Barbed Wire Fencing.

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 169, 11 September 1886, Page 4

Barbed Wire Fencing.

______ , , ) ' I'll Although the use of barbed-wire for farm fences is rapidly extending in the, colonies, there are yet many who have a prejudice against itr. There is no doubt barbed- wire is nasty, stuff to, handle, and, that under certain accidental circumstances it is liable to inflict' serious injuries on live* stock,' but on the whole its special merits as an effective and " permanent 1 fence outweigh its drawbacks when properly used. For town allotments and along side* walks' where many children must pass and repass it is altogether out, of place, and its use should be prohibited by law. But on stock farpis, or around 1 orchards' as * a hindrance to fruit-etealers, its services are very valuable.. For the latter purpose we may repeat a former hint given in a pre- \ vious number of Thk Fakmeb.,'Two barbed wires buried in the centre of a we'll -grown hedge of African, Box-thorn will constitute a serious inconvenience to the operations of the most determined and '■ accomplished orchard-robber. The wires nhould be stretched in place when the hedge is first planted, and the latter allowed to grow up around them. They will strengthen and stiffen the hedge immensely, besides adding 'to its impenetrability, otnd thus avoiding the creation of unsightly gaps. But wo began' these remarks with the intention of introducing nome Yankee testimony' to the practical ' value of barbed wire as a farm fence. A farmer of Warren Co., Indiana, writes : — From my own .long experience with barbed-wire fencing and ; still longer ex perience with hedges, I can find no weighty objections to the former. I have heard some, complaints and. some expressed fears of possible danger to stock ; but these ob jections have been few, in comparison with the, commendations, given "wire fencing. Its advantages as to durability, low cost and capability of resiating wind storms, are certainly evident. Economically considered, there- is no fence tihat can compare with it. We do not in thi^ vicinity, as a general rule, build fences of , wire alone, preferring to use two six-inch pine boards at the | bottom, with three wires above. The principal objection urged again: t barbecl-wire for fencing, i& that fatock ie liable to serious injury from rumuug violently againf-t the barbs. So, far as my observation has extended, this objection arises only from an apprehension of .danger, and is not ba.sed on actual facts. Of course, one cau conceive of such a thingi and shudder at tli.o thought of a,favou rite animal being maimed ;' and at once the objection tlie.oretica.lly becomes a potent one: but I .think very few persons have suffered loss in thirj manner t I have not 'heard o£ such an instance in this part of the country, and there are hundreds of miles of barbed wire fence within a very few miles^of this ; place. I notice that stock generally acquaint' themt>elves with the patu're of the* fence, and after, that leave it severely 'alone.. The difficulty is largely obviated by the 'board and wh'e fence, for horses running towards the fence, see the' board and turn away. The most universally despised fence with us is the Osage Orange hedge. Our people regard it as the poorest and most expensive of fences. The thorns are a never-ending nuisance; I have known, several instance? in which animals arid even men have been seriously injured 'by them.' Last summer ,a fine coir, belonging to a neighbour attempted to jump a lece'ntly trimmed hedge fence, and -was' disembowelled by a protruding snag. ,' ' , Another farmer thus relates 'his experi ence of barbed-wire : -My experience with barbed- \\ ire fences ' ex tends 'through four years, and for inside fences only, my farm being fenced all round the outside and once across with Osagc Orange. Four years ago I had a, part of f ono field of corn cut up into shocks. The rest, of the fieldj stubble, ,w«is soAved early to rye for winter pasture. The two parts of this fiekV were then separated by a ' barbed-wire fence, built as follows : Posts were clrivdn into the ground 20 iuches deep and two rods apart. Upon these two wires w,ere stretched very tightly, 2J and 3£ feet from the ground. The win ter being mild, mules^ horses and cattle of all ages down to six months, were turned in on the rye, and ran beside' the fence all winter never once breaking into the corn on the other side. The rye Was seeded to grass, and this two-wire fence forms an effective in'd permanent division fence. I have been thus particular in de^crifying "tHis fence, because it answered the purpose so well .that I followed the same. plan in .building others;, with equally good results,, One barbed wire stretched on an old board fence, has given better results than boards costing twice a- much., ,1 have kopt hog. confined ' from the time r> tliey wero pigs to killing time, with two six-inch boarcU and one barbed wire, on top,' 'the hogs' neve i getting out once jp, all their lives. And' "now 'as to danger, accidents, etc. Since 'first putting up 'the fence I have had several horses cut, slightly, but so far have not sustained a, single dollar's worth' 'of dam«ge ; ,n'nd this I think 1 is the general experience where stock is all kept at home, And not allowed to^ run at large, the danger being lessened, by .keeping the wires ,taut. 'On, large" prairies, where all kinds of stock run at laipje;' the 'damages, especially ! ta horses, have been ' very serious. >( '