Farmers' gazette, and Cheraw advertiser. (Cheraw, S.C.) 1839-1843, August 04, 1841, Image 1
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VOLUME VI. CHER AW. SOUTH-CAROLINA, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 4, 1841. NUMJBER 38.
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By J?. MAC LE IX.
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mtamm????????^
From the Farmers' Register.
HOG RAISING.
It is a maxim in law, that " when the
rett&on of the law ceases, the law itself
ceases but not so with custom. An
old national habit is unmeaningly persevered
in, when the reason of its origin has
long ceased to exist. This remark can
find no better practical illustration than in
the common modeof raising hogs in Virginia.
In the early settlement of Virgin*
ia, when most of the forest was standing,
^ the cheapest possible method of raising
was to permit them to run at large.
THie acorns attorded by extensive iracis
oX woodland, unenclosed, would keep
hos*j in good condition without grain, or
w ith a very small allowance of it. But
since, at least two thirds of the virgin forest
of Virginia has been cut down, and
thebest acorn bearing trees pillaged from
the remaining third, hog raising in wood
ornmons has become entirely unprofitabe.
There is noopiuion more common
roong farmers, or more erroneous, than
that a large wood range will keep hogs
i good order, whether it happens to be a
jod mast year or not." Except the ayrn,
and woodland is the most inferior
hge for hogs. Earth worms, green
getation, and aquaitic plants, the ornary
food that the hog obtains when
nning at large, are found in greater a.
tndance in cleared, than in woodland. A
rge tract of woodland keep9 the hog unasingly
running and rooting, j
ithout affording any compensation
r hit labor?and this tantalizing 1
^""L?. u: 1 ? 5
dHilUIl KCCjO IIiin mnu\n puwi, j
With these few preliminary remarks, I j
ill give youi readers, Mr. Editor, my
tpcrience in raising hogs. I have been
igaged in the business for about five
ears. The first year, I suffered mv hogs
? run at large, like my neighbors, in a
ommon, near my settlement, a part of
hich was my own land. They were fed
k\a slave every morning, (such was the
erection, however.) at a considerable di?.
Itoce from the corn crib and dwelling
hojse. At a little upwards of a year old,
they weighed about 75 lbs. average. Mv
^ inole of management the second voar,
was but little variant from the first. The
overseer personally attended more to
their feeding this year, and the hogs were
tatter, or rather not so poor, during the
whole year; and consequently, 1 lost
more by theft the second, than the first
year. I do not recollect the precise num.
ber stolen, but distinctly recollect being
frequently informed, through the year by
the feeder, that "that another of the fattest j
Jugs was missing." At killing time, the j
hogs of this year averaged some 10 or 15 .
lbs. in weight more than those of the pse-1
vious year : they were, however, a little j j
older. This circumstance is recollected i
from the fact that they were bred by the
same sows?and these sows for several
years produced two litters of pigs annual- '
ly, and about a month earlier each year. ^
My third year's trial was pretty much a
repetition of the first. They were lean
through the year until penned ; some were
stolen, and when killed, were entirely j
insufficient in quantity to supply the plantation.
Thus, for three years, we failed
to raise a sufficiency of meat for the use
of the plantation.
In the month of Feb., 1S35, (as is
shown by an extract from a memorandum
book.) I shut up about n dozen shoats,
recently weaned, that were pigged in the
December hefore. At the same, 1 kept
my stock hogs, and some others not of
the same age, with the penned shoats in
a standing pasture, or lot, of about twenty (
acres. I gave the penned shoats nearly
as much corn as they would oat three
tiroes a day. Wey soon became very
fat, but v.e.'i .Wen with a cough in Aprii:
their tongues became black and swollen :
Cbev were then turned in tin; pasture with
the stock hogs; their cough soon left
them, and they continued to fatten as
kindly as when confined in ariose pen.
I attributed the change in their health to
the cooling effect of green food, and to
such other diet as the instinct of the animal
suggests when running at large.
