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6^
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333

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A TREATISE
,Ji)0 N

WIRE FENCING;
UNQUESTIONABLY PROVING ITS SUPERIORITY TO ANY
ARTICLE HERETOFORE USED, FOR

ORNAMENTAL GARDEN^.IVOpXv aRAPE, AJ^D/RO^E

ETC.,

js,

rc-i

'"

TliSLLISES,

>

DEDICATED TO AGEICULTTIEALISTS.

BOSTON:
PUBLISHED BY JAMES
38

E.

BUTTS,

WATER STREET.
18

5 6.

JK.

& CO.

9^

30^1.^^
Entered

acsididftag to! A<j:t

'"

CI

eft'

Cniftr6ss*lijthe i*ea]:

Br JAMES

'
'

E^

Eighteen Hundred and Fifty-Six,

BUTTS, JE. &*'C0.

In the Clcrli's'0ffi'fl!|OC,''t& CKstKc'tSCaurtiof the

IVI4.

Printed by
Stacy & Richakd9o;,

No.

Milk Street,
''
BOSTON.

'.

1
.

DisJri'cft<,of

Massachusetts.

^^i^FACTS

The

ON^^^

object of this pamphlet, or circular,

of agriculturists,

attention

horticulturists,

is

to

call

the

arboriculturists,

railroad superintendents, keepers of agricultural warehouses,

and

all

who

are in

Fences, to the
factured

any way interested

in the subject of

new and improved Woven Wire Fence, manu-

bj Messrs.

J. E.

Every farmer knows

&

Butts, Jr.

known

Co., and

that this subject of Fences

the highest importance, and one which

more important every year.

The

is

is

as

one of

becoming more and

cost of his Fences is the

most serious drawback on the usually very moderate income

of the

American farmer

means of

life

man

nothing pinches

and competence.

Ward Beecher
which a

If

it

humorously remarks,

takes in anything,

is

so

hardly his

be true, as

that

"the

Henry
interest

always proportioned to the

amount of himself which he has put

into

it

and a man who

has earned his living on a farm, must have put a great deal
of himself into it;"

must certainly

much

feel

if this

be true, we say every farmer

interested

in

the matter of his

Fences, and in every improvement which affects them.

TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING.

THE "PENCE OPPRESSION."

The amount of
struction

capital invested

and expended

in the con-

and repair of the Fences of the United

would be deemed fabulous, were

it

ported by statistical facts which cannot be denied.

known

agricultural writer

States,

not for the estimates sup-

Burnap

estimates that "

well

the

Fences of this country cost more than twenty times

THE amount of ALL THE SPECIE THAT IS IN IT " Another
Biddle
most justly obwell known agricultural writer
!

enormous burdeti which keeps down

serves, that "it is this

the agricultural interests of this country/, causing

expenditure,

besides

the

loss

an untold

of land the Fences occupy/."

Mr. Biddle, indeed, made a profound and careful estimate,

some years ago, that "

vania alone, cost no

the

Fences of

the State of

Pennsyl-

than $100,000,000, together with

less

an annual expenditure, in

repairs, of at least

^10,000,000

!"

Such being the burden imposed by the Fences of one State

alone,
all

how truly enormous must be

the States combined

We

but quote the words of a distinguished writer thor-

oughly familiar with

as

it

the cost of the Fences of

may

when we say

this subject,

that,

''

strange

seem, the greatest investment in this country, the

most costly productions of human industry, are the common

Fences, which divide the fields from the highways, and separate

them from each

other.

compared with the outlay

No man

for those

dreams that when

unpretending monuments

of art, our cities and our towns, with all their wealth, are left
far behind."

Yet such

is

of Fence, such as this "

the fact.

Were

there no

new mode

Lowell Wire Fence," whereby a

may be saved, we verily

large proportion of this expense

believe

it

would be better

to dispense with

Fences altogether,

TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING.

vogue on the Continent of Europe, than

after the fashion in

to

endure the ruinous tax which our farmers in

now
other

many

regions

No

endure, through the present modes of Fencing.

country

England

and Holland excepted

thus

is

Hence there has long been great demand

burdened.

for

some new, cheap, and substantial mode of Fence, capable of

being conveniently substituted for the costly and unsubstantial styles

of Fencing

now

in vogue.

