3 in. from the end of the laths. Next, twist the ends of the wires together for a short distance, beginning about 3 in. from the end, and place one of the wires about each of the nails in the front of the bench, as shown. Place another shorter wire, having the ends bent into hooks, as shown at the left side of the drawing, about the outer end of the spring, and slip the first lath through the six wires, as shown in the drawing, bending the springs sufficiently to make this possible. The spring now acts as a tension to keep the wires taut. Insert the second lath, lifting up the lower strand of wire and slipping the lath between that and over the other strand, thus crossing the two strands. Then with a hammer gently drive up the second lath toward the first, till the two are about of an inch apart. Insert the other laths in the same manner, after which unhook the wire connecting the spring with the first lath and loosen it from the protector. In placing the protector about the tree, simply bend it around and insert the free ends of the wires beneath the wire of the first or second lath, clinching it enough to hold securely, as shown in Fig. 213. The protector is to be left on summer and winter, until the tree outgrows it, or the wires rust off. The protector not only prevents sunscald on the trunk, but is an effectual preventive from rabbits and other rodents, as well as from whiffle-trees used in cultivation."" Fig. 213. With regard to fences in Canada, they are generally of the same descriptions as those in the United States, the zigzag or snake, the board-fence, and in some parts stone walls; while hedges are to be found only here and there on the farms of the more intelligent and wealthier classes. Wire-fencing has been introduced to a considerable extent of late, and this class of fence seems to gain ground rapidly. In Australia and New Zealand wire-fences are extensively used for enclosing sheep-runs. Wood is scarce in many parts of the country, and for this reason wire-fences are found cheaper in the first erection than wooden ones. Where wood is plentiful, however, fences of this material are in common use; they are of various designs, but chiefly of the description with horizontal bars. Here also hedging is neglected; but some of the farmers are now beginning to plant hedges on a small scale, with various sorts of plants. The protected tree. In South Africa fencing is much in the same position as it is found in Australia. Here the open sheep-runs and agricultural farms are enclosed chiefly by wire-fences; while, in the neighbourhood of woods and plantations, palings of various designs and descriptions are in use. Choice of Fencing.-The different kinds of fences-the thornhedge, the furze-hedge, the stone-and-lime wall, the dry-stone dyke, the turf-dyke, wooden paling, and wire-fence, both upon wooden and iron uprights are not alike suitable for use in all situations and for all purposes; hence it may be of use to point out the special qualities possessed by one or other of these different classes under given circumstances and conditions of different localities. The Hawthorn Hedge.-For the subdivision of strong clay and heavy, loamy, arable lands, perhaps no fence is so suitable, whether in respect to neatness, picturesqueness, durability, or shelter, as the Thorn-hedge; for in such soils it lives long, has a strong and healthy growth, and makes an admirable fence. The Thorn-hedge, with a mixture of Beech-plants, is of all other fences the best adapted for a situation where a neat and clothed appearance is the object. And this it always has unless carried to a situation more than 1000 ft. above the level of the sea, or unless, up to that altitude, it be planted in a mossy or light soil; for there it will not live long, except upon loamy land. In high and exposed situations, hedge-fences are excellently adapted for the division of fields; and even in such situations no fence ultimately answers better than the Beech-hedge. Such a fence, even although on a light soil and in a high exposure, will, under careful management, keep good and be an ornament when dykes and palings of the same age are tumbling down and useless. It is well known that many object to the ising of hedges with Beech and Thorn in high parts of the country, asserting that the Thorn does not succeed. Practical experience, however, shows that upon many estates there are good hedges of Beech and Thorn more than 900 ft. above the level of the sea, and that at the same time they maintain themselves in excellent health. But on very high parts of the country, and on very light lands, a better fence is secured by using Beech alone than by mixing it along with Thorns; as the Beech is not only hardier, but better adapted to grow healthily on high lands. any mixture be desired, a sprinkling of Hornbeam may be put to the Beech. If The Furze-Hedge is unquestionably one which should be kept out of all cultivated districts. There is no situation where the Furze is found growing as a fence, in which Beech would not thrive much better; for Furze belongs to the class of weeds which should be extirpated from the vicinity of woodlands rather than encouraged in growth so that their seeds may be borne into the interior of the plantations. The Stone-and-Lime Wall is of all others the most substantial fence that can be erected; but, as it is an expensive one, it cannot properly be carried to any great extent. No landed proprietor's policy-grounds can, however, be said to be complete, as regards general security, unless they be surrounded by a stone-and-lime wall of from 6 to 8 ft. high. In fact, the residential portions of good estates should be surrounded and protected by a good high wall; and the best of seats always are surrounded thus. But in no other case is it necessary to erect a stone-and-lime wall as a fence, unless where sunk fences have to be formed, as, for example, upon the slopes of rising ground. Upon level ground, if it be desired to have an invisible fence, as the sunk fence is meant to be, a wire-fence is infinitely superior in every respect; and even in this particular matter it at the present day occupies much the same position that sunk fences occupied about a hundred years ago. A sunk fence is excellently adapted for any purpose whatever when built upon the slope of a hill or brae, as previously shown in Fig. 147; but in any other position it can hardly be said to have a utility corresponding to the expense of its erection. The Dry-Stone Dyke is the best form of fence adapted for giving immediate shelter to young plantations or to other crops upon high and exposed parts of the country. Unlike any other fence, it is at once both a fence and