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FENCES, GATES
AND
BRIDGES.
A PRACTICAL MANUAL.
EDITED BY
GEORGE A. MARTIN.
THREE HUNDRED ILLUSTRATIONS.
[Illustration]
NEW YORK:
ORANGE JUDD COMPANY,
1892.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1887, by the
O. JUDD CO.,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
PREFATORY
It is authoritatively stated that the building and maintenance of the
farm fences in the United States have cost more than the construction
of the farm buildings. Be this as it may, while large numbers of works
have been written upon rural architecture we believe this is the first
publication specially devoted to Fences, Gates and Bridges. It aims to
be a practical work, showing the “evolution” of the fence from the road
barrier of logs, brush or sods to the latest improved forms of barbed
wire. The numerous illustrations are mainly representations of fences,
gates, etc., in actual use. The chapter on fence law is necessarily
condensed. The various judicial decisions upon the subject alone would
fill a large volume.
This little work, the first and only one of its character, is given to
the public in the confident hope that it will prove specially useful to
farmers and village residents.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
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.
CHAPTER II.
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.
CHAPTER III.
Board Fences 24-30
Building Board Fences; Fences for Land Subject to Overflow; A
Fence-Board Holder; Re-inforcing a Board Fence.
CHAPTER IV.
Picket Fences 31-42
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.
CHAPTER V.
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.
CHAPTER VI.
Fences of Barb Wire and Boards 62-67
Combined Wire and Board Fence; A Bracketed Fence; Dog-Proof Fence.
CHAPTER VII.
Hedges 67-75
The Best Hedge Plants; Planting and Care of Osage Hedges; Hedges for
the South; Ornamental Hedges and Screens.
CHAPTER VIII.
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.
CHAPTER IX.
Fences for Streams and Gullies 85-95
Flood Fences; Portable Wire Fence; Watering Place in a Creek.
CHAPTER X.
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.
CHAPTER XI.
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.
CHAPTER XII.
Wickets and Stiles 164-170
Iron Wickets; Wooden Wickets; Stiles for Wire Fences.
CHAPTER XIII.
Fence Law 170-176
Fencing Out or Fencing In; Division Fences; Highway Fences; What is a
Legal Fence? Railroad Fences.
CHAPTER XIV.
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.
CHAPTER I.
RAIL AND OTHER PRIMITIVE WOOD FENCES.
VIRGINIA RAIL FENCE.
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.
[Illustration: Fig. 1.—VIRGINIA ZIGZAG FENCE COMPLETE.]
LAYING A RAIL FENCE.
[Illustration: Fig. 2.]
[Illustration: Fig. 3.—THE FENCE BEGUN.]
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.
STAKING AND WIRING.
[Illustration: Fig. 4.—STAKES IN “LOCK.”]
[Illustration: Fig. 5.—STAKES IN ANGLES.]
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.”
[Illustration: Fig. 6.—A STAKE AND RIDER FENCE.]
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.
[Illustration: Fig. 7.—A POLE FENCE.]
A POLE FENCE.
[Illustration: Fig. 8.—WITHE.]
[Illustration: Fig. 9.—WITHE IN PLACE.]
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.
[Illustration: Fig. 10.—END VIEW OF FENCE.]
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.
[Illustration: Fig. 11.—SIDE VIEW OF FENCE.]
[Illustration: Fig. 12.—FENCE WITH IRON HOOKS.]
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.
[Illustration: Fig. 13.—HORIZONTAL SECTION.]
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.
[Illustration: Fig. 14.—LOG POSTS.]
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.
[Illustration: Fig. 15.—STUMP FENCE.]
[Illustration: Fig. 16.—WICKER FENCE.]
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.
[Illustration: Fig. 17.—BRUSH FENCE.]
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.
[Illustration]