DEFECTS OP THE PRESENT MODES OP

PENCING.
The common worm Fence consumes
occupies too

much

land,

too

and-rail Fence also consumes too

much

goes to decay, and besides

requires too

building,

much

and too soon goes to decay

and too frequent

this, it

much

labor in

meet the wants, and

repair, to

difficulty

timber,

the post-

timber, and too soon

be supplied by the limited means of the farmer.

enhances in value, this

increases.

As

to

timber

Most of our

States are composed of prairie land, and are but sparsely

The

timber of any kind.

supplied

with

forests of

America are rapidly receding before the westward

tide of civilization, like the

were once inhabited.

upon

great

primeval

"red children" by whom they

Wood,

therefore,

as a material for Fencing, cheap

can STONE supply the place of wood.

and

can not be relied

the material

abundant, stone walls answer the purpose very well

there are few localities where the material abounds.

can quickset hedges be depended

on.

Nor

substantial.

Where

is

but

Neither

South of the

lati-

tude of Philadelphia, the Osage Orange has been cultivated

with

some

success,

as a hedge plant;

but north of that

TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING.

latitude, the frosts of

it.

Winter are too often found

to be fatal to

Hedges, however, are so long coming to maturity

much

occupy so

land, require so

ject to destruction in

many

much

they

and are so sub-

care,

ways, that, at best they furnish

but a poor substitute for Avood and stone, as a material for

Fences.

Mr. Solon Kobinson, one of the

New York

east, west, north,

good hedge Fence

one side by a
It has been
'
'

rail

all

his travels,

" and that, he adds,

"was supported on

Fence, and on the other by a board Fence."

mentioned by an intelligent English writer, that

in

England, would be

suffi-

grow several millions of bushels of grain."

Wire Strands

have been tried for Fencing, with some

success, especially in England,

where iron

But

labor one-half, cheaper than here.

so loose

in

and south, he has seen " one, and only one,

consumed by hedges

the land

cient to

editorial staff of the

Tribune, has observed that,

is

one-third,

and

the strands become

by expansion by the heat of Summer, and are

so

frequently snapped and broken by contraction by the cold of

Winter, that, in this country, few farmers can be persuaded

them

to adopt

at all

ment of wire strands

and those who have

once, have seldom been seen to repeat

the experiment again.

This trouble incident

and contraction of the wire strands,

C apron,
ters, in

of Laurel, Md.,

is

is

experience

the peculiar

the

"that even

contraction

of

its

in short

that a

in a hot day,

through."

this difficulty is

mode

expansion

experienced in these mat-

may be so slackened,
hog may wedge his way

Lowell Wire Fence,"

to the

so great, that Colonel

letter, says,

wires

long-nosed

teracted

who

a recently published

lines, the

tried the experi-

"The

In

completely coun-

texture enabling

and expansion caused

it

to

by the

changes in the temperature of the atmosphere, without in

the slightest degree impairing

its efficiency

as a Fence.

TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING.

IRON THE TRUE MATERIAL FOR

FENCES.
But although

made of

these experiments in Iron Fence,

wire strands running from post to post, have generally proved

unsatisfactory, all

who have given

the subject the attention

deserves, have agreed in the conclusion,

after all, the

being arrived

that iron wire

true material for Fencing.

This conclusion

the only remaining difficulty lay in the want

at,

of suitable machinery

to

manufacture the

ivire into

work.

it

ivas possible

Inventive genius

to

manufacture

made many attempts

desired machinery, which proved failures.

eflforts,

such a

and

fabric as would serve as a Fence, more economically

peditiously than

it

is,

ex-

hy hand

it

to produce the

At

length, these

or one of them, were crowned with success.

In 1853, the machines now used in manufacturing the

Fence, were invented and put in operation, and the long
wished-for result was attained.

cured for the invention, and

Company

business flourished

Mr. Charles Cowley

notice
thing.

and favor

and

new

material into general use.

the efforts of the Company's agent

brought
all

the Fence

Avho tried

it

voted

into
it

general

a capital

Early in the Winter of 1855, the machinery of the

Company was purchased by Messrs

who

pro-

" was speedily organized, for the purpose of man-

ufacturing and introducing the

The

Letters Patent were

"The Lowell Wire Fence

J. E.

Butts, Jr.