The objections to stye raising, I think,
are, that it has a tendency to produce
vermin, which are as prejudicial to the
fattening of the hog as the most inveterate
disease. They are not apt to be supplied
with a plenty of fresh water, or with such
cooling diet as the hog obtains running at
large, to obviate a tendency to inflammatory
diseases. Close penning might be
perhaps, profitablv resorted to, where the
greatest care is taken to supply a quantity
of fresh water, where their troughs arc
regularly well cleaned, and occasional closes
of powdered brimstone and salt are
given to cool the blood and prevent vermin.
I should suppose that it was essential
to have ashed to protect penned hogs
from the heat of a summer'sun.
Hut to return from this digression. The
twelve hogs above mentioned, were killed
in Dec., 1835 at a year old. and weighed
one hundred and seventy-five pounds a
head. 1 neglected to attend to the most
important item in the above experiments:
that is, the quantity of corn the several
parcels of hogs consumed each year.
I proceed, with more pleasure, to give
an account of my experiment in the year
1830. (I should have mentioned thai: the
twelve hogs before alluded to wero not of
the same stock with mv killings of the
three previous years. They were of the
scrub stock of the neighborhood, crossed
on the Kentucky hogs.) My stock of
killing hogs for this year, (1836,) were
littered late in December, 1835. They
were enclosed in a fifty acre field during
the year?were about twenty in number,
and were fed twice a day with a half bushel
of corn in the ear at a feed. In the
early part of the year, when they were
pigs and small shoats, the half bushel was
not filled ; in the early part of the fall it
was rather more than filled ; and, during
the month of November, their allowance
was again increased. Nearlv half of the
n ?
fifty acre field was in woods: a part of
the remainder was set in young clover
and herds grass. The hogs were killed in
November, at a few days less than eleven
months old, and averaged one hundred
and forty-one lbs. a head. If
they had been highly fed through the
month of November and December, and
killed at a year old. 1 believe their weight
would have been increased nearly 30 lbsa
head.
The items of management variant from
the ordinary mode of raising hogs in this
vicinity, were keeping the sows fat from
the time they became pregnant until they
littered ; spaying and castrating at a very
early age ; keeping the killing hogs fat
the whole \ear, cutting off the rooter, or
cartilage of the nose ; and giving them,
frequently, salt and powdered brimstone.
I have not lost a single hog from theft, or
disease, during the two last years, with
the exception of one or two pigs that were
littered in severe cold weather. The land
grazed by the hogs was but little rooted,
ind was manifestly enriched by their
iroppings. They were fed in a small pen
kept w ell littered, and encouraged to sleep
in it at night. The manure raised from
them is considerable, and seems to be of a
superior quality.
I should have mentioned that the killing
hogs of the two last mentioned years,
r 1 * I 4? "
were ihci, in me summer, purity on vegetables
; and whenever they had an allowance
of corn was curtailed. Having raised
a very unusually large crop of tomatoes;
they were fed in quantities of half a
bushel at a time to the hogs; they ate
them very cautiously and sparingly at
first, but soon acquired great fondness for
thetn.
I have given you, Mr. Editor, my limited
experience on hog raising, and candidly
believe that I have much more now
to learn of the nature, habits, dec. of this
valuable animal, than when I first commenced
to attend to the subject. From
m experiment accidently made. I enterlain
the opinion that the most profitable
mode of raising, is never to winter a filing
hog; but so to regulate the breed,
ing of the sows, as to cause them to litter
about the first of March ; and then to feed
highly the sows and pigs two or three times
i day on grain and vegetable diet, fruit,
kc. Hogs well fed, littered in March,
md killed in December, may be made to
weigh, ordinarily, from 150 to 400. 1
iiave four sows that will litter in a few
lavs, and expect to kill the pigs in December
next, when 1 promise myself the
pleasure of communicating for the Register
the result of another experiment. My
neighbors are introducing improved breeds
of hogs, (the Redford and No-bone,] and
urc very much pleased, particularly with
the former. The Bedford stock beep
on very little food, and make, 1 have been
informed, excellent roasters.
W.
