WIRE

CHAPTER XXII

WITH the cutting up of large estates, the purchase of farms by tenants, and the increase of small holdings, wire had made its appearance in the hunting field where heretofore it was unknown. That the wire question is a serious one in many countries, there is no use denying, yet the evil can be done away with or at any rate mitigated by tactful negotiations with the farmer.

The reason wire is substituted for rails or properly laid fences, is because the incomes of both landlord and tenant have depreciated, thus the former is obliged to sell his timber while the latter cannot afford the requisite labour to keep his fences stock-proof. The tenant therefore turns to wire as affording more or less permanent protection, and requiring comparatively little attention, although the initial outlay in material is somewhat greater. It is of course very easy to condemn a man for resorting to wire, yet it should be remembered that money is “tight,” stock will escape, not only causing damage but bad feeling between neighbours, therefore the farmer has but little choice in the matter. Wire difficulties are met and to a greater or less extent overcome by the wire fund which provides money to cover the expense of removing wire at the beginning of the season, and replacing it again at the end. Rails too are supplied by hunting landlords who can afford to do so, the damage fund helping to defray part of the cost. Hedge trimming competitions are inaugurated, with prizes, to encourage the making and keeping in repair of permanent fences, thus making it worth while for agricultural labourers to take an interest in such work. The average farmer, although he may not ride to hounds himself, is a sportsman at heart, and he does not use wire because he approves of it, but because skilled labour is often difficult to secure. With regard to small holdings, the owners of which are prone to fence their ground with wire, these places are usually near towns which provide a market for their produce, and so they do not interfere with hunting to so great an extent as large farms where wire is prevalent.

Where financial difficulties will not allow of the substitution of wooden fencing for wire, other means must be resorted to, so that the presence of wire can be detected by a rider, and possible catastrophe averted. There are various ways of doing this, such as forming jumping places with posts and rails in a wire fence, erecting danger boards, and marking trees. The trouble with a jumping place is, that it consists of a short length of rail, and as it is perhaps the only means of exit from an enclosure, the members of the field are obliged to race for it, thus increasing the liability to accident, and the ground on both sides of the rail becomes “poached” and soft. The marking of trees is inadvisable because if wire thus advertised is taken down, the marks are difficult to obliterate, and in addition it opens a way for people to mark more trees, rather than go to the trouble of removing wire. Where wire cannot be got down, it must of course be marked by danger boards, but if by tactful measures the farmer can be persuaded to do the right thing, the way is clear immediately, whereas if you once erect a danger board it is tantamount to acknowledging defeat, and other boards will almost inevitably have to follow.

Talking of the “ware wire” sign, reminds us of the yarn about the huntsman who was jogging along a road lined with telegraph wires. One of the field was about to jump into the road, when the huntsman, fearing for the safety of his hounds, called out “Ware wire, sir, ware wire!” The horseman reined in, glanced at the fence, then exc aimed, “I don’t see any wire!” to which the huntsman retorted, “Look ’igher up, sir, look ’igher up!”

The greatest menace to a horseman in the hunting field is the hedge through which a hidden strand of wire is run. Besides the danger to the rider of a severe fall, the horse gets terribly cut and mutilated if the wire is barbed.

There is absolutely no excuse for using barbed wire for any agricultural enclosure, because, if wire has to be used at all, smooth strands, properly strained up will turn any stock bred in this country. A hidden strand of plain wire will of course bring a horse down, but though he may take an imperial toss, he will not be hideously cut about by the wire. Plain wire is much more easily handled and erected than barbed wire, and will do all that the latter does in the way of keeping in stock. The war saw the only legitimate use for barbed wire, and unfortunately there is still a good deal of war-store wire to be bought cheap, which tempts the agriculturist to use it.

Natural fences, such as hedges, stone walls, posts and rails, or banks are jumpable with a minimum of risk, but the fence containing the hidden wire is a veritable death-trap. Where wire cannot be got down, there is no reason why it should not be made visible, and also be plain instead of barbed. If a hedge has so degenerated that it is necessary to patch it up with wire, an all-wire fence formed of plain strands will afford an equally effective and less dangerous obstacle. A fence so constructed, with the wires properly strained up is perfectly visible to a horse and rider, and what a horse can see, he will usually jump if the height of the obstacle is not prohibitive. In Australia and New Zealand, the majority of the Hunts ride over countries which are fenced with wire, and Colonial hunting men go quite as hard as they do in this country. We have had experience of these New Zealand fences, having helped to put many a one up, and our horses seldom came to any serious grief when jumping them. A loose or slovenly erected wire fence is more liable to cause an accident than one that is properly strained up to stout posts. The latter should not be driven into the ground, but set in post-holes dug for the purpose. Driven posts soon work loose, and the whole fence then becomes ricketty. If a horse hits the top wire of a tightly strained fence, he will take no worse a toss than if he hit a gate or a rail, and he soon learns that he cannot take liberties with such fences. There is nothing fearful about a visible wire fence to either horse or rider if the former has been schooled a few times over such obstacles. It is better to be able to jump such fences, than have to go a long way round by road when hounds are racing through the wired enclosures. If barbed wire could be ruled out of court entirely, it would be a very good thing, for as already stated, plain wire serves the same purpose equally well where wire is at all necessary. In addition to the hidden strands of wire in hedges, the next most dangerous thing is the single wire set up on light posts a few feet away from a fence. Unseen from the far side, a horse jumps straight into it with deplorable consequences. There are to-day on the market, a variety of woven wire fences, at least one of which is coated with a white, waterproof composition. Any horse can see such a fence, and will jump it readily if it is not too high. These woven fences are stouter than the ordinary plain wire fences, and no more dangerous to jump than a five-barred gate. One constantly reads of the field being stopped by “bird cages,” through which hounds run, while followers have to deviate via the nearest road. A Colonial field would take the wire as it came, and there appears to be no reason why the same should not be done in this country, provided of course that the wire is clear and visible.

Whilst we hope it will be many a long day before wire fences are universal in our hunting countries, we nevertheless aver that it is better to jump such fences than give up hunting altogether. What we want is one thing or the other, a clean natural fence, or a clean and visible wire fence, but not the invisible strands of rusty barbed wire which festoon so many of our hedges.