&

Co.,

are the manufacturers of this admirable Fence at the

present time.

TREATISE ON AVIRE FENCING.

DESCRIPTION OP THE WIRE PENCE.

This Fence, as will be seen bj reference to the within cuts,
consists of a substantial

and beautiful netting or web-work,

not unlike a fisherman's seine, but coarser.

of

it,

Different kinds

adapted to different uses, are woven of various widths,

from a few inches to four

The wire

feet.

itself,

which

is

and number, some kinds containing

annealed, varies in size

wire about one-third, and some only about one-sixteenth of

an inch in diameter,

the

number of the wire

kinds ranging from No. 8 to No.

in the several

according

15,

to the

character of the Fence desired, and the use for which

The meshes

designed.

it

is

or open squares are also graduated in

the several kinds, from one to six inches.

The Fence
protects

it

varnished with asphaltum blacking, which

is

from oxidizing or rusting, and imparts to

brilliant black color

by coating
ing.

it

but the same purposes

with gas

tar,

Being too strong for an

the wind at all

fire,

ox,

its

down by

gales

and too

it

close for a hen, it

farm stock.
;

and, being of iron,

it

Board Fences

Fence does not catch

this

cannot be injured by

Unlike

does not confine the heat, being open in

meshes, and admitting freely the genial rays of the sun,

so conducive to vegetation.

the

all

by which wood Fences are so often destroyed.

walls and hedges,

it

be served

japanning, paint, or by galvaniz-

forms an impassable barrier to

are apt to be blown

may

soil,

Neither does this Fence occupy

engender weeds, nor harbor vermin, as

with walls and hedges.

of the land,

Neither does

it

nor require repair from

is

the case

interrupt the view

year to year

re-coating of varnish once in four or five years being the

only source of expense with

up.

Few

it,

after

it

has once been well set

Fences, of the ordinary kinds,

last

more than

TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING.

twenty years

One

more.

day, says of

but this

it

" While other Iron Fences

by

its

are seriously

and contraction,

alternate expansion

occa-

the changes incident to the temperature of the

atmosphere,

which

calculated to last a century or

of the leading agricultural periodicals of the

injured by the
sioned

is

this,

by the novel and ingenious manner

wires are knit or woven together,

is

in

enabled to

undergo these changes of temperature, and the expansion

without the slightest

and contraction occasioned thereby,

deterioration or injury."

The
they

posts to

may

which the Fence

be of iron or stone

of posts, where convenient.

to twelve inches

straight

is

secured, are of

or trees

may

The Fence

is

wood

tight,

be used in lieu

by

set,

drawn

is

and kept upon an exact level

The

(or regular inclination) from one end to another.

are

but

raised from four

from the level of the ground, and

and moderately

say ten feet apart, and to these the netting

is

posts

secured

by screws with hook-heads,) one staple being

each lateral wire at each post and no rails whatever

staples, (or

used

to

are needed.

The

prices of the several kinds vary,

according to the

height and weight of the Fence, the size of the mesh, the

number and dimensions of the

wire,

etc.

The Fence

furnished in portable rolls of from 20 to 25 rods each

any farmer has

and

set it

up

as

sufficient

he

mechanical

pleases.

skill to

buy

it,

is

and

unroll

it,

ILLUSTRATIVE
m^

No.

1.

-ssr

No.

1 is

3|

feet high,

lateral wires of

with meshes (or open spaces) 3 inches square; 4

No. 10 wire, run through the hody of the Fence, which

No. 14 (or No. 15) wire.

The weight

is

ten

lbs.,

and the price

is

is

of

$2.00 per

lineal rod (IG^feet).

This stjle

is

beautifully

Fences, where strength

is

adapted for front, or garden

required.

TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING.

11

No.

No. 2

is

precisely like the

(or straight) wires in

it

This weighs 9

Fence.

first

one
lbs.,

kind, except that there are but two lateral

at the top,

and

is

and another

at the

bottom of the

$1.75 per rod.

Suitable for light garden work, Heneries, &c., and affording

an admirable protection

for

Hedges, &c.

No.

No. 3
wires,

is

3.

2| feet high,' with meshes 3 inches square

with the body work of No. 14 wire.

