A living tree which stands in the right place, makes a very durable and substantial fence-post. In the great treeless regions of the Mississippi Valley, where it is difficult to obtain timber for posts, it is not an unusual practice to plant trees for the purpose on street boundaries, and other places where the fence is to be permanent. White willow is well adapted for the purpose on suitable soils, as it grows rapidly and bears close pruning. In situations where the soil is even moderately damp, white willow posts, four inches in diameter, cut green and set in spring, will take root and grow. The new branches soon form a bushy head, which may be cut back from time to time. It is not advisable to nail boards or drive staples directly into the tree. With a board fence, the swaying of the tree loosens the nails, and if barbed wire is stapled to the tree, the bark and wood will in time grow over them as in [figure 161]. To obviate this, a stick is nailed to the tree as in [figure 162], and to this the fence is attached. A still better method is to secure the strip of wood to the tree by two or three pairs of interlocking staples.
MENDING A SPLIT POST.
Fig. 163.—Mending A Split Post.
Fence posts split from a variety of causes, and when they are in this condition they make a very insecure fence. The usual way is to merely nail an old horseshoe or two across the split part, just below the holes in the posts. This answers fairly well, but does not draw the cleft together, and horseshoes are not always on hand. A better method of doing this is shown in [figure 163]. A short, stout chain is put around the top of the post, just tight enough to admit of a strong lever. The parts of the posts are then brought together by a heavy downward pressure of the lever and held there, while a strip of good tin, such as can be cut from the bodies of tin cans, is put around and securely nailed. If the post is a heavy one and the cleft large, it is well to take the entire body of a can and double it, to give it additional strength before nailing it on. The dotted lines show where the tin is nailed.
HOOK FOR WIRING POSTS.
Fig. 164.—A Stake Drawer Used In Wiring Fences.
[Figure 164] shows a modified cant-hook for drawing together the upper extremities of fence stakes that are to be wired, as in the engraving. The half-moon shaped iron, a, is riveted fast to the top end of the lever, and is to prevent the end of the lever from slipping off the stake when in use. The second iron from the top, b, is twenty-five inches long, with two hooks at the end, though one will do; this is to catch the stake on the opposite side of the fence. This iron is fastened in the lever by a bolt in a long mortise, in the same way, as the hook in an ordinary cant-hook. The iron rod, c, has a hole in one end, and is drawn out to a point at the other—this is fastened to the lever by a bolt in a long mortise, and serves to catch in the stake or rail, and hold the stakes together, while the man adjusts the iron around the stakes. When the stakes are drawn tightly to the fence, this rod is drawn up until it strikes the stake or one of the rails, when the man can let go of the “drawer,” and it holds itself. The lever is four feet and three inches long, and two inches square, with the corners taken off part of the way down, the lower end being rounded for a handle, as shown in the engraving.