Rensselaer Republican, Volume 14, Number 49, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 August 1882 — Securing the Ends of Fence Wire. [ARTICLE]

Securing the Ends of Fence Wire.

Much of the trouble in making a durable and substantial wire fence comes from not having a suitable support at the ends. A correspondent of the Country Gentleman gives the result of his experience as follows: “During the summer vacation of 1880,' I built two {>ieces of barbed wire fence on my farm n Tompkins county. One piece, of about thirty rods, was at one end fastened to a thrifty maple-tree, and at the other to a post firmly set and braced by another post slanting to the ground. The other piece, of about twenty-five rods, was fastened to a tree at each end. This summer I found the latter piece in just as good condition as the day it was put up, though told by my neighbors that in several places the lower wire had been bent to the ground by the weight of snow piled upon it The wires of the former piece were bent down, the post which I had supposed to be securely braced was loosened and stood very much awry, and the whole fence began to have that bedraggled appearance which had prejudiced me against the wire fences on my neighbor’s farms. It seemed to me that the secret of wire fence construction lay in having the wires properly secured at the ends. This year, wishing to build a piece sixty rods long, I determ n id to try an experiment in fastening the ends. At one end of the piece 1 was fortunate in having a sturdy locust tree. The other end was secured in the following manner: Four posts were set on the line of the fence at intervals of eight feet, each post being set three and one-half feet deep. From the upper end of the first post to the second, near the ground, a brace was firmly secured. The same was done between the second and third, and between the third, and fourth. The rest of the distance posts were placed at intervals of thirty feet, and the wires were rightly stretched from the locust-tre'e to the first of the braced posts. I confidently expect to find this fence next summer in as good condition as the one made of three wires placed at distances of fourteen, twenty-eight, and forty-two inches from the ground. Such a fence is a sure protection against all kinds of cattle, and is the cheapest fence I can build.”