It

weighs

it

has 3 lateral No. 10

7|- lbs.,

and

is

$1.50

per rod.

When

finished in panels of

wood

or iron work, this style

forms a durable and ornamental front yard Fence.

TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING.

12

No. 4.

No. 4
middle

precisely like the third kind, save that the lateral wire in the

is

is

omitted.

It

weighs 6 J

lbs.,

and

is

$1.37f per rod.

Suited for the protection of low Hedges, and for wide

Trellises, &c., &c.

No.

No. 5

is

16 inches high, with meshes 3 inches square

lateral (outside) wires of

lbs.,

and

is

5.

No. 12 wire

the

body

is

there are

of No. 15.

It

two

weighs 4

75 cents per rod.

It is used for ornamental

Trellises, as well as for

garden work, and

all

kinds of

low Fences, Borders, and for sur-

mounting Fences, as seen in the

cut.

TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING.

No.

5.

The accompanying
sent

the

same

cuts repre-

description

of

Fence, as applied to Rose-Trellises

and Door- Arbors, &c.

13

14

TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING,

No.

No. 6

is

3|

feet high,

6.

with meshes 6 inches square

10 wires, and the body work of No. 12 wire.

It

it

has four lateral No.

weighs 10

lbs.,

and

is

$1.25

per rod.

This kind makes the best and most practicable barrier

against cattle, around Fields, along Canals, Railroads, etc.

Some

of the Railroad Companies have already adopted

Indeed,

it is

emphatically a

Railroad Fence.

it.

TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING.

No.

No. 6 Extra

is

of the

ber heavier throughout.

and the body of No.

This style

is

6,

EXTRA.

same dimensions
It is

11 wire.

3j
It

feet

15

as No. 6, the wires being one

high

weighs 12

num-

the lateral wires are of No.

lbs.,

and

is

8,

$1.50 per rod.

suitable for exposed situations, Road-Fences,

and wherever an unusual degree of strength

is

required.

16

TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING.

No.

No.

7 is precisely like the sixth kind,

wires are omitted.

It
is

is

It

weighs

the cheapest

8|- lbs.,

7.

except that the two middle lateral

and

is

Sheep Fence

$1.00 per rod.

that can be erected.

admirably adapted for Trellis work,

and Roses,
render

it

Gardens,

&c.

Its strength

Grape Vines
and cheapness

particularly suited for Division-Fences

Prairie lands
priate

for

for

it is

at onne-tije

Fence ever devised.

It

while for

most <jconomical and appro-

TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING.

No.

No. 8

is

Well adapted
teries,

8.

of the same size wires as Nos. 6 and

running through the Fence, and

for

is

17

7.

It has three lateral wires

$1.12 per rod.

Deer-Parks, Cattle Enclosures, Ceme-

&c.

GATES for any of llie preceding: styles

by us, witli either llVood
manufactured
of Fence are
or Iron Frames, as may be desired.
Appropriate

18

TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING.

GARDEN SUMMER HOUSES OR ARBORS.

The

different sizes of

woven wire can be admirably em-

ployed in the erection of Ornamental Arbors, for private

gardens, or public grounds.

The frame-work of

light

wood

can be readily covered with the wire netting, as seen in the

cut

the whole forming one of the cheapest, lightest and most

airy styles of

By

Summer

houses ever introduced.

a different arrangement of the wood work, the form

and general appearance of these Arbors can be endlessly

versified, according to the taste or

means of the

proprietor.

di-

TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING.

19

WIRE NETTING.
In connection with the manufacture of Wire Fence, we
also furnish

a lighter fabric of a finer mesh, suitable for

Window Guards,

Gratings,

Borders,

light

This netting, manufactured of various widths, from 13

inches,

ery,

from Nos. 15, 16 or 17 wire,

and

is

is

also

&c.

Trellises,
to

28

woven by machin-

sold at from seven to ten cents per square foot,

being less than one half the former prices.

When

varnished

like the fence, or coated with paint of different colors, this

fabric forms a light, graceful,

and

at the

same time adequate

protection for nursery windows,

the costly and ornamental

windows of

Conservatories,

Churches,

Stores,

&c.

also useful for the protection of Hot-air Flues, Drains,

lights, Steps,

and many other purposes,

to

which

it

It is

Sky-

has only

to be experimentally applied to ensure entire satisfaction.

