George A. Martin

A GOOD GARDEN FENCE.

lath and picket fence

Fig. 39.—A Lath And Picket Fence.

The engraving, figure 39, represents a good, substantial garden fence, that, while somewhat more serviceable than the ordinary kind, may be constructed at less cost. It does not materially differ from the common picket fence, further than that the pickets are put five inches apart, with strips of lath nailed between. The pickets give the necessary strength, while the lath, as a shield against poultry, or rabbits and other vermin, is equally as good at one-sixth the cost. An old picket fence surrounding a garden or yard, may be “lathed” in the manner here indicated at little expense.

Fig. 40.—Southern Picket Fence.

jig for making pickets

Fig. 41.—Bench For Sawing Pickets.

The picket fence in very general use in the Southern States, is shown in figure 40. It will be observed that the pickets, instead of terminating in an equal-sided point, have but one slanting side, while the other is straight. Such a fence looks quite as well as one with the other style of points, and is exceedingly neat and serviceable along the line of the street, or to mark the boundary between two estates. To facilitate the sawing of the pickets, the bench or horse represented in figure 41 is employed. This has a stop at one end, while near the other end are two upright pieces to serve as guides in sawing. The edge of one of these is far enough in the rear of the other to give the desired slope. In sawing, the saw rests against these guides, as shown by the dotted lines. In a picket fence, the point where decay commences, is where the pickets cross the string pieces. Water enters between the two, and decay takes place which is unsuspected until the breaking of a picket reveals the state of affairs. The string pieces and the pickets, at least upon one side, should be painted before putting them together, and nailed while the paint is fresh.

Fig. 42.—A Fence Of Split Stuff.

In localities where sawed timber is expensive, and split timber is readily obtained, a very neat picket fence may be made with very little outlay, by using round posts, split stringers, and rived pickets, as shown in the engraving, figure 42. The stringers are eight to twelve feet in length, and usually one of the flat sides is sufficiently smooth for receiving the pickets. Let the stringers project a few inches beyond each post, adding strength to the fence, and should the posts decay, new ones may be driven in on either side, and the stringers readily attached by heavy nails or spikes. With timber that splits freely, a man can rive out five or six hundred pickets in a day. The construction of the fence is plainly shown in the above engraving.

Figure 43 represents a fence made entirely of split timber, the only cash outlay being for nails. This may be made so as to turn, not only all kinds of stock, but rabbits, etc. The pickets are sharpened, and driven six or eight inches into the ground, and firmly nailed to a strong string-piece at top.

Another good substantial fence is represented by figure 44, which, though somewhat expensive, is especially adapted for yard, orchard and vineyard enclosure. This needs no explanation. The posts should not be set further than eight feet apart; two by four-inch scantlings should be used to nail to, and split palings should be nailed on with annealed steel nails.

Fig. 45.—Ornamental Picket Fence.

The fence shown in figure 45 may be constructed with flat pickets, three inches wide and three feet five inches long. The notches in the pickets are easily made with a compass saw, or a foot-power scroll-saw. The top and bottom pieces between the pickets may be painted some other color than the fence, if so desired. Any carpenter should be able to construct it at a small advance over a fence made from plain pickets, making the pattern as in figure 46.

A plainer, but still very neat form of picket fence is illustrated at figure 47. The intermediate pieces are notched at one end and square at the other.

Fig. 48.—Rustic Sapling Fence.

When the farmers on the prairies prevent the spreading of the prairie fires, young oak and hickory saplings spring up as if by magic near all the wooded streams. These saplings come from huge roots whose tops have yearly been destroyed by fire. In that section farmers often construct a very neat rustic fence from two or three year old saplings, having the appearance of figure 48. The rustic pickets are trimmed so as to leave the branches projecting about two inches, and are nailed on with four-penny nails. A fence of this kind would not last long, unless the pickets, posts, and rails were free of bark, or saturated with crude petroleum.

A very neat and picturesque fence for a garden or a lawn is shown at figure 49. It is made of round poles, with the bark on, the posts being of similar material. Three horizontal bars are nailed to the posts at equal intervals, the slats or pickets woven into them and then nailed in place. One or two coats of crude petroleum, applied to this and other rustic work at first, and renewed every year, adds to its appearance and greatly increases its durability.

Fig. 50.—Panel Of Picket Fence.

