The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 61, July 1957 - April, 1958 Page: 255
591 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.
3ICll'IAEL KELY, OF NEW YORK, N. '.
IMPROVEMENT IN FENCES.
S1lecilication forming part of Letf orn PItnt.ll N. 71,3 9 u. d.led 1i4 n.n lly II, 1 1;,2o all wlwho it, neay concern :
Be it known that I, MlICII.EL KE.,LY, of the
city and county of New York, in the State of
NewYork, having invented certain new and
useful Improvements in Fences; and I do here-
by declare the following is a full and e:raet de-
scription thereof.
My invention relates to imparting to fences
of wire a character approximating to that of
a thorn hedge. I prefer to designate the
fence so produced as Ia "thorny fence."
I will first describe what I consider the best
means of carrying out my invention, and will
afterward designate the points which I be-
lieve to be new therein.
The accompanying drawings form a part of
this specification.
Figure 1 is a side view of a portion of my
fence complete. Fig. 2 is a form of wire
which imay be used, ifrefrl red. F:g. is a
cross-section of the base of the fence. Fig. 4
is a cross-section of a modification. Fig. 5 is
an edge view of one of the thorns before being
fixed or secured in place on the wire. Fig. 6
is a face \view of the same. Fig. 7 is an edge
view of the same thorn after being flattened,
together with the u ire to affix or secure it in
place on the wire. Fig. 8 is a corresponding
thee view showing the thorn and the wire in
the flattened condition.
,Similar letters of reference indicate corrc-
,pouding parts in all the figures.
A represents the earth, anda'a ridge formed
of stone, earth, turf, or other material,which,
in addition to increasing the tightness of the
fence at the bottom, forms an important func-
tion, as in all wire fences, by aiding and in-
dicating to animals the locality of the fence,
and thus avoid their unconsciously running
against it. In cases where it is not convenient
to raise a ridge in this manner, a ditch may be
dug, as indicated by b' in Fig. 4, which will
aid to perform the latter function.
C indicates one of the posts of the fences,
which may be made of hard wood or any
other suitable material, and planted in the
earth in the ordinary manner.
D I), &c., are w ires, preferably of galh an-
ized iron. I prefer No. 15; but a larger or
smaller ire mnay be used with effect. These
wires are stretched from post to post, and se-
cured thereon by any of the ,rdinary means.
They ould form in the absence of the ththornsa wire feince of the ord llLy aplprove.d eon-
struction, but u iIlh the a ires somewhat lighter
than usual.
E E, &e., ale rsm:l pieces of iron or slel, by
preference hard iron lilnned. They are cut
from a plate by Imachinery, or are otherWise
produced cheaply ;ulld in large qluantit ies, and
are each provided wit I hole, e, corresponding
to the size of the wire, but a little larger, so
that they may be introduced easily upon the
wire, either by proper machinery or by hand.
These pieces, after being strung on the wire at
distances about six inches apart, are conm-
pressed laterally upon the wire by a blow of
a hammer or otherwise, so as to flatten the
hole e, and also correspondingly Ilatten the
wire at the point where this adjuict is to
stand. I terln these pieces "thorns;" and it
will be observed that each presents two sharp
points. They may be sG placed that they will
all stand inlthe same plane; or they may stand
irregular ill many different planes. I prefer
the latter arrangenlent. Tile wire thus pro-
vided with the sharp points or thorns serves
in the ordinary manner, with the addition of
possessing an ollbnsive character, which will
soon teach cattle to respect it and not attempt
to force it. The ire may be put up with
these thQrns previously attached and secured
in their place; or they may be put on loosely,
and they may be distributed and secured af-
ter the fence is erected. I prefer the former
arrangement. I can, where it is desirable
to increase the strength of the wire, lay an-
other wire of the same or a different size
alongside of a thorn-wire, and caul twist the
two together by any suitable mechanism.
This construction is represented in Fig. 2. It
tends to insure a regularity in the distribu-
tion of the points in many different directions.
I propose in some instances to attach to
the posts C, in addition to the thorn-wires, a
rope of twisted hay or other suitable cheap
material, saturated with tar or analogous ma-
terial, as indicated by G( in Fig. 1. Such
ropes are aell known, and may be cheaply
and roughly made by farmers and others re.
quiring to use them, and they may be secured
in any convenient manner upon the fence.
The wires and thorns being quite small and
not easy to lie 'ten Iby cattle, especially in
the night, the tarred rope performs an iSm-
mportanlt function In ading the tlse of sight
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 61, July 1957 - April, 1958, periodical, 1958; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101164/m1/255/?rotate=90: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.