WHAT

SAID OP

IS

BY THOSE WHO HAVE TRIED THEM.

Several thousand letters have been

received

by the

manufacturers of the Wire Fence, from farmers and others

who have
who

practically tested

all agree,

it

during the

the inventors and manufacturers claim

shall

two years, and

to

it

be

it

is

what

strong,

and economical Fence.

lasting, neat

We

last

without one dissenting voice, that

now proceed

few extracts from some of

to give a

these letters, only premising that

"

what you have here

is

a sample of

and that these samples might be extended

all

"
;

to the extent of

several volumes.

Hon. Marshall P. Wilder,

States Agricultural Society, was

and

test the merits of this

mode

President

among

the

of Fence

of

the United

first to

and

examine

in a letter to

Mr. Co\Yley, the Agent of the Lowell Wire Fence Company,

by whom
speaks of

this style of
it

Fence was

first

introduced, he thus

TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING.

"Dorchester, January
I

"

Charles Cowley,
"Dear

Sir,

Esq., Agent, &c.

have recently examined some of the netting of the

for fields

and gardens, or that

perfectly practicable

it is

well adapted to all uses where

it is

a strong, .close, elegant, economical and durable Fence

stone

not abundant, or where lumber

is

deem

States, I should

the

it

is

From my own

Trellises, &c.

experience and that of others, I cannot doubt that

Fence

IZih, 1855.

Lowell Wire Fence Company, for Fences,

as a

many

The

them admirably

kinds, renders

Fencing

Poultry Fences.

used in Great Britain

by machinery,

it

it

de-

mode

of

while the closeness of the lighter

and, since

would seem

Garden

available for

like this, has for

it

can

now

uses, Heneries,

of no Fencing so good as

this,

and

some years been extensively

be

made

much

at a

less cost,

United States.

to be equally adaptive to the

the highest price asked for the

is,

economy
this

stouter kinds of this netting are of such strength, that cattle

could not easily peneti-ate or pass

know

of our

most practicable Fence that could be procured.

as safety and
they can scarcely be fenced cheaper or better than by

Fence.

Where

required.

is

expensive, as in

If our Eailroads are hereafter to be enclosed

mand

21

that can be procured for $1.50 per rod,

most costly kinds of

netting

this

and

this

probably, the only Fencing of equal merit that can be bought for $1.50

per rod.
"

As

a material for Rose-Trellises, Grape-Trellises, and ornamental work

in Gardens, I think

unequalled in cheapness, durability and beauty, by

it

anything yet devised.

general use,

when

its

It will,

without doubt, eventually be received into

merits are appreciated by the public.

"

Yours, respectfully,

MARSHALL
Richard
" I

S.

Fay, Esq., of Lynn, says:

have used the

Lowell Wire Fence

(1855,) for folding sheep at night

fectly.

My Fence

mode of hurdling or inclosing

made much cheaper."

Col. R.

B.

it

to

to

manure, shifting

answer the purpose per-

cost $1.50 per rod,

at that price.

WILDER."

during the past Summer,

on land that I wished

once or more every week, and I have found

P.

and

I understand

Mason, Superintendent

it

is

now

a cheap
that

it is

of the Illinois Cen-

tral Railroad, speaks highly of this Fence, especially as used

22

TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING.

the parks and lawns and gladed surroundings of gentle-

"in

men's estates."
"

His

However, experience

and time and

trial

letter concludes

in all these matters is the true touchstone of merit,

may show your Fence

to

we

be just what

want, and of

great value to the country."

Mr. Logan Sleeper, well known

Company devoted

of a

writes as follows
"

The

cost of Fences

now

City, (St. Louis, Mo.,) is

to the

cost not less

around

city,

mile
it is

nearer to the

There

not

is

country proximate to

in all parts of the

becoming enormous.

Plank Fence made, which

lots

as the St. Louis agent

growth of Hedges in the West,

than $900 per mile; and some

which cost

it

that

would not

I think your

and be durable and removable.

*
*
*
desideratum.

For two years

Mr.