From tbo London Farmers' Register.
ON DESTROYING RATS.
Sir,?The following is a reply to your
correspondent's inquiry, as to the best
mode of destroying rats. Should he find
either of these methods succeed, he will
oblige by a reply through your paper.
1st?Corks, cut as thin as sixpences,
roasted or stewed in grease, and
placed in tiicir tracks,
or?Dried sponge, in small pieces, tried
or dipped in honey, with a little oil
of rhodium,
or?Bird-lime, laid in their haunts, will
stick to their fur, and cause their departure.
If a live rat be caught, and well rubbed
or brushed ove , with tar and train
oil, and afterwards put to escape in
the holes of others, they will disappear.
Poisoning is a very dangerous and objectionable
mode. If any of your chemical
readers could suggest any very pungent
smell, procurable from suostances resembling
garlic or asafortida, this might
i he of great use. as this animal has an |
extraordinary fineness or susceptibility of
i ^cent; witness its extreme predilection
for oil of rhodium, &c. I consider your
correspondent's query a very important
one, and it is surprising that the attention
of farmers, and others concerned in the
removal of thesa vermin, has, in this age
of discovery, been so little drawn to the
subject; more particularly so, as the newspapers
present so many recent instances
of attacks, made bv these creatures on
' 0 /
infants, die.
I really think the matter moredeserv.
ing of notice, than has hitherto been giv.
en to it; and, apologizing for the present
intrusion, I remain yours, very truly.
A Constant Subscriber.
Bristol, March 10.
on drenching cattle.
March 1st, 1841,
To AVm. Dick,?Sir,?1 trust your
position at the head of the veterinary
profession in Scotland, and yoilr well- (
known desire to improve it, will-induce
you to pardon me, a perfect stranger, in (
- ? ? J a:
misaddressing you, anu requesting > uui ,
attention to the following facts :?
About a month ago I had a fine quey
calf, nearly five months old* that the servant
told me in the evening she had observed
passing water of the color of sherry
wine. I ordered halfa pound of Epsom
salts to be dissolved in a bottle of lukewarm
water, and given to it, with two or
three bottles of water-gruel immediately
afterwards. The calf was eating hay
when the servants went to the byre; they
had not well left it ere 1 heard it roar;
and on sending them back it was dying,
and died in less than five minutes, without
a struggle.
I caused it to be opened. We could
discover nothing wrong with the kidneys,
Jiver, gall-bladder, or any where, until, on
opening the lungs, I found the tubes filled
with frothy liquid, some of which I had
also seen about the nostrils. I have no
doubt that it was killed by part of the salts
or gruel going down the windpipe. The
servant man, in holding it, stated that he
had pressed his finger or thumb on the
point of its tongue within the mouth
while the liquid was being p it into it.
As I supposed the holding c r interfering
with the tongue to be the cause of its
death, I desired the servants never to do
so again.
Two days ago I had an Ayreshire cow.
ten or eleven years old, that had been at
pasture throughout the day.
After being brought home she refused
her turnips in the evening, hut ate some
hay. She also ate a little more hay after
being milked.
At supper time, 8 p. m., she was lying,
hut rose like the rest, yet did not begin to
eat any of the straw that was then put
before her.
At 9 p. m., she was still standing, buf
had not eaten any of the straw; nor is
it probable that she ate any of it afterwards.
At 7 on the following morning she was
lying more on her belly than her side,
with her feet and legs under her. The
servants endeavored to get her up to milk
her, but she seemed unable to rise. Tliev
then tried to get her to drink, but she
would not; so they drenched her with
five or six bottles of warm water-gruel as .
carefully as they could, and without
touching the tongue. i
It was near 9 a. m., when I saw her, 1
still lying as described. No pulse was >
to be felt; she was breathing rather qu ck- 5
!y, and looked very languid. I sent for '
the cow doctor, but before he had time to J
give her any thing, she was dead. She
died very quietly, and without a struggle
or groan, about 11a. m. j
On being opened and very carefully j
examined, nothing wrong could be ?ecn (
with the heart, liver, kidneys, stomachs, |
or bowels; but on opening tho lungs, I *
found in the tubes branching off from the i
windpipe above twenty small pieces of i
hay and stra w, about half an inch in I
length, the hull or husk of some oats, and f
small piece o a turnip, about the size of I
a flattened pea, with a little white matter 5
which, on washing and drying, I think (.
has every appearance of oatmeal, or the -J
sediment of meal and water.
