may be of larger size.
I provide them with barbs either by attaching pieces or by suitably cutting and
bending the material to present the projecting ends. The effect is very marked in
repelling the contact of animals. I propose to extend the barbed material, fastening
it to posts or the like at suitable intervals.
There may be one, two, or any other number of the wires or rods to form a
complete fence.
My material may be used with other material if preferred. I propose in some
instances to combine with the barbed wires or rods rods of wood, or ropes of hemp,
grass, or other suitable material which shall aid the animals in seeing the fence
and thus to avoid running against it and breaking it in the night.
My improvements embrace several modifications in the mode of producing the
bars.
One mode is to use triangular bars and to cut, by hand or by any suitable
machinery, either when the bars are hot or cold, a slender tapering splinter or
thorn by a cut entering obliquely from one of the angles. The piece thus partially
detached being turned outward forms an efficient thorn.
Another modification is by cutting a single rod of wire into short lengths with
pointed ends and engaging the ends together by coiling them around each other
and turning the extreme points outward.
Another is by similarly engaging the ends and forming loops or links at the ends
with the points turned outward.

page_text: Still another by forming a link at one end and threading the end of the adjacent
length through it, coiling it once or twice around and bending the end outward.
In bending the ends outward they should be turned so as to lock the parts and
brace them against being pulled open.
Another modification may be made by engaging the ends of the short lengths
together and attaching a separate piece with pointed ends to serve as a thorn.
Such separate pieces may be made of iron or steel in various forms, one as a short
length of hard wire coiled around one of the wires and locked against turning by
the other wire.
I can attach thorns by various devices to a single wire; one method is by taking 1
two short lengths of hard wire with pointed ends and twisting them together and
around the main wire, turning the ends outward. This kind of thorn presents four
points.
I'. In i
Some of my modifications pertain to wires or analogous extended rods of metal
which shall be doubled or trebled, making a cord analogous to wire rope. 1 propose,
for example, to make such with two continuous strands and a third strand in short
lengths, coiled around with sharpened ends turned outward.
Still another modification is by attaching a short length of transverse wire with
pointed ends to serve as a thorn by passing such short wire through between the
strands or wires of the wire rope, coiling it once around and then passing it again
through.
In all these varieties and others it is important that the ends of the cut parts
which are turned outward or the ends of the additional pieces which are inserted
for the purpose be pointed, and so made as to inflict stinging wounds on the
animals which shall attempt to break the fence, but shall also be of so little length
and so conditioned as not to inflict fatal injuries.
My improvements may be made with plain wire or rods, or with the material
oiled or variously coated to protect the metal from the weather.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Lemuel Edward Evans in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 11th
January 1877.
LEMUEL EDWARD EVANS, of New York City, in the State of New York, in the
United States of America. "IMPROVEMENTS IN FENCES AND MATERIALS THEREFOR."
The Invention pertains to the small metallic material ordinarily known as wire,
or analogous extended picces which may be of larger size.
I provide them with barbs either by attaching pieces or by suitably connecting
and bending the material to present projecting ends. The effect is very marked in
repelling the contact of animals. I propose to extend the barbed material, fastening
it to posts or the like at suitable intervals.
There may be one, two, or any other number of the wires or rods to form the
complete fence.
My material may be used with other material if preferred. I propose in some
instances to combine with the barbed wires or rods rods of wood, ropes of hemp,
grass, or other suitable material which shall aid the animals in seeing the fence
and thus to avoid running against it and breaking it in the night.
My improvements embrace several modifications in the mode of producing the
barbs.
One mode is to use triangular bars and to cut by hand, or by any suitable
machinery, either when the bars are hot or cold, a slender tapering splinter or thorn
by a cut entering obliquely from one of the angles. The piece thus partially
detached being turned outward forms an efficient thorn.
Another modification is by cutting a single rod or wire into short lengths with