Noble, of Dixon,

S.

fill

all

reason,

an important

I have been acquainting

and I know what the

writes that this Fence

111.,

Our land

this country.

high,"

Alexander, Howell &

Messrs.

also say

"we

pretty

is

much

examine

it

and

test

it,

that

and

first

that

it,

my journal,

(the

and make inquiries

Boston

Jarvis, Esq.,

Cultivator,)

in relation to

have been favorably impressed with regard

D WIGHT

you manufactured, and have recommended

also through

examine

of Dixon,

just the kind of Fence for

it is

Otis Brewer, Esq., of Boston, says

had the

Co.,

are satisfied, after having had an opportunity

our prairies."

to

is

which renders Fencing material very scarce and

prairie,

many

will

is."

"just the thing for

" I

beyond

cost

Fence

myself generally with the expenses of Fencing

vately,

Hedge Fences, but

The yas< people of the West want a Fence to be available

Hedge can be. And many would have a Hedge grown, if

they could have a Fence to protect

to

$1000 per

at a rate exceeding

considerable stir in the country, about

(jeneral.

quicker than a

burden

this

There are large quantities of

it

it

pri-

and have had

and I believe

all

to its utility for general use."

of Massillon,

0.,

after

an ex-

tended and highly favorable notice of this Fence, observes

TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING.

23

" This subject of Fencing is one of no common importance, and

is daily
assuming more and more of the attention of considerate men, in all parts of
the country. In this part of Ohio, being the wheat growing region, timber

lands are
tion

is

commanding almost

daily asked,

What

as high prices as improved farms.

shall

we do

for

Fencing

The

ques-

"

Mr. G. P. Hewitt, of Milwaukee, Wis.,

after

comment-

ing at some length on the scarcitj and enormous cost of

timber in his State, expresses his conviction that this Wire

Fence " will be generally adopted in this country, where

Hedges are impracticable, and where stone or even wooden

Fences are so expensive."

Robert

Cambell,

C.

Esq., a planter in the Valley of

the Brazos River, Texas, writing from North Bend, says

" I see plainly that I shall shortly
rails for

Fencing.

of timber

to

employ something

and hence the valuable prairie lands must

production, unless a cheap

made by you

S.

have

else besides

This State presents a large surface of territory destitute

will,

and

lasting

prove worthless for

Fencing can be used.

The kind

I think, produce the desired character of enclosure."

M. Felton,

Esq.,

President

of

the

Philadelphia,

Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Company, was among

the

first to

Fence.

examine and

The

first

test the practicability

experiment to

road Fence, was made on

of this

test its utility as

this road,

success.

^c<r

Wire

a Rail-

and was a perfect

24

TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING.

AGENTS
Jf0r

t|e

% lEirc

^ale of

In many of the principal

Jfciitt

Cities of the Union, agencies

have been established for the sale of this new article of

merchandise

and large quantities of

demand

for

it

sold.

of machines

production of the Fence, the

has far exceeded the capacity of the manufac-

turers to supply.

construction

have been

number

Indeed, in consequence of the limited

heretofore employed in the

it

of

This want has since been removed by the

additional

machinery.

amount, from twenty rods to as

with promptness and dispatch.

many

Orders

miles,

are

for

now

any
filled

WHAT THE NEWSPAPERS SAY

OF

THE

WIRE FENCE
The American

Press, through

has been

unanimous in

Fencing.

The Agricultural

immediately concerned in

commended

this:

press "

Not

its

many-tongued organs,

praises of this

Journals,

affairs

new mode

of this kind, have especially

started,

that

many

"puffs" for money, and that these "notices

may have

been purchased, our answer

is

one dollar has ever been paid to any

EDITOR or publisher FOR A NOTICE OF THIS

We

of

being the most

as

Should the objection be

it.

editors sell their

of the

its

FeNCE.

appeal to the whole editorial fraternity in support of this

statement.

These notices are the gratuitous testimonials of

an enlightened and unbiased fraternity of Journalists,

improvement which they deemed of great importance

to

an

to their

country.

The Plough, Loom and Anvil, in

its

January number,

1855, after speaking at length on the imperative demand for

"some
after

"

tvire

better

of Fence than

any now

in vogue,"

would eventually be adopted as the staple material

Fences," says
"

mode

and

mentioning that the conclusion was inevitable, that

But the

difficulty heretofore

the manufacture of

for

has been found in the want of a machine for

Wire or other Iron

into Fencing.

