THE ADVANTAGES OF BARB FENCING.

Waikato Times, Volume XIII, Issue 1147, 1 November 1879, Page 3

THE ADVANTAGES OF BARB FENCING.

; ' •(" Boston Journal of Commerce;") Ever since the prairie countries of ; the world : began.. ,to r bo .utilised for grazing and agricultural purposes, the great embarrassment of the farmer arid cattle raiser has been the necessary and inevitable expense of fences. TFurthflr than this, when he haa, with infinite inconvenience, suoceedecl ■• m inclooinsj his grain fields, or his grazing gtouiids, the viciousness oi a single member of his own, or of his neighbour's herby could at any moment render all his expense and pains of no^ avail, no matter ho\f '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 npioriotig that jilje. largest vifai&iers of ' the, k ffleniQ.rn.X U nited States have for years regarded it as necessary, af. certain Btages of their crops, to employ mounted patrols by night, whoso duty should he to ptevp.nfc damage from the numerous catile abounding- m they vicinity, against wbiob tho ordisary^ fences 61 the country were- ot little avail. With tho increase of that part oi thr country m wealrh and m population, and where so large a portion . of the property lay. - ; m growing crops and herds of catile, the sen*' of insecurity, arising from thte inefficiency' of the' best fences then ii, use, become, intolerable. Suai*eely ; three years ago one of these West em, farmf-rs, incited by the iuciinvqiiieuce above referred to, inaugurated what promises to bo a completo i evolution m the system of fe.nqing throughout the world. Tweaty-five 3 ears' experience as a practical fu'nier had taught this man that the cheapest fence that coul<' be cchstriicted was a wire, strung .upon posts m parallel lioe3. In fact, a feuce constructed of this material, and m this way, costing bub a fraction 'of the expense of any other practical fence, had . been already adopted for year.s, by the great majority of the farn.fti's of the Western States of America. This stye of fencing, as ; efficient as any other known, infinitely cheaper than any other, lacked but a single essential to render it perfect and infalliole for turning the most unrnly cattle ; and the discovery of this feature and its adoption, has resulted m what, is now known 'throughout the country as • *>Sieell3arb Fencing." '""■ v - f ' This new fence is [.rimarily the plain wire fence with the addition of ; sharp barbs, or thorns, i fixed firmly at short intervals upon e the wires, transforming the old wire fenco into a thoru hedge bristling with sharp points, which puncture at the slightest touch. - The effect of this fonce is magical. The wires which before were rubbed against with impunity, 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' 1 ticibuS, will voluntarily come m contact with a line of barb fence a second time. Early m the history of the iuventiod,' the Washborri and Moen Manufacturing Company^ m connection with aWescern house, purchased all the. original • patents. :hu ving reference to barb fencing," and having made, macer/alr improvements upon it, are manufacturing ; it with new and efficient 'machinery. Practiuaj farmers have, from the first, beeii unanimous m the opinion that the barb fencing .was exactly what wa'jjeededr by the whole world.as re . gards 1 the : two prime' essebti^ls »>>' economy and efficiency ; But some, at first, apprehended that, valuable stock might be injured by the, ibarb Praokice demonst* ates thafc the inj ar> fooftii thia i bftnse is actually less than from any pi^Wstyle' of 'fencing, so tfiaV {tQ only objeotioa ov e^Qeptiou

ever suggested by the most conservative, is effectually and for ever answeaed. . 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, has been heard of but by a few dozen farmers, there are to-day actually m use more than eight thousand tons, or sixteen million pounds.