Fences, Gates and Bridges: A Practical Manual. Various

with crude petroleum.

      A very neat and picturesque fence for a garden or a lawn is shown at figure 49. It is made of round poles, with the bark on, the posts being of similar material. Three horizontal bars are nailed to the posts at equal intervals, the slats or pickets woven into them and then nailed in place. One or two coats of crude petroleum, applied to this and other rustic work at first, and renewed every year, adds to its appearance and greatly increases its durability.

      LIGHT PICKET FENCES.

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      Fig. 50.—Panel Of Picket Fence.

      Fig. 51.—Frame For Making Fence.

      For enclosing poultry yards, garden and grounds, a cheap fence with pickets of lath often serves a good purpose. If not very durable, the cost of repair or renewal is light. Figure 50 shows one of this kind, which is sufficiently high for the Asiatic and other heavy and quiet fowls. The panels are sixteen feet long, and are composed of two pieces of ordinary six-inch fencing, for top and bottom rails, with lath nailed across two and a half inches apart; the top ends of the lath extending ten inches above the upper edge of the top rail. Posts, three or four inches through at the top end, are large enough, and, after sharpening well, can be driven into the ground by first thrusting a crow-bar down and wrenching it back and forth. A post is necessary at the middle of each panel. Both rails of the panel should be well nailed to the posts. These panels may be neatly and rapidly made in a frame, constructed for that purpose. This frame, shown in figure 51, consists simply of three cross-pieces of six by six, four feet long, upon which are spiked two planks one foot wide and three feet apart, from outside to outside. Four inches from the inner edge of each plank is nailed a straight strip of inch stuff, to keep the rails of the panel in place while the lath are being nailed on. Against the projecting ends of the cross-pieces, spike two by six posts twelve inches long; on the inside of these posts nail a piece of six-inch fencing, to serve as a stop, for the top ends of the laths to touch, when nailing them to the rails. These panels can be made in the shop or on the barn floor at odd times, and piled away for future use. Nail a wide bottom board around on the inside of the enclosure after the fence is in position.

      Fig. 52.

      Fig. 53.

      Figures 52 and 53 show lath fences high enough for all kinds of poultry. The posts in figure 52 are eight feet apart. A horizontal bar is nailed to the posts six inches above the ground, a second one eighteen inches, and a third four and a half feet. To two lower strips nail laths that have been cut to half length, first driving the lower part of the laths two inches into the ground. One advantage of this fence is, that the two strips near the bottom, being so close together, sustain pressure from dogs or outside intruders better than any other fence constructed of lath, and dispenses with a foot-wide board, so generally used.

      The cheapest lath fence is made with the posts four feet apart, first sawing them in two lengthwise at a sawmill, and nailing the lath directly to the posts without the use of strips. The two upper laths have short vertical pieces fastened to them with cleat nails, and present points to prevent fowls alighting on the fence. Such a fence (figure 53) will cost, for four feet, one-half post, three cents; twenty laths, eight cents; and the nails, three cents, per running foot, six feet high, or one-half cent per square foot.

      HAND-MADE WIRE AND PICKET FENCES.

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      Fig. 54.—Side View Of Bench.

      Fig. 55.—Top View Of Bench.

      Fig. 56.—Portion Of The Fence.

      A very desirable and popular fence is made of pickets or slats woven into horizontal strands of plain wire. Several machines have been invented and patented for doing this work, but it can be done by hand with the aid of the bench illustrated herewith. The wire should be a little larger than that used on harvesting machines, and annealed like it. The bench, of which figure 54 is a side view, and figure 55 a top view, should be about sixteen feet long and have a screw at each corner for raising and lowering the holding bars. For the screws at the ends of the frame one-half to three-fourth-inch iron rod will answer. The wire is twisted close and tight to the slats, and given two or three twists between them. If the slats are of green stuff, fasten the wire to them with small staples, to prevent their slipping when they shrink. The fence is fastened to the post with common fence staples. When this style of fence is used on one side of a pasture or highway, its effectiveness may be increased by a single strand of barbed wire stapled to the posts above the pickets, and a strand of plain wire strung along the bottom to stiffen it. The fence will then be as in figure 56. Such a fence will last many years, and for most sections of the country is the best and cheapest combined cattle and hog fence that can be made. For a garden fence it is equal to the best picket, and at one third of the cost. By having the slats sawed about one-half inch thick, two inches wide, and five to six feet long, it makes an excellent fence for a chicken yard, as it can be readily taken down, moved, and put up again without injuring it in the least. For situations where appearances are secondary importance, round slats are equally as good as pickets. A farmer in Wisconsin planted a few white willow trees the year that he made some fences of this kind. When the fence began to need repairs, the willows had attained such a growth that their trimmings furnished all the material needed then and each year thereafter.

      FENCE OF WIRE AND PICKETS.

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      Fig. 57.—Fence Of Wire And Pickets.

      The fence shown in figure 57 has been introduced in some sections, and is becoming more popular every year. The posts are set ten feet apart, and are so placed that they will come on the right and left side of the fence, alternately. The pickets are split from oak, or any other hard wood, and are four or five feet long, and an inch and a half or two inches wide. When the posts are set, brace the one at the end of the line, and fasten the ends of two number nine, unannealed wires to it. Stretch the wires along to the other end of the line, and a few feet beyond the last post. One pair is to be stretched near the top of the posts and one near the ground. When the wires are stretched taut, fasten them to some posts or other weight that will drag on the ground; the upper and lower wires should be fastened to separate weights, and these should be heavy enough to keep the wires at a great tension. Having done this, you are ready to commence building the fence. One man spreads the strands, while another places the picket between them; the other end of the picket is then raised up and placed between the upper wires, and then driven up with an axe or mallet. In inserting the pickets, the wires are to be crossed alternately, as shown in the engraving. The pickets should be dry and should be about three inches apart. It takes two persons to build this fence successfully, but it can be built more rapidly by three; one to