Barb wire is not without its drawbacks as a fencing material, the most common one being the liability of serious injury to valuable domestic animals coming in contact with the sharp barbs. Many means have been devised for overcoming this evil. Some of them are illustrated in the next chapter. The direct advantages of barb wire are: First—economy, not only in the comparative cheapness of its first cost, but also in the small amount of land covered by it. Second—effectiveness as a barrier against all kinds of stock, and a protection against dogs and wild beasts. Third—rapidity of construction and ease of moving. Fourth—freedom from harboring weeds, and creating snow drifts. Fifth—durability.
Fig. 59.—Horse-nail Barb.
Barb wire, like the harvester, the sowing machine, and most other valuable inventions, has attained its present form from very crude beginnings. The original barb wire consisted of double-pointed metallic discs, strung loosely upon plain wire. The next step was to twist this with another wire, as shown in [figure 58].
Fig. 60.—Crandall Barb Wire.
Fig. 61.—Sterling Barb Wire.
Another crude beginning was the “horse-nail barb,” which consisted of a common horseshoe nail bent around a plain wire, and the whole wrapped spirally with a smaller wire, as shown in [figure 59]. Various forms of two-pointed and four-pointed barb wire are manufactured, the principal difference being the shape of the barbs and the manner of coiling them around one or both of the strands. A few of the leading styles are illustrated herewith. [Figures 60] and [61] show two varieties of two-pointed barb wire.
