longer than it could do if it were cut perpendicularly. In the same manner the other side of the stance should be cut or edged, measuring 18 in. from the centre to the opposite side, and making the foundation 3 ft. wide over all, as seen from a to a. The foundation having been thus marked off, the operator next proceeds to measure outwards from the edge of it, as from a to b, upon each side, a sod of 15 in. broad at top; and placing his line to the same measurements, he edges off with his spade, which should be an old half-worn one, kept rather sharp, a line of turf 15 in. broad, extending along the whole length of his first line on each side of the stance. It should be here observed that, in edging off these turf-sods upon each side, the operator must cut them with his face to the stance of the dyke, in order to make the outer edges of the turf slope contrary to the inner edges, as shown in the figure at bb; consequently the two sods of turf when cut, turned upside down, and laid along the side of each other upon the foundation, will appear thus This answers a twofold

purpose as the work proceeds; for the turf-sods are at once prepared to answer the sloping of the dyke as it progresses upwards; and as the turfs, in the case of joining them in the centre of the structure, are much improved by having a portion of earth put between the seams, this can at once be done by filling up the opening caused by the contrary slopes meeting in the centre. This opening is at once readily filled from paring the lower sides of the sods when lying as turned up out of the earth, and levelling them for another layer of turf coming above progressively.

When the two lines of turf have been formed by edging them off

Fig. 150.

with an old sharp spade as directed above, a second man follows with the turf-spade (Fig. 150), with which he cuts the turf-line, now formed by the man before him, right across, into convenient lengths of about 18 in.; and as he cuts the turf into those lengths, proceeding backwards, he by a jerk of the implement turns each sod, as it is formed, with its grass side uppermost. Each sod, as it is thus turned up, is laid hold of by a third man, who places it upon its bed in the forming of the dyke, care always being taken to lay the first course of turf 3 in. within the outer edge a, on each side, which is meant to form the margin, in order to support the dyke the more firmly. When the three workmen have got the first course of turf-sods laid on the stance, they all proceed to have them properly placed, joined in the seams, levelled, and made firm and secure. And in the same

manner they continue throughout, one man edging off the turf-sods with a line to an exact measurement corresponding to the width of the dyke as it advances, so that each succeeding layer of turf, as it is laid on above the other, will be proportionally narrower than that just under it; whilst the second man cuts the turf across into convenient lengths, and heaves the sods up for his neighbour to lay hold of them the more readily and put them into their proper place in the dyke. As represented in the figure, the turf-dyke is built of sods taken equally from each side; and this is necessary both in order to save time, and to ensure that an equal proportion of the surface should be lifted from each side, so as to avoid tending to make the one field poorer than the other, as would be the case were the turf taken all from one side.

The thickness of the turf-sods must in all cases be determined by the nature of the soil. If the soil which forms the turf be light and sandy, the less of such material that is taken up the better, as it is extremely apt to moulder down quickly. Hence in a light sandy soil the turf-sods should not be pared thicker than 3 in.; but if the soil be heavy, a thickness of 4 or 5 in. may be taken. A good general rule for guidance in this matter is not to take the turf thicker than appears to contain plenty of the fibrous roots of the grass in it.

It will be observed from the figure that the first four layers of the turf are double, or consisting of two sods in one breadth. This is in order to obviate such a great breadth of the under sods as would render the work difficult were the turf put on whole. A good practical rule in this case is to make the under half double sods and the upper half single sods; and in all cases it is best to put on the upper turf with the grassy side upwards.

These turf-dykes are generally made about 36 in. broad at the bottom, and tapering regularly upon each side to about 14 in. at the top.

In the erecting of all turf-dykes, it is of the greatest importance to their future utility as fences to build them at the offset a few inches higher than it is ultimately intended they shall be; because in almost all cases they subside a few inches shortly after being put up. This is the more necessary to be kept in view where the soil or turf of which the fence is built is of a mossy or soft nature; and as this lesson is the result of long practical experience, it may well be borne in mind, in order to guard against mistakes arising from the inevitable shrinkage which takes place when the turf-sods settle themselves down. In order to make provision against too much subsidence, the following hints are thrown out. Where the natural surface consists of very rank growths of grass or weeds of any sort, the soil-covering should be removed as bare as possible with a scythe previous to cutting the

turf; and in the building of the dyke, if the turf-sods are damp and spongy, it should be made at least 9 in. higher than it is ultimately wished to be. That is to say, if a turf-fence of 30 in. be desired ultimately, it should in the first instance be made up to 39 or 40 in.; but if the turf used be from a moderately firm, loamy soil, 3 in. may be quite enough to allow for subsidence. Where it is intended to have a paling-fence upon the top, as is always necessary unless the dyke be made very high, a paling of this kind should not be put up until the fence has subsided fairly, else it would fall considerably under the paling afterwards.

In all cases of erecting such turf-dykes, it is absolutely necessary to place a low wire-fence or a two-barred paling on the top (see Fig. 149, c), in order to prevent sheep or cattle of any description from getting over into a plantation or adjoining field. If the fence is placed upon the edge of a wood, and meant to protect it only, the paling may be put up as represented in Fig. 149 at d; but if it is put up for the purpose of dividing two fields, then the paling must be put up as represented in the same figure at c.

