Fences, Gates and Bridges: A Practical Manual — Story, Setting & Ideas

Rail and other Primitive Fences 7-17

Virginia Rail Fence; Laying a Rail Fence; Staking and Wiring; A Fence of Stakes and Riders; A Pole Fence; Fences for Soil Liable to Heave; Other Primitive Fences.

Stone and Sod Fences 18-23

How a Stone Wall Should be Built; Building a Stone Fence; Truck for Moving Stones; Re-inforcing a Stone Wall; A Composite Fence; A Prairie Sod Fence.

Building Board Fences; Fences for Land Subject to Overflow; A Fence-Board Holder; Re-inforcing a Board Fence.

A Good Garden Fence; A Southern Picket Fence; Fences of Split Pickets; Ornamental Picket Fences; Rustic Picket Fences; Light Picket Fences; Hand-made Wire and Picket Fences; Fence of Wire and Pickets.

Barb-Wire Fence 43-61

Statistics and Forms of Barb Wire; How to Set Barb Wire Fence; Unreeling and Stretching Barb Wire; Wire-Stretchers; Building Wire Fence on Uneven Ground.

Fences of Barb Wire and Boards 62-67

Combined Wire and Board Fence; A Bracketed Fence; Dog-Proof Fence.

The Best Hedge Plants; Planting and Care of Osage Hedges; Hedges for the South; Ornamental Hedges and Screens.

Portable Fences and Hurdles 75-85

Portable Board Fences; Portable Fences of Poles and Wire; Portable Fences for Windbreaks; Portable Poultry Fences; Portable Folding Fence; Temporary Wire and Iron Fences.

Fences for Streams and Gullies 85-95

Flood Fences; Portable Wire Fence; Watering Place in a Creek.

Making and Setting Posts 95-117

Making Fence Posts; A Post Holder; Driving Fence Posts by Hand; To Drive Posts Without Splitting; A Powerful Post Driver; Setting a Gate Post; Live Posts; Mending a Split Post; Hook for Wiring Posts; Drawing Fence Posts; Lifting Posts by Hand; Splicing Fence Posts; Application of Wood Preservatives; Iron Fence Posts.

Gates and Fastenings 117-164

Wooden Gates; A Very Substantial Farm Gate; A Strong and Neat Gate; Light Iron Gates; Self-closing Gates; Gate for a Village Lot; A Chinese Door or Gate Spring; Lifting Gates; Rustic Gates; Balance Gates; Gate for Snowy Weather; West India Farm Gates; Gate Hinges of Wood; Double Gates; Double Latched Gates; Improved Slide Gate; A Combined Hinge and Sliding Gate; Gates of Wood and Wire; A Good and Cheap Farm Gate; An Improved Wire Gate; Taking up the Sag in Gates; Good Gate Latches; Top Hinge of Farm Gate; Gateways in Wire Fence.

Wickets and Stiles 164-170

Iron Wickets; Wooden Wickets; Stiles for Wire Fences.

Fencing Out or Fencing In; Division Fences; Highway Fences; What is a Legal Fence? Railroad Fences.

Country Bridges and Culverts 176-188

Strength of Bridges; Braces and Trusses; Abutments, Piers and Railings; Bridges for Gullies; Road Culverts.

FENCES, GATES AND BRIDGES.

RAIL AND OTHER PRIMITIVE WOOD FENCES.