That machine has now

TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING.

26

been invented, patented, started,

extensively tried for Fencing.

manufacturers of
rectly,

this

Fencing, which they claim to be, and perhaps corconsidering

cheapest,

the

netting made by it successfully and

The Lowell Wire Tence Company are the

and the

Thus has

beauty, in the world.

been supplied, by an invention which

some

in

sections of country,

Fencing.

wood

strength,

its

closeness,

and

durability,

the great necessity of American agriculture

will,

without doubt, produce, at least

a considerable revolution in our system of

The farmer who

has not a surjilus of

or stone on his farm, can find no Fence so admirably adapted to his

wants, by cheapness, strength, portability, durableness, beauty and economy,

as

this.

By an

outlay of less than a dollar and a half per rod, with a

little

personal labor, and a few posts, he can erect a substantial Farm-Fence, impassable to cattle, sheep, or pigs, which will survive

and

his children

when he

is

no more,

to

his children's children."

In the February number, 1855, of the same Journal, were

published cuts and full descriptions of

made, of this Fence.

We regard

"

all

inventor,

its

That

our present modes of Fencing,

by the Company organized

whether practical agriculturists or

examined

it

will, in

it,

and by

who have

all,

tried or

it."

We regard this

Fence as eminently adapted

cheapness will increase the

Union

a great measure,

manufacture

to

scientific theorists,

elaborate article on this Fence, as follows

"

an opinion concurred in by

is

The Northern Farmer, of Woodstock,

Its

the kinds then

the introduction of the Fencing above-portrayed, as a bles-

sing to all the farmers of our country.

supersede

all

In conclusion, the editors say

shall be

demand

embroidered with

for

to the

its

Vt.,

closes

an

wants of our farmers.

until every landscape in the

it

it."

The American Agriculturist pronounces

Fence," and assures

readers that

it is

it

an "admirable

eminently "worthy

of attention."

The Progressive Farmer deems

"

Highly desirable substitute for

enclosures

of

all

kinds,

rail

and as no

it

Fencing, being admirably adapted for

rails are

required,

the netting being

fastened to posts of wood, iron or stone, set from ten to fifteen feet apart,
is

easily put up,

and

is

coated in various ways to beautify and preserve

it
it.

A
*

TREATISE ON WIRE EENCING.

*

The day has come when

27

other material than

Our

unsightly and costly split rails must be adopted for Fencing purposes.
forests are rapidly disappearing,

commonly

materials hitherto

and with them, the supply of Fencing

"What

used.

Iron has recently been adapted to so

was formerly used, that we almost

very fitting substitute for wood,
strength, neatness,

and

cient advance has

now

we

shall yet

durability,

is

many

now

to be

done

instinctively turn to

it

only

as a cheap

and

Wire Fences,
*=
*
*
have been used.
in Fencing.

been made in

wood

purposes, for which

possessing

this direction, to justify the

suffi-

hope that

have Wire Fencing, which can be profitably introduced."

The Farm Journal, published

the Fence a

first

in Philadelphia, pronounces

rate thing, and, as evidence of this, refers

"that considerable quantities of

to the fact,

it

have been

successfully tried."

The Northern Farmer, published

after giving illustrative

Fence, remarks
"

The

New

York,

cuts and descriptions of the

Wire

great cost of durable Fencing, to which the rural proprietors of this

country have been subjected, has led to various

substitutes for Rails, Boards,

to

at Utica,

and Stone Walls.

new

inventions to answer as

Nothing, however, seems

have come up, in neatness, cheapness, and durability, to the Wire

Fencing."

The Union Bepublican, published at Staunton, Virginia,

expresses the opinion, among other things, that "for cheapness and utility, this Fence

is

superior to any article hereto-

fore used," for purposes of enclosure.

The Richmond
and handsome

(^Va.')

Enquirer speaks of

this as

"cheap

" and, the editor having successfully appro-

priated some of the lighter kinds for the purpose of a Garden

Bower, says

We

"

can truly say, that for Grape and Rose Trellises, Garden Bowers,

and such work, the woven wire answers admirably."

The New England Farmer

favored this Fence

has,

on several occasions,

with particular attention.

Before a rod of

TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING.