Turf-fences, from their being in all cases of a temporary nature, should not be erected where stones can be conveniently got for making stone-dykes, as the latter kind of fence is in all respects preferable. The only case where the former are at all recommendable is on high-lying moorland parts of the country, where stones cannot be conveniently had at a moderate expense for the building of stone dykes, and where a wire-fence alone is objectionable, on account of its furnishing no shelter to stock. In the sheep-grazing districts of the West of Scotland, turf-fences of the class described in the foregoing are extensively used for subdivision, as they are both cheaply erected and produce a considerable degree of shelter to the stock.

Stone Walls Topped with Wire.- -A stone wall topped with wire forms a very useful fence, which is now frequently used in hilly districts where the particular object in view is to keep back sheep, &c., and which is even more suitable for that purpose than the turffence just described. In hilly districts, although a good stone wall be erected, light sheep will frequently get over it, and be the cause of much trouble and annoyance. In a case of this kind it is better to erect a dry-stone dyke with lime coping similar to those already referred to, though with this difference, that a projecting cope-stone is not required; but in its place a low wire-fence is used, which proves very effective in preventing any sheep from getting over.

The wall in this case is built quite in the same way as the common dry-stone wall, only that it does not require to be more than 4 ft. in height. The stones on the top are firmly put together and bedded in lime, and at every 9 ft. there is a good-sized through

band stone placed for the purpose of putting in the standards of the wire-fence. The standards are made of iron, put in at about 9 ft. apart, and batted into the stones with lead. They should stand 2 ft. high above the wall when fixed, and are usually made 1 in. broad by in. thick. Iron straining-pillars are put in at every 100 yards in the length of the fence; these are made 1 in. on the side of the square, and should be securely batted into good heavy through-band stones. Such a wire-fence requires only three wires, and when completed will stand 6 ft. high over all.

Fig. 151 will give a good idea of this description of fence, and will render it unnecessary to add any further remarks concerning its construction.

A simpler and less expensive fence can be formed by putting high coping-stones on the top of an ordinary dry-stone dyke and then wedging in short upright lengths of battens of wood between them at distances of about 4 to 5 or 6 ft., along the top of which a wire strand is stretched, or a piece of barbed wire is loosely hung.

Erection of Wooden Palings.-The variety of designs for wooden palings is endless; and to attempt to give, in a work of the present nature, anything like a description of those termed ornamental palings, would be superfluous. Attention will, therefore, be confined to the enumeration of only a few of such as are considered the most useful for general purposes.

Post and Rails.-Perhaps the most generally useful of all wooden palings as a structure for a fence is the horizontal, and this is, when well put up, a fence by no means void of ornament. The wooden paling consists of strong posts or uprights, usually about 4 in. diameter, driven into the ground at distances of 4 ft. in the line of fence, upon which posts and bars are nailed horizontally at regular distances from, and parallel to, each other. As there is no fence more commonly in use in highly cultivated parts of the country, it will be of importance to make a few practical observations as to the manner of putting it up.

Having fixed upon the exact line upon which a wooden paling is to be erected, ascertain the height that will be necessary for the purpose in view; and having decided upon this-say a four-barred paling-then in this case the fence will require to be about 4 ft. high above the ground when finished. Next ascertain if the ground be of a hard or soft nature in the line to be erected. If soft, the posts for the paling will require to be put at least 2 ft. into the ground, in order to make them secure and firm in their place, and to resist the pressure of cattle; if hard, then 18 in. in the ground will be sufficient. Thus, if the ground be hard, and the height of the paling be 4 ft., fully 18 in. must be added for the necessary depth of the post in the ground, so that the total length of the posts would have to be 5 ft.; therefore posts of that length would have to be brought forward and laid all along the line, laying down one post for every 4 ft. in length of the fence, which is quite sufficient. When all the posts are laid down as directed, the horizontal rails will also have to be laid down, beginning at the one end of the line, and laying down four bars together continuously to the other. In laying out the posts and rails, care should be taken to keep them a little to one side of the exact line of fence, in order that the men may not be continually interrupted during their work by these lying in their way, and also to avoid laying the rails down carelessly upon the top of the posts. Both should be laid so distinctly that the workmen can have it in their power to lay hold of either posts or rails without any confusion or unnecessary handling of the materials. The general size of posts used for this purpose is about 4 in. diameter, and they may be either round wood, halved, or quartered, as the size of the wood may answer in making them. The best sort of wood for posts which have to be driven into the ground, and which are continually exposed to the extremes of both wetness and dryness in the soil, is the Larch. The horizontal rails for paling are generally made 18 ft. in length. These are sometimes made of Larch, and sometimes of Spruce or Scots Pine. Larch is out of all question the best for this purpose, and is generally sawn to the size of 4 in. by 1 in. Spruce Fir is perhaps the next in quality for paling-rails, Scots Pine being inferior to it in durability.

The posts and rails being all laid out as above described, the operator must next provide himself with a garden-line for stretching along the run of the fence, and a common nail-hammer, or what is termed a No. 3 paling-hammer, with claws for pulling out nails (Fig. 152). He will also require a bag for holding the nails, instead of having them lying scattered about, as with many careless workmen. This bag may be of leather or of coarse sailcloth, as may be most convenient; and as there are two sizes of nails used in the