1876.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



ment, and might be sent to gymnasiums, or to 

 dyspeptic clergymen, as a means of gentle exer- 

 cise in the garden, of benefit both to body and 

 mind. The machine has been introduced to us 

 by Mr. Thomas Jackson, of Portland, Maine, who 

 is doing good service in distributing it. 



An Automatic Gate. — We have never seen a 

 gate of this character that did not in time get out 

 of order to an extent that caused an early aban- 

 donment. The idea of a self-opener is too good 

 in a gate to be wholly given up, and we are glad 

 to note that among those who are working on it 

 is our ingenious friend. Dr. Weed, of Des Moines, 

 as we find by the following in an Iowa paper : — 



" We visited the farm of Dr. James Weed, yes- 

 terday, and inspected his self-opening gate. It 

 works like magic. As you approach in a buggy 

 the gate suddenly parts in the middle (being 

 double) and the two parts turn over backwards, 

 leaving the way clear to drive in, without slack- 

 ing speed, even though your horse should be on 

 the trot, and as you drive along, the gate as sud- 

 denly closes and latches as snugly as it was be- 

 fore you came to it. The principle on which 

 this gate operates is difficult to describe on paper. 

 All the machinery visible above ground is two 

 pieces of rounded iron in the road, one on each 

 side of the gate, about thirty feet from it. This 

 must be run over by the buggy, its weight press- 

 ing the iron down and causing certain motor 

 springs connecting with rods to throw the parts 

 of the gate upward. These parts are steadied by 

 " tortion " springs, which counteract the weight 

 of the gate, so that there is no slam or jar as it 

 comes down to the ground. The return of the 

 parts of the gate is caused on the same principle 

 by the buggj'^ running over the other piece of 

 rounded iron inside the enclosure. The ma- 

 chinery is so adjusted that the principle works 

 precisely the same whether going in or out of the 

 enclosure. It is not only a novftlty, but a pleas- 

 ure and convenience to ride along and, without 

 moving hand or foot, have the gate open and 

 close for you by some unseen power. Dr. Weed 

 has been experimenting on these gates for sev- 

 eral years, and his latest improvements are. sub- 

 stituting motor springs for gearing, and " tortion" 

 springs for the former method of balancing the 

 gates with stones of equal weight. He claims 

 that it is now perfect in every particular, and not 

 liable to get out of order in any kind of weather. 

 He secured a patent last year. These gates are 

 rather expensive — $200 — but what is that to a 

 man who is able and willing to pay for the thing 



that suits him? We wish the Doctor success 

 after his long years of patient study in perfecting 

 his invention." 



The Tulip Tree in England. — A correspon- 

 dent of Gardener's Chronicle says : " There is in 

 Lord Llanerton's grounds, Woolbeding, near 

 Midhurst, Sussex, ' a very fine Tulip tree,' which 

 was acknowledged by the late Sir Wm. Hooker 

 to be the finest specimen in the kingdom ; and 

 it certainly is a magnificent tree, being one mass 

 of foliage from its summit to the ground. Its 

 measurements in 1871 were as follows : Height, 

 91 feet 5 inches ; girth at 3 feet from the ground, 

 17 feet 2 inches; circumference round the 

 branches, 79 yards. It is in perfect health, and 

 has doubtless increased somewhat in size since 

 the above measurements were taken." 



Wintering Echeverias. — Echeverias which 

 have served for borders, beds, or floral inscrip- 

 tions during summer, if potted to pass the win- 

 ter, are liable to rot or spindle up. A method of 

 preserving them, which occupies practically no 

 room whatever, and which avoids the above 

 mentioned inconvenience, is to shake out the 

 earth from their roots when taken up in autumn, 

 and suspend them heels up or anyhow, in small 

 bunches, on strings stretched horizontally, like 

 linen hung on a line to dry, beneath the roof of 

 a cool greenhouse, which just keeps out the 

 frost. — Gardener's Chronicle. 



Arundo conspicua. — Vietch says it is very 

 similar in habit to the well-known Pampas 

 Grass (Gynerium argenteum), but blooming 

 about two months earlier than that variety, and 

 lasting much longer in beauty. 



NIJW PLANTS. 



Physianthus albens. — The Garden says :— 

 "Those of your readers who are in want of a 

 quick-growing summer climber, for covering a 

 wall or trellis, should procure this interesting 

 Asclepiad. A small plant of it, little more than 

 a foot high, with a few laterals, was turned ovit 

 against an ordinary wall, with a warm exposure, 

 about the end of May, and now covers five or six 

 square yards of surface, every joint being hvc- 

 nished with a raceme of pure white flowers. A 

 month hence the shoots will be pruned back, 

 and the plant potted up for wintering in a warm 

 greenhouse. I have yet to learn what degree of 

 cold it will survive, but probably it would endure 

 mild wintei-s in the southern counties of Eng- 