For enclosing poultry yards, garden and grounds, a cheap fence with pickets of lath often serves a good purpose. If not very durable, the cost of repair or renewal is light. Figure 50 shows one of this kind, which is sufficiently high for the Asiatic and other heavy and quiet fowls. The panels are sixteen feet long, and are composed of two pieces of ordinary six-inch fencing, for top and bottom rails, with lath nailed across two and a half inches apart; the top ends of the lath extending ten inches above the upper edge of the top rail. Posts, three or four inches through at the top end, are large enough, and, after sharpening well, can be driven into the ground by first thrusting a crow-bar down and wrenching it back and forth. A post is necessary at the middle of each panel. Both rails of the panel should be well nailed to the posts. These panels may be neatly and rapidly made in a frame, constructed for that purpose. This frame, shown in figure 51, consists simply of three cross-pieces of six by six, four feet long, upon which are spiked two planks one foot wide and three feet apart, from outside to outside. Four inches from the inner edge of each plank is nailed a straight strip of inch stuff, to keep the rails of the panel in place while the lath are being nailed on. Against the projecting ends of the cross-pieces, spike two by six posts twelve inches long; on the inside of these posts nail a piece of six-inch fencing, to serve as a stop, for the top ends of the laths to touch, when nailing them to the rails. These panels can be made in the shop or on the barn floor at odd times, and piled away for future use. Nail a wide bottom board around on the inside of the enclosure after the fence is in position.

Figures 52 and 53 show lath fences high enough for all kinds of poultry. The posts in figure 52 are eight feet apart. A horizontal bar is nailed to the posts six inches above the ground, a second one eighteen inches, and a third four and a half feet. To two lower strips nail laths that have been cut to half length, first driving the lower part of the laths two inches into the ground. One advantage of this fence is, that the two strips near the bottom, being so close together, sustain pressure from dogs or outside intruders better than any other fence constructed of lath, and dispenses with a foot-wide board, so generally used.

The cheapest lath fence is made with the posts four feet apart, first sawing them in two lengthwise at a sawmill, and nailing the lath directly to the posts without the use of strips. The two upper laths have short vertical pieces fastened to them with cleat nails, and present points to prevent fowls alighting on the fence. Such a fence (figure 53) will cost, for four feet, one-half post, three cents; twenty laths, eight cents; and the nails, three cents, per running foot, six feet high, or one-half cent per square foot.

Fig. 54.—Side View Of Bench.

A very desirable and popular fence is made of pickets or slats woven into horizontal strands of plain wire. Several machines have been invented and patented for doing this work, but it can be done by hand with the aid of the bench illustrated herewith. The wire should be a little larger than that used on harvesting machines, and annealed like it. The bench, of which figure 54 is a side view, and figure 55 a top view, should be about sixteen feet long and have a screw at each corner for raising and lowering the holding bars. For the screws at the ends of the frame one-half to three-fourth-inch iron rod will answer. The wire is twisted close and tight to the slats, and given two or three twists between them. If the slats are of green stuff, fasten the wire to them with small staples, to prevent their slipping when they shrink. The fence is fastened to the post with common fence staples. When this style of fence is used on one side of a pasture or highway, its effectiveness may be increased by a single strand of barbed wire stapled to the posts above the pickets, and a strand of plain wire strung along the bottom to stiffen it. The fence will then be as in figure 56. Such a fence will last many years, and for most sections of the country is the best and cheapest combined cattle and hog fence that can be made. For a garden fence it is equal to the best picket, and at one third of the cost. By having the slats sawed about one-half inch thick, two inches wide, and five to six feet long, it makes an excellent fence for a chicken yard, as it can be readily taken down, moved, and put up again without injuring it in the least. For situations where appearances are secondary importance, round slats are equally as good as pickets. A farmer in Wisconsin planted a few white willow trees the year that he made some fences of this kind. When the fence began to need repairs, the willows had attained such a growth that their trimmings furnished all the material needed then and each year thereafter.

Fig. 57.—Fence Of Wire And Pickets.

The fence shown in figure 57 has been introduced in some sections, and is becoming more popular every year. The posts are set ten feet apart, and are so placed that they will come on the right and left side of the fence, alternately. The pickets are split from oak, or any other hard wood, and are four or five feet long, and an inch and a half or two inches wide. When the posts are set, brace the one at the end of the line, and fasten the ends of two number nine, unannealed wires to it. Stretch the wires along to the other end of the line, and a few feet beyond the last post. One pair is to be stretched near the top of the posts and one near the ground. When the wires are stretched taut, fasten them to some posts or other weight that will drag on the ground; the upper and lower wires should be fastened to separate weights, and these should be heavy enough to keep the wires at a great tension. Having done this, you are ready to commence building the fence. One man spreads the strands, while another places the picket between them; the other end of the picket is then raised up and placed between the upper wires, and then driven up with an axe or mallet. In inserting the pickets, the wires are to be crossed alternately, as shown in the engraving. The pickets should be dry and should be about three inches apart. It takes two persons to build this fence successfully, but it can be built more rapidly by three; one to spread the wires, one to place the picket in position, and one to drive it home. This is especially adapted, for a line or other fence which is not required to be often moved. It is fastened to the post by nailing one of the pickets to it with common fencing nails. Fences of this kind are also made with straight, round limbs of willow or other trees in place of the split pickets. Several different machines have been patented for making this style of fence.