I now had no doubt that the substances
found in the lungs were the cause of t
death ; but how did they get there ?? a
that is the difficulty. Could the bits of r
hay, straw, &c. have been lying in the 1
mouth and carried down the windpipe by s
a small quantity of the gruel, although c
given with care, alwavs from a bottle and t
the tongue not touched 7 or could s
they get (there by any other means? *
I could send you the bits of straw, &c. 8
taken from the lungs, in a letter, if you J
wished lo see them. The mealy matter,
might, perhaps, proceed from a drink or
food which the cow got the day before she j
died?if you think it po:>sible for such '
things to get to the lungs of a living cow t
without human interference. Hac. the t
cow been quite well until she got the p
gruel in the morning, I should, of course, s
suppose that there could be no doubt J
about it; but'when you think on the fact sii
that she refused her fadder at supper-time, wi
was lying on her belly in the morning ,n
and either could or would not rise to be H
milked, at drink?ali of which took place
before any gruel was put into her, and that arl
she allowed it to fa; given while lying
and without offering anv resistance?it is _
- * t 1111
difficult to account for? neither does it j
seem very likely that many bits of hay jn'
or struw should be Ivi.ig in the mouth so m
as fo be carried down the windpipe hy any Wi
of the gruel. of
Would you have uhe kindness to favor sic
me with your candid opinion of th* case, ah
and atso'to inform me what you consider an
thp sftutxt method of TJUtJina Vwuid into \ Tl
cattle? * ' rii
I am, Sir, &c. aP
REPLY. ?P
Edenburgh, 5th March 1841. dC
Sir,?I have been prevented until now
by an extreme pressure of business from
answering your letter on the cause of the on
death of your cow and quey calf. I have j
no doubt that the pre:uure on the tongue jjn
of the calf, by interfering with its action
and also preventing the action of the sh
lower jaw, was the cause of the salts get. tli
ting into the windpipe and producing T t
death by suffocation. And although it 11:
is not so easy to explain the manner in er
which the straw., &c. got into the cow's an
windwipc. I think,, if the whole history c0
of the case could be got at, we should m(
be able to trace the cause to some acci- ^
dent. It is possible she might have al- .1
lowed these matters to have passed into
ill
the windpipe accidentally, especially if t
she was attacked by any cough ; but it
seems to me more ikely that t ere had ot]
boen some other affection which gave to pC
the symptoms that existed prior to the w,
gruel being administered; and that from nc
rumination being suspended, she had had su
some portions of straw, &c., in her mouth gr
at the time the gruel was given, and this lai
if she chanced to struggle or cough, would an
pass into the windpipe and altimately de- mi
stroy life. .w'
The simplest and best way to give li- J"1
nm'rtj tn ? nnw. whpn shp i<? tipd to the
LjUtU? ?V .. | ? j
^take, is for the operator to pass his left on
qnder the cow's jaw, and to take hold of ^
her left cheek with two of his fingers, and
with a horn or a bottle to pour the liquid ^
into the right side of the mouth with his |(r
right hand, giving both the tongue and
jaws as much liberty as possible. An co
issistant should steady the head, aud th
issist in keeping it moderately high by th<
aking hold of the horns. lei
When cattle are held by the nostrils it mi
frequently produces coughing or sneezing, dis
ind substances are opt to get into the
windpipe. It is a bad practice to press or nc
*ripe the windpipe or gullet in order to ?9.
make them swallow, or to take hold of the -I01
tongue, as is frequently done; and when
they cough the head should be let down ^
once, so that, if any thing has got into on
the windpipe, it may be driven out. Ac.