The zigzag rail fence was almost universally adopted by the settlers in the heavily timbered portions of the country, and countless thousands of miles of it still exist, though the increasing scarcity of timber has brought other styles of fencing largely into use. Properly built, of good material, on a clear, solid bed, kept free from bushes and other growth to shade it and cause it to rot, the rail fence is as cheap as any, and as effective and durable as can reasonably be desired. Good chestnut, oak, cedar, or juniper rails, or original growth heart pine, will last from fifty to a hundred years, so that material of this sort, once in hand, will serve one or two generations. This fence, ten rails high, and propped with two rails at each corner, requires twelve rails to the panel. If the fence bed is five feet wide, and the rails are eleven feet long, and are lapped about a foot at the locks, one panel will extend about eight feet in direct line. This takes seven thousand nine hundred and twenty rails, or about eight thousand rails to the mile. For a temporary fence, one that can be put up and taken down in a short time, for making stock pens and division fences, not intended to remain long in place, nothing is cheaper or better. The bed for a fence of this kind should not be less than five feet across, to enable it to stand before the wind. The rails are best cut eleven feet long, as this makes a lock neither too long nor too short; and the forward end of each rail should come under the next one that is laid. The corners, or locks, as they are called, should also be well propped with strong, whole rails, not with pieces of rails, as is often done. The props should be set firmly on the ground about two feet from the panel, and crossed at the lock so as to hold each other, and the top course of the fence firmly in place. They thus act as braces to the fence, supporting it against the wind. Both sides of the fence should be propped. The top course of rails should be the strongest and heaviest of any, for the double purpose of weighting the fence down, and to prevent breaking of rails by persons getting upon it. The four courses of rails nearest the ground should be of the smallest pieces, to prevent making the cracks, or spaces between the rails, too large. They should also be straight, and of nearly even sizes at both ends. This last precaution is only necessary where small pigs have to be fenced out or in, as the case may be. The fence, after it is finished, will have the appearance of figure 1, will be six rails high, two props at each lock, and the worm will be crooked enough to stand any wind, that will not prostrate crops, fruit trees, etc. A straighter worm than this will be easy to blow down or push over. The stability of this sort of fence depends very largely on the manner of placing the props, both as to the distance of the foot of the prop rail from the fence panel, and the way it is locked at the corner.

It is much better, both for good looks and economy, to have the corners of a rail fence on each side in line with each other. This may be accomplished by means of a very simple implement, shown in figure 2. It consists of a small pole, eight feet long, sharpened at the lower end. A horizontal arm of a length equal to half the width of the fence from extreme outside of corners, is fastened to the long pole at right angles, near the lower end. Sometimes a sapling may be found with a limb growing nearly at right angles, which will serve the purpose. Before beginning the fence, stakes are set at intervals along the middle of the line it is to occupy. To begin, the gauge, as shown in figure 2, is set in line with the stakes, and the horizontal arm is swung outwardly at right angles to the line of fence. A stone or block to support the first corner is laid directly under the end of the horizontal arm, and the first rail laid with one end resting on the support. In the same way the next corner and all others are laid, the gauge being moved from corner to corner, set in the line of fence, and the arm swung alternately to the right and left.

A neater and more substantial method of securing the corners of a worm fence is by vertical stakes and wires, as shown in the accompanying illustrations. When the lower three rails are laid, the stakes are driven in the angles close to the rails, and secured by a band of annealed wire. The work of laying the rails proceeds, and when within one rail of the top, a second wire band is put in place. Or the upper wire may be put on above the top rail. Annealed wire is plentiful and cheap.

A FENCE OF “STAKES AND RIDERS.”

A very common method with the “worm” or “Virginia” rail fence is to drive slanting stakes over the corner in saw-horse style, and lay the top rail into the angle thus formed. The stakes, resting on the rails and standing at angle, brace the fence firmly. But the feet of the stakes extending beyond the jagged corners formed by the ends of the rail are objectionable. This is remedied in part by putting the stakes over the middle of the panel—at considerable distance apart—and laying in them long poles horizontally. In this case the stakes should be set at such an angle as to prevent their moving sidewise along the top rail, which should be a strong one. These stakes and long riders are frequently used to raise the height of low stone walls. Figure 6 shows a fence nearly all composed of stakes and riders, which is straight and requires fewer rails than a worm fence. First, crotched stakes, formed by the forks of a branching tree limb, a foot or more long, are driven a foot or so into the ground at a distance apart corresponding to the length of poles used. The bottom poles are laid into these, and two stakes, split or round poles, are driven over these and the next poles laid in. Then two more stakes and another pole, and so on as high as the fence is required. This will answer for larger animals, and be strong and not expensive. For swine, and other small livestock, the crotch stakes may be replaced by blocks or stones, and the lower poles be small and begin close to the ground.