page_text: pointed ends and engaging the ends together by coiling them around each owner
and turning the extreme points outward.
Another is by similarly engaging the 'ends and forming loops or links at the ends
with the points turned outward.
Still another by forming a link at one end and threading the end of the adjacent
length through it, coiling it once or twice around and bending the end outward.
In bending the ends outward they should be turned so as to lock the parts and
brace them against being pulled open.
Another modification may be made by engaging the ends of the short lengths
together and attaching a separate piece with pointed ends to serve as a thorn. Such
separate picce may be made of iron or steel in various forms, one as a short length
of hard wire coiled around one of the wires and locked against turning by the other
wire.
I can attach thorns by various devices to a single wire; one method is by
taking two short lengths of hard wire with pointed ends and twisting them together
and around the main wire, turning the ends outward. This kind of thorn presents
four points.
Some of my modifications pertain to wires or analogous extended rods of metal
which shall be doubled or trebled, making a cord analogous to a wire rope. I pro-
pose, for example, to make such with two continuous strands and a third strand in
short lengths coiled around with sharpened ends turned outward.
Still another modification is by attaching a short length of transverse wire with
pointed ends to serve as a thorn by passing such short wire through between the
strands or wires of the wire rope, coiling it once around and then passing it again
through. Or I can in such case coil the short length around the exterior of both
or all the wires and similarly allow the pointed ends to project.
In all these varieties and many others it is important that the ends of the parts
which are turned outward or the ends of the additional pieces which are inserted
for the purpose. be pointed, and adapted to inflict stinging wounds on the animals
that shall attempt to break the fence, but shall also be of so little length and so
conditioned as not to inflict fatal injuries.
My improvements may be made with plain wire or rods, or with the material
variously coated to protect the metal from weather.
The accompanying Drawings form part of this Specification and represent several
modifications of the Invention.
Figure 1 is a side view of the completo fence formed according to my Invention.
The remaining Figures represent small portions.
Figure 1 is on too small a scale to well indicate either of the varieties as distin-
guished from the others. It exhibits the material in use with a stout rope which
may be formed largely of straw or other weak material as its function is merely
to aid the eyes of the animals in seeing the fence and thus to avoid walking or
running against it. Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all
the Figures.
In Figures 2, 3, and 5, A and B represent separate and distinct lengths of wire
engaged together by peculiar means. In Figure 2 the wire A is coiled twice around
the wire B, and the pointed end left extending at right angles. In this Figure also
the wire B after extending through the coiled part A is itself coiled around the
straight portion of A, and is pointed and; left projecting. When tension is applied
to this union the coiled parts of A and B are drawn into contact with each other.
They are here represented a little distance apart to promote clearness.
In Figure 3 the end of the wire A is correspondingly coiled around the wire B,
and the end of the wire B is correspondingly coiled around the wire A, and tho
ends extended to the same extent. They may be extended to a little distance, or
to any required distance, and pointed so as to produce the same effect as in Figure 2;
but in such case additional effect is produced by an additional piece of wire C,
which is coiled around the straight portion of the wire A, and its ends A', B², are
sharpened and caused to project. I prefer that where only two thorns are employed

page_text: they shall always project in opposite directions. It is not essential to the success
of this joint that the ends of the wires A and B should project at all. If they do
they should project at right angles to the points A¹, B₁, as will be understood.
When this joint is subjected to tension the coiled parts A, B, do not come in contact
with each other, but press respectively against the coiled part of the interposed
wire C.
In Figuro 4 there are two wires A, A¹, B, B¹, all in short lengths. The
wires A, A¹, are applied together and coiled around the other wires B, B¹, which
are in turn similarly coiled around the wires A and A'. The ends of the whole
are separated, that is to say, the points A and A¹ are extended in opposite directions.
The points B and B are also extended opposite to each other in a plane at right
angles or nearly so to the points B, B¹. When this compound fence wire is sub-
jected to strains the parts slide upon each other until the coiled part of A, A¹, bears
against the coiled part. of B, B. All the wires are in short lengths, and the
compound fence wire thus formed corresponds to that shown in Figure 2, except
that the wires are duplicated and the points are, distributed.
In Figure 5 the longths A and B, which may be single as at first, are united
together in a different manner from any of the preceding. The wire A is bent
around to form a loop twisted sufficiently to form a strong union, and the end
pointed and turned outward. The wire B is passed through this loop two or more
times, and is then bent so as to hook firmly hold of itself, and the end B¹ pointed
and turned in an opposite direction from that of the point A¹. This form of joint
is highly flexible.
In Figure 6, A represents one length and B another, that is, two lengths not
being coiled around each other, or in any manner directly engaged together. They
are on the contrary coiled around two other wires D and E, which latter may
extend continuously to any length. The wires A and B are, however, in short
lengths with each end of each length coiled around the others and the points
sharpened and extended out.
In Figure 7 the two main wires D and E are continuous and are twisted firmly
and closely together, except where the separate thorn wire C is engaged. This
thorn wiro C is a short piece with pointed ends extending in directions opposito to
cach other and engaged with the main wire by being coiled first around one wire D
and then around the other wire E.
Figure 8 is a side view, and Figuro 8° a cross section. In this modification the
whole, including the thorns, is made from one piece, which may be continuous or
may be in short lengths, engaged together by any of the means.
The part repre-
sented is continuous. The main bar M is of triangular section. The thorus m are
produced by cutting or sawing in at the angles and turning outward the pointed
end of the metal, which is thereby partially detached.
Figure 9 is a side view, and Figure 9ª a cross section of a device for providing
thorns on wires, differing widely from any of the preceding. The main wire M is
continuous. At short intervals it is embraced between the the two short wires which
are twisted together and the ends pointed and spread apart, plainly shown in cross
section, Figure 9º.
Having thus fully described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
.carrying the same into effect, I desire it to be understood that what I claim is-
1st. A fence wire or rod of any suitable section having thorns or barbs cut up
from the angles or surface of the wire or rod, such thorns or barbs being pointed
and projecting, substantially as shown in Figures 8 and 8ª.
2nd. A fence material composed of one or moro wires, rods, or bands in short
lengths having thorns at the junction, composed, produced, and bent, as specified.
3rd. Fence wire formed in short lengths with the ends coiled around each other
and turned outward, as shown.
4th. Fence material composed of two or more wires applied together side by side,
a portion or the whole of which are in short lengths, with the ends turned outward,
as shown.

page_text: 5th. Fence material composed of two or more wires side by side, having a separate
piece of wire wrapped or coiled around the whole or part of the same, the end of
said coiled wire being pointed and projected, as specified.
Jn witness whereof, I, the said Leinuel Edward Evans, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.
Witness,
THOMAS DREW STETSON,
Patent Solicitor,
New York.
LEMUEL EDWARD EVANS. (LS.)