cidents, such as you have described, are sy,
frequent, and 1 think, commonly, arise c.i|
from the causes which I have alluded to, eni
ar the rough manner in which cattle are pei
too commonly treated. aid
I am, Sir, your most obedient servant. ch<
William Dick. ta'
me
Rheumatism in the Horse. lur
Mr. XV. C. Spooner, V. S. Southampton, aid
It cannot.bedoubted thatrheumatism both exl
i i:
n its acute and chronic form, is met with, nn
>om time to lime,in the horse, though by nei
io means so frequently as in the human its
mbject. I am, however, inclined to think i ari
hat it exists oftener thanjis generally sup- to '
losed, and many of those flying obscure tor
amenesses are doubtless of this character, tha
ind account for the anomalous fact now do<
ind then to be found, of a lame horse tror- ]
Vine sound. I have in mv eve several he
nstances of this o?curing. The diseases use
if joints in colts, lite noticed in The Ve- in l
;erinarian both by foreign and domestic thi:
luthorities, are doubtless or a rheumatis- ed
rial character; a few cases that I have did
net with in the colts appeared of this na- sar
:ure, the disease flying from one joint to set
mother, and attended with large and gei
lainful swelling. Cattle, perhaps, are tly
itill more subject to this disease, and un- fro
ler the obscure names of joint felon and red
oint murrain we have an inflamatory dis- tho
;ase of the joints and sinews of a rheu- his
natic type.?A short time since I was re- ate
juested to dxamine a cow that had calved full
wo months previously in a cold and wet the
* ' ' - * I _ ii..
situation, which, according to my mior- i am
nant, had given her a chill across the | wh
oins ; for she had been unable to walk or Th
itand ;since. She had been under the j sw(
:are of a farrier, who finding at length the
hat the joints were much swollen, said off
;he had the joint murrain, and therefore the
le cou'id do nothing for her. I found con- ten
liderable swelling in front of each knee, boi
vhich, though solt, did not appear to con- thr<
ain pus. The off hind hock and leg was ?a
ilso much swollen, and very painful, in des
everal places the skin was worn through
o the bone from constantly lying down.
The pulse was very quick, and although
he animal would still feed, the constitu- ^
ion was eveidently wearing away from .
iain and fever. Being convinced that in *
ad alteration cf structure had taken eml
dace, both externally and internally, I de- Pr0
'i
_
ed that the animal should be destroyed |
hich was accordingly done; and I exam?!
ed the body. The swelling of the knee J <
round consisted of a serous and bloody <
lid, in which floated .shreds of tendons j
id ligaments, nnd, in one knee, the i
psular ligament had given way. In l
e hock a complete abscess had formed a. |
ong the sinews at the back, nnd was eat. <
g into their verv substance and extend. I
gsomejdistance below: the thigh was also i
uch diseased. In the abdomen there <
is a quantity of serum, in which flakes
lymph appeared floating about. Con.
lerable adhesion of the viscera to the <
domon had also taken place, and appearce
of inflamation about the loins.? 1
ie pericardium likewise contained se. ;
II?.. ilia oarriD xlaoo aT mom Km nou
Illl tuw ouinu vi ?.ww
peared diseased throughout, and in my
inion, the case was of a rheumatic char,
ter.
A rase of very decided rheumatism in n |
ny lately lately came under my atten.
>n. I was first requested to look at him i
i account of his lameness of the off fore i
j. He evinced considerblepain when the
ab was raised, the seat of which was very
Jticntly pointed out asjthe muscles of the
oulder. The animal had been driven raer
a longjourneyon the previousjday, and i
considered had been thereby strained,
led ftom the arm, and ordered the shoulto
be fomented, <fcc., after which an
fibrocalion was rubbed in. In the 1
urse of a week or two the lameness alnst
suddenly Jeft him; but in a few days
terwards he was lame in the off hind
I now pronounced it to be rheuma. 1
m. After awhile the lameness left 1
m; but shortly afterwards he was brought
me very ill with, as I considered, the
mpi...ns of pleurisy. He was bled and I
herwise treated, and the next day ap- '
ared much better. Soon afterwards he
is lame in the near fore-leg, then the 1
ar bine leg: and the pony appeared to 1
ffer much pain; this went on getting
ndually worse, and the urgency of the
meness appeared to fly from one joint 1
id limb to another. Very little treatent
was employed, as the owner did not
sh to incur much expense, and the anial,
though useful wa* not vcryj valua- i
5. Opium, however, appeared to give
ly temporary relief. And poultices and
ternal stimulants afforded no benefit ?