28

had been sold or

it

that

prediction,

it

paper gave publicity to the

tried, this

would, in the end, supersede

other

all

modes of enclosure, in many parts of the Union.

In Jan-

uary, 1855, the same journal published cuts of the Fence,

and closed

notice as follows

its

"All who have examined or

tried

attest that it possesses in the highest

it,

degree, those seven cardinal qualities in a perfect Fence or Trellis-work

strength, closeness, beauty, lightness, portability, cheapness,

The Massachusetts Ploughman

"

That

it is

Fence

and commend

to

it

mode

itself,

"We

cation in use.

of fencing

hail it as

in its construction

of this

Wire Fence

and the demand

and appli-

one of the most useful inventions of the age,

our readers for their adoption."

The manufacture

more important
the West,

change greatly diminishing the

and the labor required

The Massillon (0.) News, remarks:

"

durability."

impossible to doubt that this invention wiU produce a com-

plete change in our

cost of the

observes

and

for

it

is

rapidly becoming

more and

throughout the Union, especially in

where the scarcity of timber renders

it

a valuable aid

to the

agriculturist, is largely increasing."

The Boston

We

"

Cultivator says

have heard

it

recommended by persons who have tried

*
*
*
Esq., of Lynn.

highly

among whom we may mention E. S. Fat,

This mode of Fencing is fast getting into
probable that
all

it

will eventually supersede

general use

Wood

scientific press

praise

have applauded

it;

men

is

not im-

The

agricultural

of theory have attested

its

men have tried it, and set to it the zeal of their unanimous
nor can any man question its ultimate success."

practical

approbation

The American Phrenologist remarks

" Theoretical agriculturists

tion to Fences.
rail

it

Fences and Stone Walls, in

those districts not containing large quantities of rock.

and

and

it,

Fence,

memory

'

left,

They have

Worm

Fences,'

have devoted much time

tried

to disputes in rela-

Stone Walls, Hedges, the rickety-post-and

and many kinds which now have scarcely a

* * *
entirely successful.

and none of these have been

TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING.

A
In

29

vie-w of the repeated failures of inventive genius

Fence

for

to produce a suitable
farm purposes, certain parties [the inventors of this Wire Eence]

essayed to put forward a style of enclosure which, formed wholly of Iron

Wire, would be made with readiness to meet at

ments

Lightness;

Strength

least the following require-

3. Portability;

Durability,

It is

believed that these desiderata have been attained at the present time.

Wire

1.

2.

4.

Fences are found to meet demands that were previously unsupplied, and in
England, as in this country, their use thus far has been attended with

We

success.

commend

that they will find in

it

the invention to the notice of our readers, believing

peculiar advantages that will repay an examination.

Wire Fences possess advantages over others, in that they disfigure no landno lawn and that they enhance, rather than destroy the

scape, obstruct

symmetry and beauty of ornamental grounds.

upon no man's

pulling heavily

tasteful forms, the

purse,

Wire Fence may justly be voted a good

The Chicago Democrat thus

" It

is

Needing few or no

repairs,

and susceptible of receiving the most

describes this

thing."

Fence

the best possible kind of Iron Fence for the Prairies.

The numer-

ous experiments tried heretofore, sometimes with large sized wire, and at
others with

hoop-iron, running in straight lines, have not

flat

acceptance of farmers.

Fencing, everywhere,

mers, and upon the prairies, where timber

to

is

than in the Eastern States.

now

is

is

the general

much more

scarce, is

met

a very serious item to

The

far-

expensive

point to be aimed at

cheapness and durability, and the invention above referred to seems

combine both of these

Among

requisites."

other papers which have also extended

to

this

we may mention

valuable Fence their kind approval,

the

Southern Planter^ the Ohio Farmer, the Cleveland Plain-

New York

Dealer^ the

Tribune, the Baltimore Sun, the

Washington Organ, the Stockton Tribune, the North Western

Christian Advocate, the

Lowell

{Mass.')

journals in
ourselves

all parts

to

the

New York

Courier,

and

Citizen,

of the country

extracts

Times, and News, the

already

and

manj

other

but we must confine

given,

without

adding

more, as we are preparing only a pamphlet, and not a bulky

volume.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

>M
33 i?

021 531 456

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