A fence which is cheaply constructed in a timbered region, and calls for no outlay whatever, besides labor, is illustrated at figure 7. The posts are set in a straight line, having previously been bored with an inch augur to receive the pins. When they are set, the pins are driven diagonally into the posts, and the poles laid in place. It would add much to its strength, if the poles were laid so as to “break joints.” A modification of this fence is sometimes made by using withes instead of pins to hold the poles in place. The withe is made of a young sapling or slender limb of beech, iron-wood, or similar tough fibrous wood, with the twigs left on. This is twisted upon itself, a strong loop made at the top, through which the butt is slipped. When in place, the butt end is tucked under the body of the withe.

FENCES FOR SOIL LIABLE TO HEAVE.

The main point in such a fence is either to set the posts and place a pin through them near the bottom, so that the frost may not throw them out, or to so attach the boards that the posts may be re-driven, without splitting them, or removing the rails from the fence. The latter is, perhaps, the best plan, and may be accomplished in several ways, the most desirable of which is shown in figures 10 and 11. The post, _h_, is driven in the usual manner, when a strip of board, _g_, is fastened to it by three or four spikes, depending upon the hight of the fence. A space just sufficient to insert the ends of boards _a_, _e_, figure 11, is left between the post and outside strip, the ends of the boards resting upon the spikes. Many miles of this fence are in use. It looks neat; besides any portion is easily removed, making a passage to and from the field. A new post is easily put in when required, and any may be re-driven when heaved by the frost.

Where iron is cheap, a rod about three-eighths of an inch in diameter is cut in lengths of about seven and a half inches; one end is sharpened, while the opposite end, for three inches, is bent at right angles. After the boards are placed in position, the hooks should be driven in so that they will firmly grasp the boards and hold them in place. The general appearance of the finished fence is shown in figure 12, and is one adapted to almost any locality.

A much better method is to fasten the boards temporarily in place, and then bore a half inch hole through both boards and the post, into which a common screw bolt is then inserted and the nut screwed on firmly. The two ends should, however, be put on opposite sides of the post. One bolt thus holds the ends of both boards firmly to the post, as shown in figure 13. With this style of fence, old rails or round poles may be used instead of boards.

OTHER PRIMITIVE FENCES.

In the heavily timbered parts of the country, where the settlers a few years ago were making farms by felling and burning the huge pine trees, a fence was constructed like the one shown in figure 14. Sections of trees, about four and a half feet long and often as thick, were placed in line and morticed to receive from three to five rails. This style of fence could be used by the landscape gardener with fine effect for enclosing a park or shrubbery.

In the same regions, when a farmer has pulled all the stumps from a pasture that slopes toward the highway, the stumps may be placed in line along the road with the top ends inside of the field. The gaps between where the stumps cannot be rolled close together, are filled with brushwood. A portion of this fence is shown in figure 15.

Where other material is costly, or not to be obtained, the wicker fence, constructed of stakes and willows, is much used. In the far West it is to be seen in every town, generally built on a small embankment of earth from one to two feet deep. In this climate, with occasional repairs, it lasts from ten to fifteen years. Figure 16 shows the style of construction.

Throughout the forest regions is found the staked and ridered brush growing on the line where the fence is constructed. Figure 17 illustrates a few rods of brush fence—such fencing being met with in our Southern States.

STONE AND SOD FENCES.

HOW A STONE WALL SHOULD BE BUILT.

To build a stone wall, some skill is required. The foundation should be dug out a foot deep, and the earth thrown upon each side, which serves to turn water from the wall. Large stones are bedded in the trench, and long stones placed crosswise upon them. As many whole stones as possible should be used in this place. The stones are then arranged as shown in the engraving, breaking joints, and distributing the weight equally. Any small spaces should be filled with chips broken off in dressing the larger stones, so as to make them fit snugly. As it is a work that will last a century, it is worth doing well.