fie upper joints of the hock became
early distended with synovia, producing
th thorough-pins and bog-spavins; the
lees too, were much swollen, but the
.A1I.MM - - L? J # r\ l\A
cuing was nniu, nuu pivimscu i? uc*
me bony. The pain was so great that
e animal would scarcely stand up, and
en would stand with difficulty- At
lgth, to cut the matter short, about two
inths from the commencement of the :
.ease the animal died.
Scctio cadaveris?The muscles con- 1
cting the humerus to the chest as well
those in the neighborhood of the hip 1
nt, were, in places, in a state approach- '
y to mortification. The hock joints !
ntained in a large quantity of synovial 1
id, thick, and nearly opaque; and in
e back, at the upper and back part of ^
; joint?the seat of thorough-pin?the I
novia was in a coagulated state. The 1
psular ligament was considerably thick- *
ed at the seat of bog spavin, and ap- 1
tired red and injected. There was con- *
erable adhesion of the viscera of the
est, and inflammation of the pleura cosIs
; water in the pericardium, enlarge;nt
of the heart, and vomicae in one s
) g. The liver was found con- \
erablv thickened, and on being cut into,
tiibited a curious appearance ; white
cs,'about an eighth of an inch in thick- y
ss, appeared running irregularly among K
substance, giving it quite a marbled a
pearance. These white lines appeared *
be of a scirrhous nature ; but the grea- 1
portion of the liver was rather darker a
in common, though readily broken ! J
ivn.
[ had known the pony nearly two years; !
was about ten or twelve years old and
id to carry a great deal of flesh. Withthe
last six months he had fallen off in ?
s respect, though he by no means lookpoor;but
the owner finding that he -J
not perform his journeys with the
ne vigor, as before, though he usually ^
out with much spirit, sold him to a a
itlemea, who not approving of him shorafterwards
re-sold him to another, F
m whom he passed into the hands, at a 11
uced price, of a respectable dealer, who I r
ught he had a bargain, but found to .
cost that it was by no means a fortun- 1
9 fl
one. The post-mortem appearances
ly explained the history of the case?
loss of condition was, no doubt, to be J!
ributed to the diseased state of the liver,
ich was probably the prior disease. e
flying lameness, muscular pains, *
jlling9 of the joints, inflammation ot
sheath of the tendons and symptoms n
ileuriay, all appeared to be owing to .
rheumatic affection which, though at.
ipting different cavities and flying ait
from part to part, yet exhibited 81
oughout thesame distinctive character P
ittacking at the same time the same n
cription of membranes. a
The Veterinarian for May 1841. ^
From the Farmers' Cabinet. a
ETIFICIAL DIVISIONS OF THE FAUX.
^ences in rural economy comprehend
reneral, every sort of enclosure that is \ a
ployed for shelter?or designed for the j c
tection of the lands thus enclosed, from j
*
4
the intrusion of cattle* They are of different
kinds, depending on the Tar onf
circumstances of soil, situation, lbs kinds
of materials at jiand most suitable for tbe
purpose, and the convenience with which
they may be obtained. Where a coun.
Iry is entirely in tillage, it is of less importance
that farms be divided by artifi-*
cia! barriers; but wherever live stock if
kept, this is essential to the proper keeping
of the animals, and to the profitable
occupation of the grounds; nod besides
the purpose of retaining and separating
animals of different kinds from one to*
other.* Every person about to erect a
fence should have special regard tj three
essential points?durability, economy,
and r.e itnesa of appearance.
