When a man buys a farm, he examines first the condition of its general
improvements. If the fences are “all run down,” he must take into
consideration the cost of repairing or replacing them—a matter of no
small importance and expense in these days of high priced labor and
lumber. The cheapest fence is not always the one lowest in first cost.
Intelligent purchase of fencing materials means buying those which last
longest with least repairs.
A railroad probably has more fencing along its right of way than any
single property owner, and to avoid damage suits, the fences must at
all times be in perfect repair. As fast as their wooden fences rot out
and burn down, they are replacing them with concrete. Not only has the
lasting quality of concrete recommended itself, but the ever increasing
shortage of the lumber supply has made the purchase of good wooden
posts impossible, and the cost of poor posts high.
Concrete posts in first cost are seldom more expensive than wooden
posts. The life of a wooden post is from 3 to 5 years, while concrete
posts last forever. Weather and fire do not injure them. Even forest
fires cannot harm a line of concrete posts.
The United States Government, recognizing the importance of this
subject, has issued Farm Bulletin No. 403, entitled Concrete Fence
Posts. This bulletin can be obtained free upon application to the
Agricultural Department, or to your Congressman.
Hitching posts, made in a slightly larger box form, with a bolt and
ring inserted in the concrete before it has hardened, add neatness to
the house surroundings. Gate posts of concrete, nothing more than heavy
fence posts made long enough to take the highest fence, prevent sagging
gates, so hard to open. A concrete clothes post is ready for the
clothes line and the wash every Monday morning. The weight of the wet
clothes does not break them down or cause them to sag. Clothes never
have to be rewashed due to dragging in the dirt.
[Illustration]