BUILDING A STONE FENCE.

A permanent stone fence should be built from four to five feet high, two feet wide at the base and one foot at the top, if the kind of stones available allow this construction. If a higher fence is desired, the width should be correspondingly increased. The surface of the soil along the line of the fence should be made smooth and as nearly level as possible. The hight will depend upon the situation, the animals, the smoothness of the wall (whether sheep can get foot-holds to climb over), and the character of the ground along each side. If the earth foundation be rounded up previously, sloping off to an open depression or gully, less hight will be needed. Such an elevation will furnish a dry base not heaved by frost like a wet one. Without this, or a drain alongside or under the wall, to keep the soil always dry, the base must be sunk deeply enough to be proof against heavy frosts, which will tilt and loosen the best laid wall on wet soil. The foundation stones should be the largest; smaller stones packed between them are necessary to firmness. The mistake is sometimes made of placing all the larger stones on the outside of the wall, filling the center with small ones. Long bind-stones placed at frequent intervals through the wall add greatly to its strength. The top of the fence is most secure when covered with larger close-fitting, flat stones. The engraving shows a wooden frame and cords used as a guide in building a substantial stone fence. Two men can work together with mutual advantage on opposite sides of the stone wall.

TRUCK FOR MOVING STONES.

The small truck (figure 20) is not expensive, and may be made to save a great amount of hard lifting in building a stone wall. It is a low barrow, the side bars forming the handles like a wheel-barrow. It rests upon four low iron wheels. A broad plank, or two narrow ones, are laid with one end against the wall and the other resting on the ground. A groove is cut at the upper end for the wheels to rest in. The stone is loaded on the truck, moved to the place, and pushed up the plank until the wheels fall into the groove; when, by lifting on the handles, the stone is unloaded.

REINFORCING A STONE WALL.

A stone wall which affords ample protection against sheep and hogs, may be quite insufficient for horses and cattle. The deficiency is cheaply supplied in the manner indicated by the illustration, figure 21. Round poles or rails are used, and if the work is properly performed, the fence is very effective.

The fence illustrated at figure 22 is quite common in some parts of New England. A ridge is thrown up by back-furrowing with a plow, and both that and the ditches finished by hand with a shovel. Light posts are easily driven through the soft earth, and a board fence, only three boards high, made in the usual manner. Then the stones, as they are picked up in the field, are hauled to the fence and thrown upon the ridge. This clears the field, strengthens the ridge, prevents the growth of weeds, and assists in packing the earth firmly around the bottom of the posts.

A sod fence, beside its other value, is a double barrier against the prairie fires which are so sweeping and destructive to new settlers, if unobstructed, for a wide strip is cleared of sods, the fence standing in the middle of it. A very convenient implement for cutting the sod is shown at figure 23. It is made of planks and scantling, the method of construction being clearly shown. The cutting disks are four wheel-coulters from common breaking plows, all attached to an iron shaft sixteen inches apart. They are set to cut three or four inches deep. This is run three times along the line of the fence, making nine cuts, the cutters being held down by a man riding on the rear of the apparatus. Then with a breaking plow one furrow is turned directly in the line of the fence, completely inverting the sod, the team turned to the right, and a second or back-furrow is inverted on top of the first. Additional furrows are cut, diminishing in width to five or six inches on the outer side, as shown in the diagram, figure 24. After the two inner sods are turned, the rest are carried by hand, wheel-barrow or a truck, (figure 20), and laid on the sod wall, care being used to “break joints” and to taper gradually to the top. If a more substantial fence is wanted, a strip thirty-two inches wide may be left as a part for the fence, the first two furrows inverted upon the uncut portion, so that their edges just touch. The sod fence is then continued to the summit just twice as thick as it would be by the process just described. After the fence is laid, a deep furrow should be run on each side, throwing the earth against the base of the fence. A very effective and cheap fence is made by laying up a sod “dyke,” as above described, three feet high, then driving light stakes along the summit, and stringing two strands of barbed wire to them.

BUILDING BOARD FENCES.