Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 07.djvu/574

* FENCE. 522 FENCE, FENCING. land is the hawthorn. In the Middle and South- ern United States the osage orange is probably most commonly used. The arbor vita? and the boxwood (for evergreen hedges) and the honey locust are also frequently used. When used as femes, hedges are frequently planted on em- bankments of ditches or double ditches. The Picket Fence. This form of fence is used especially for inclosing yards and gardens. It may be constructed of cheap split pickets, or of the very ornamental and expensive kind, the variety of styles being almost infinite. The picket fence forms an especially effective barrier for small animals. It may be constructed en- tirely of wood, of wire and wood, or of iron. Wire Fences. Post and wire fences are prob- ably more extensively used than are any other kind, especially in regions where timber is scarce. The single wire does not resist changes of temperature, and is not as strong as the twisted wire. Firmly twisted steel wire, with barbs at short intervals, is the kind most widely used. The barb-wire fence takes up little space, is not destroyed by fire, is easily repaired, and is read- ily adapted to inequalities of surface. It may also be so constructed as to form an effective barrier to stock and trespassers of all kinds. The principal objection urged against it is its lia- bility to injure stock. For this reason it is bet- ter suited to large areas than to small inclosures in which animals are likely to be more or less crowded. Various means have been proposed for overcoming this danger, but with only par- tial success. Two-strand twisted wire, with two-pointed and four-pointed barbs, are used, as well as flat and twisted, barbed and unbarbed, flat steel straps. The barbs should be just long enough to repel infringing animals, with- out inflicting serious injury. Various imple- ments have been devised which greatly facil- itate the construction of wire fences. It is generally considered that two strands of barb wire, 22 inches apart, the lower 22 inches from the ground, will turn horses, cattle, and young stock, and one strand is sometimes used as a temporary barrier for the larger stock. A fence of three strands, 12, 23, and 42 inches from the ground, is more effective than a two-strand fence. Four strand fences, with the strands 5, 12, 22, and 48 inches from the ground, are com- monly used, with or without a baseboard close to the ground. Five strands, it is claimed, will turn dogs, pigs, poultry, and other small ani- mals. With embankments, fewer strands are required for an effective fence. It is common to use posts 8 feet apart, as in board fences, but fewer posts are frequently made to serve. The corner posts should be securely braced, in order that the wires may be tightly stretched. Flood-Fences. Across streams subject to Hoods, or sloughs too wide for flood-gates (see below), fences are often a necessity. These are usually constructed in panels, on logs, which arc linked together and fastened to posts mi the banks with iron couplings, so that the fence rises an. I falls with the flood. Subdles, or Portable Fences. Thesi air nil. They may be constructed of w ! or of wire, in a variety ..f ways, depending upon the purpose for which they are to he u ed - have generally replaced the more primi the hars, being more sightly and convenient. oi well-sea oned lumber or of metal, they are very durable. The styles of construction are almost infinite. Gates for road- ways should be at least 1 1 led wide, and should be well braced so that they will nut sag. The styles of hinges and especially of fastenings, are almost as numerous a- the kinds of gates. (See also Gateways.) When fences cross streams or gulleys subject to flood, it is necessary to em- ploy flood-gates, which are panels of fence sus pended on hinges so 'that they yield to the force of the flood and resume their position when it subsides. Posts. The best timber for posts is probably supplied by red cedar, yellow locust, black wal- nut, white oak, and chestnut. Timber for posts should be cut when the sap is dormant — e.g. in midwinter or in August. The bark should be removed before setting the posts. Various means of preserving posts have been proposed. Soaking the part to be placed in the ground in kerosene and afterwards coating with coal-tar has been found effective. Soaking in blue vitriol ( 1 pound of vitriol to 40 of water) and in creosote and charring have also been recommended. It may be laid down as a general rule that fences should be built only when absolutely neces- sary, and then substantially constructed of good material, since a good fence will prove more economical in the end than a poor one. FENCE, FENCING (in law). At common law, a landowner is under no dut.y to maintain a fence, either to mark his boundary line, or to protect his premises from trespass by man or beast. On the other hand, every one is under a common-law duty to keep his cattle from tres- passing upon the land of others. Accordingly the introduction of fences, in agricultural regions at least, appears to have been for the purpose of keeping cattle in, rather than of shutting them out. They were resorted to as a convenience rather than a protection. While the common law does not confer upon a landowner the right to force his neighbor to maintain a fence, it does permit him to acquire such a right by agreement or prescription. When the right is so obtained it is called an easement, and the land, whose owner is thus bound to main- tain a fence, is said to be subject to a servitude. A contract under seal by a property-owner with his neighbor to build and maintain a fence upon the land of the former for the protection of the neighbor's premises, not only creates a personal liability enforceable against the promissor, but it y. if so intended, create an incumbrance upon his land in the nature of an easement. A pre- scriptive liability of this character is not com- mon, nor is it easily established, (hie who claims it must he prepared to show not only that the person charged has uniformly repaired the fence in question, but also that he has so repaired it at the request of the claimant, and in recognition of the laitcr's right. In some of our States the common law rule thai landowners arc not bi I to fence against I respassing cattle has been rejected by the courts. a- unsuited to the conditions and usages of nl It : ami the rule has keen adopt' I that the owners of cultivated land- .an recover for damages done thereto by trespassing cattle only when they arc inclosed by good and suffl ci.nl fences. This rule has keen rei ni ed by the United States Supreme Court as applies