BARBFENCING—ITS SUPERIOR ADVANTAGES.

Patea Mail, Volume V, Issue 452, 20 August 1879, Page 2

BARBFENCING—ITS SUPERIOR ADVANTAGES.

(Boston Journal of Commerce.) Ever since the prairie countries of the world began to be utilized for and agricultural purposes, the great embarrassment of the farmer and cattle raiser has been the necessary and inevitable expense of fences. Further than this, when he has, with infinite inconvenience, succeeded in inclosing his grain fields, or his grazing grounds, the vici--ousness of a single member of bis own, or of his neighbor’s herd, could at any moment render all his expenses and pains of no avail, no matter how substantial or costly his fence. This condition of things has, for many years, entailed a large additional burden upon the farmers of the whole world.

It is notorious that the largest farmers of the Western United States have for years regarded it as necessary, at certain stages of their crops, to employ mounted patrols by night, whose duty should be to prevent damage from the numerous cattle abounding in the vicinity, against which the ordinary fences of the country 1 were of little avail.

With the increase of that part of the country in wealth, and in population, and where so large a portion of the pro-* perty.lay in growing crops.and herds of cattle, the sense of insecurity, arising from the inefficiency of the best fences then in use, become intolerable-

Scarcely three years ago, one of these Western fanners, incited by the inconvenience above referred to, inaugurated what promises to be a complete revolution in the system of fencing throughout the world. Twenty-five years’ experience as a practical farmer had tanght this man that the cheapest fence that could be constructed was a wire, strung upon posts in parallel lines. In fact, a fence constructed of this material, an I in this way, costing but a fraction of the expense of any other practical fence, had been already adoped for years, by the groat majority of the farmers of the Western Staten of America. This style of fencing, as efficient as any other known, infinitely cheaper than any other , lacked but a single essential to render it perfect and infallible for turning the most minify cattle ; and the discovery of this feature and its adoption, has resulted iu what is now known throughout the country as “ Steel Barb Fencing” "-Jthis new fence is primarily the plain wire fence, with the addition of sharp barbs, or thorns, fixed, firmly at short intervals upon the wires, transforming the old wire fence into a thorn hedge bristling with sharp points, which puncture at the slightest touch. The effect of this fence is magical. The wires which before were rubbed against with impuniny, and thus strained out of place and rendered inefficient, by the addition of the barb or thorn were transformed into something to be avoided, and experience has fully demonstrated that no animal,’ however vicious, will Voluntarily come in contact frith a line of barb fencing a second time. , Early in the history of the invention, the Washburn and Moen Manufacturing Company, in connection with a Western house, purchased all the original patents having reference to barb fencing, and having made material improvements upon it, are manufacturing it with new and efficient machinery. Practical farmers have, from the first, been unanimous in the opinion that the barb fencing was exactly wbat was needed by the whole world as regards the two prime essentials of economy .and efficiency : but some, at first, apprehended that valuable stock might be injured by the barbs. Practice, however, demonstrates that the injury from this cause is actually less than that from any other style of fencing so that the only objection or exception ever suggested by the most conservative, is effectually and for ever answered. To demonstrate the utility of this fence and the success which has already attended its introduction, we need only state the fact, that while three years ago this material had been hoard of but by a few dozen farmers, there are to-day actually in use more than eight thousand tons, or sixteen million pounds.