a shelter; hence the reason that it is so much in request in all bare uncultivated districts. It at once gives the shelter which a good Hawthorn hedge can only yield after several years' growth. Dry-stone dykes are, from their rugged and untrimmed appearance, not to be recommended as a fence where a neat and trim effect is meant to be kept up, as, for example, within the home-grounds of a landed proprietor. But upon high-lying parts of the country no fence is more commendable, whether as regards security, or shelter, or general picturesqueness of effect; for old dykes overgrown with moss and lichens are eminently in keeping with their surroundings on wild hills and moorlands like those of our Scottish Highlands. The Turf-Dyke should never be made use of except on highlying moorland districts, where stones are not easily obtainable, and where immediate shelter is wanted for sheep stock. From the temporary nature of the material of which it is made, it is constantly liable to injury by all kinds of heavy cattle; consequently it should not be erected where these are to be grazed. The only parts of the country where the turf dyke can be at all recommended is on highlying sheep-pastures where shelter is wanted for the stock, where stone dykes cannot be easily erected, and where wire-fences are objectionable on account of their producing no shelter. Wooden Palings are, in general, only considered as temporary or subordinate fences. In all cases where young hedges are planted, and where cattle of any description are to be grazed in the fields adjoining, the former must be protected by a wooden paling until they have attained a size and strength sufficient to ensure their being exposed with safety; and this is the one use for which palings are in continual demand. The horizontal paling is used principally for agricultural purposes, such as the protecting of hedge-fences in their young state, or for the mending of gaps in old hedges, &c. The upright paling is mostly used, in an endless number of varieties according to taste, as ornamental fences about gardens, cottages, &c.; and it forms excellent and useful fences when made of good Larch-wood, which will last longer than any other sort of timber for this purpose. The Wire-Fence is, beyond all others, the most durable and ornamental, and at the same time the cheapest. It takes up scarcely any space between enclosures, and is therefore, of all fences, the most suitable for agricultural districts. Of course it is not capable of producing any appreciable degree of shelter; but where this is no object, as in purely sylvicultural operations, the wire-fence should be used in preference to any other. As a fence for young plantations it is now extensively used in all parts of the country, even in high-lying districts. Wherever the plantation is extensive wire answers the purpose perfectly, because in this case the trees soon give shelter to each other, and do not require it from a fence; but, in the case of small plantations, these thrive better when protected by a fence calculated to produce shelter at once, such as a stone dyke. The wirefence on wooden intermediates, with improved iron straining-posts, is that best adapted for all agricultural and woodland purposes, as the wooden intermediates are not apt to be in any way disturbed by the pressure of heavy cattle. Where the nearest possible approach to invisibility is wanted, however, as well as the greatest possible degree of permanency as a fence, the wire-fence wholly on iron uprights should be used; because this sort, when painted green, is not observable by any ordinary person till within a few yards of it, and will last, if well attended to, for a great length of time. Fence-Gates. As the making and hanging of gates is a branch of rural economy most frequently devolving upon the forester, it is important, and even necessary, to dedicate a section to the explanation of the most approved methods of making and hanging field and plantation gates; and, moreover, having said so much upon the nature of fencing in general, this chapter would be incomplete without a few observations regarding wrought-iron gates. Every enclosed field and plantation of any considerable extent must have one or more entrances into it, in the form of openings in the fence which surrounds it; and these, again, must be made to act either as a fence or as an opening, as occasion may require. These openings are termed gateways, and whatever may be put upon them to act as a fence is termed a gate. There are many forms of gates in use in different parts of the country, from the most rude horizontal spar, made to fall into a post at each end, to the fine massy iron gate hung upon hinges. It would be entirely out of place here even to attempt to enumerate all of the many different sorts of gates that may be considered of useful designs; the descriptions will therefore be confined to field-gates made of wood and of iron, as these are best adapted for plantation gates, and the most useful for all field and plantation purposes. Wooden Gates are generally made after the pattern depicted in Fig. 214. Gates of this construction are still very extensively used in many parts of the country, and are generally made of the best old Larch-wood or the best old Pine, which, when painted, lasts for a great number of years. As Larch-wood, however, is very apt to twist in the heat of the sun, to which it must always be greatly exposed when converted into a gate, it ought to be well seasoned before being used for this purpose. The following are the usual dimensions of a gate such as that shown in Fig. 214. The back post, b, is 5 ft. high from bottom to top, and the scantling used in making it is 4 by 21 in. The front post, a, is also 5 ft. high from bottom to top, and the scantling 3 by 2 in. The bottom and top horizontal bars, c and d, are each of equal dimensions, and about 9 ft. in length within the back and front posts. These are 4 in. broad at the joinings upon the back post b, and 31 in. broad at the joinings upon the front post a, by 2 in. thick. The horizontal intermediates, e e e, are of course of the same length as the bottom and top bars, and of the same breadth; but they are only 1 in. thick. The diagonal bar g, which reaches from the heel of the gate to within 18 in. of the point of the top bar, is of the same strength as the upper and lower bars, and, like them, tapers from 4 in. at heel to 3 in. at point; whilst the upright piece, f, is of the same dimensions as the intermediates, and reaches from the bottom bar to the diagonal at its junction with the second bar from the top. This gate is furnished with double hinges, which greatly strengthen the back part |