The Brussels Post, 1978-09-27, Page 14HAYWARD'S
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14 THE BRUSSELS POST, SEPTEMBER 27, 1978
• Iimemberin0 with .W. G. Strorig
•
~ences then and now
[Part 2) of 3 parts.
A simpler pole fence was fairly common
where cattle pastured( Two stakes were
driven into the ground to form an X and a
little farther on another pair. One just had
to lay a polOrom the crotch of one X to the
next. You had a one-rail fence, 'economical
-but not t000 trustworthy:
The stake and riderlook more poles and
was harder to break through. You drove
two stakes into the ground to form an X as
with the polefence. You laid one end of the
pole in the X and left the other end on the
ground. You then drove another X
formation over the inclined pole about half
way along its length and laid another pole
with its extremity on the ground. This
continued until the enclosure was sufficient
. to meet the needs. It was a bristly-looking
thing with poles all slanting heavenward.
Fewer rails were needed and a broken or
defective pole could be easily and quickly
replaced. On hilly farms stones gathered
from the fields were often tossed off at the
base of the poles to increase their rigidity.
Another variation was the chock and log
fence. It did not require as many logs and
probably represented less labour.. Logs
some fifteen feet long were laid in the same
parallel di'rection with their ends over-
lapping by a couple of feet. Here chocks of
logs cut into three foot lengths were
notched at either ends on the upper and
lower surface and laid across the horizontal
giants to hold them together and to form a
base for other logs to be added 'where
necessary. This type of fence ran in a
straight line, required no post-holes and
could be moved if necessary. Field stones
forming a base at least three feet wide
performed two useful purposes.
Russell fence
The Russell fence was a variation of the
stake and rider type. The material for this
device was usually cut from second growth
forests where the diameter of the trunks
was four or five inches. Four fifteen foot
poles which made each panel of the fence
were supported by upright stakes driycn
into the ground to form an A and wired-at
the apex. Copious amounts of wire were
required to suspend each pole from the
arms or stakes. The big advantage of this
Russell fence was that it took less'material
and of smaller girth than for the snake
fence and, at the same time, was a
land-saving device.
The straight rail fence though less
.,picturesque than the worm fence was a
more practical modification. At the bay
where the rails overlapped, they were
supported by two stakes driven into 'the
ground. A top loop of wire made them
More rigid. Later many of these fences
were rendered more ornate by the use of a
'sleeper' with augered holes through
which the tapered upper ends"of the stakes
were threaded.
The post-hole fence was.considered to be
something fancy. OriginallS, the, post some
fivd. feet in length was split down the centre
to get at least one, more or less, flat
surface on which to work with a speCial axe 4
somewhat like a fireman's axe with a
narrow- blade. It was possible to chop the
hole right through the post with this type of
axe. At a later date when the auger came
into more extensive use as a building tool
the-posts might be squared and morticed to •
hold the rails. The. chief objection to the
post fence was that the hole had to be dug
with a shovel. prior to the invention of the
post-hole auger. Each rail had to set into °
the proper opening in the post before the -
post was placed in an upright position and
the earth' packed around its base. The
rotting of the posts at grotind level was
inevitable.
In urban as well as rural areas picket
fences were popular. Originally the urban
area where houses were built was a vast
space of grass with a few boundary stakes of
iron posts here ,and there. Without some
kind of barrier stray dogs would wander in,
playful children would trample the peony
.sprouts in a far-ranging game of tag and
rabbits would eat the lettuce heads in a
single"night. Picket fences became popular
landmarks to separate' building lots and to
totally enclose one's private property. In
rural areas such fences usually encircled
the farm house and adjacent garden area.
Too often strength was secondary to
—prettiness. Many will recall memories of
these simple structures. •
"It usually wasn't beautiful
Or picturesque or trim ..
But somehow just the thought of it
Can make one's eyes grow dim.
There were pickets missing here and there
And the gate would seldom Ting
But to that shabby picket fence .
One's thoughts somehow still cling.
It probably had been painted white
In some long distant day
But in children's fancy I would think
It was always old and gray.
Yes, I know they've torn it all away;
For them it held no charm
But that rambling, shambling picket fence
Was part of the dear old farm.
Wire fences
About the middle of the last century wire
fences became popular as timber supplies
dimished. Unless-painted, the wire rusted
too readily. It drooped in hot weather and
snapped in the cold. Worse still, cattle soon
learned to push their head through to graze
on the other side. With the introductiOn of
the Bessemer steel process in the e• mid
eighties a new steel wire was introduced
that had none of those disadvantags. Often
slats of wood were used to space the wires
and, make the structure more rigid. The
invention, of barbed wire solved sotne of the
more serious problems.
Its chief advantages were its low cost, its
ability to restrain cattle and other farm
animals, its lack of resistance to wind and
the narrow strip of land it required. It did
not hide the field crop and threw a
minimum of shadow. Twisting two wires
together held the barbs' in place and
permitted expansion and contraction with
variations in temperature. One of its
disadvantages was arid still is the
possibility of damage to livestock and the
fact that it could not restrain chickens and
small animals. In due time the Bessemer
process made possible the manufacture of
improved fencing of woven wire, carefully,
galvanized and still marketed today.
Electric fences have• recently been
introduced with considerable success. One
or more wires are.charged with electricity
by means of a battery that sends a current
through them at intervals of a few seconds,
not strong enough to be dangerous but
definitely disagreeable. S'toick have to be
trained through experience to recognize
the conspicuous white insulators that carry
the wires. Once accustomed to this
barrier, they seem to avoid proximity to
the fence whether the current is on or off.
(to be continued)
. BRUSSELS BAND rti6 BtUstels Legion Pipe -• the :parade td the .bililtela ,Fairgrounds on' Band Aldo OtOVided music for the •Maithert in • Wednesday, • (brussels Post Photo)
•.•