* Poor fences are of incalculable mischief
to the farmer." They are ferquentIv
the means of disturbing that good
neighborhood, which would, in many
places, otherwise exist without interruption,
if each farmer would attend to having
his fences well and substantially made
and kept constantly in good order and repair.
Unless fences are made sufficiently
high and strong, there can be no safety
to the crops?the cattle, selecting the
weakest points are apt to break over them,
and thereby imbibe vicious habits.
The descriptions of fences and the
method of their construction, depend
wholly upon the soil, the various kinds
of materials at hand or most readily obtained.
There are a variety of kinds of
fences or enclosures used; the log fence,
the post and rail, the worm or zig-zag, and
the stone?which, when the materials are
on the ground, and the fence is property
built, is by all means the most durable,
economical, and secure?the ditch, the
paling, and the live hedge. But in whatever
manner, and of whatever materials
they m?y be constructed, they should be
frequently surveyed with a critical eye,
and all defects rectified without the least
delay.
The growing and alarming scarcity
of timber in the United States, renders
the enclosure of farms a very expensive
item. It therefore is the interest of the
farmer to preserve his fences, now in
good condition, as long.as possible in that
state? ind, in the construction of new
ones to exercise economy, by having them
erected, of whatever materials, in a most
substantial and durable manner. The
saving of a few dollars in the outlay, it
only apparent, not real. ' We must not bo
understood as advocating extravagance in
this or any other department of rural affairs?hut
we do maintain that! what is
worth doing at all, is worth doing well,
and that, therefore, in the erection of
fences, the best and most durable materia
Is should be selected : and the whole put
together in a solid substantial, and workmanlii.
manner.
Almost every individual has an idea
that he fully understands the process of
making rail-fence, which is a simple pro:ess,
and yet, perhaps, not more than one
n twenty has any established system or
ixed rules, by which their operations are
\o be controlled in this essential and irajortant
department of farm-labor. A wrier
in the Genesee Farmer, says that no
light is to him more pleasing, than a well
nade rail-fence. His system of constnicion
is briefly as follows :
MTo ascertain when a sufficient Dumjer
of rails have been drawn for a given
listance of fence.?If the fence is to be
leven rails high, and twelve feet long,
>lace them in piles of ten each, in a coninuous
line touching each other. 2.?
^ace, in range, 9takes or pole9 at interals
to designate the line?prepare a pole
even or eight feet long, well sharpened
it one end ; [the end ought by all means
o be pointed with iron.) At about eigbeen
inches from the pointed end, fasten
- ..... i j
i rod at right angles with the poie, ana
ixtending thence from three feet, two,
our, or six inches, according as the fence
s exposed to winds. Put down this polo
n a range with the poles designating the
ine, and the end of the rod w ill show the
dace for the corner.?Place then, for a
oundation, a good sized flat atone, and
ou are ready to commence operations.
I.?The bottom rail should be straight?
ilace the largest end forward on the atone,
nd the other end crossing the preceding
ail at the end of the rod of the ranging
ole, so that the corners on* each side be
n exact line. 4.?Let the Ave following
ails be placed the smallest end forward, nd
notched, if neces*iry to make them
e steadily. 5.?Let the top rail be heavy
nd well notched, the largest end placed
orward, which completes the work, leav.
ig you. fence level, and of equal height
(iroughout."
Vnrious substitutes have been proposed
>r the common post and rail fence, the
lost prominent of which will be hereafter
oticad. Notwithstanding the great scarity
of timber in the Atlantic states, which
i a matter of great solicitude, in view of
btaining in future a supply of timber
nitable foi fencing alone?the system of
ost and rail fences, with proper managelent
on'the part of farmers may be easily,
nd advantageously perpetuated.
Jame9 Worth Esq., of Sharon, ^ear
lewton, Bucks county, jPennsylv/mia?
gentleman who has devoted much of hieme,
talents, and fortune, in promoting
le general interests of agricu]ture?Hrfter
minute and careful examination of tW
laims of all the varieties of fymm us*4
?L..: ^
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