Book IV. 



GATES APPROPRIATE TO AGRICULTURE. 



447 



provided tiiey be sufficiently strong for the purpose they are to serve ; and on this account 

 the top bars may, in many cases, as where horses are to be kept, bo loft considerably 

 stronger than the others. If this be not done, tliey arc liable to be broken by the animals 

 rubbing their necks upon them, except where they are made very high. Gates arc 

 generally made eight and an half or nine feet in width, and from five to six feet in 

 height; the bars being three or four feet broad, and five or six in number. In particular 

 instances a smaller bar is introduced between the two lowermost ones, in order to prevent 

 small animals getting through. 



2857. Iron, both hammered and cast metal, has long been in use for ornamental gates 

 (Jig. 398.), and has lately come into use in some districts for field gates. Their eligibility 



A 



398 



must depend on their price and durability relatively to wood. At the ordinary prices of 

 wrought iron and oak, they will be found of doubtful economy ; cast iron gates are too 

 heavy, and too liable to be broken, for agricultural purposes. 



2858. The posts or pillars to which gates are attached should, in all convenient cases, 

 be formed of stone; as this material, when hewn and properly constructed, will last for 

 ages. When formed of wood, oak or larch are the best sorts. The latter, where suit- 

 able, should be used without removing the bark, which has been found to add greatly 

 to their durability. In some places it is customary to plant trees for gate-posts, and 

 after they have attained a certain size and thickness, to cut them over about ten feet 

 above the surface : where the trees thrive, they form the most durable of all gate-posts ; in 

 many instances, however, they misgive, and much trouble is necessary to repair the 

 defect. Where the posts are made of dead timber, they should always be strong, and the 

 wood well prepared; that part which is let into the earth should also be defended, by dip- 

 ping it in coarse oil, or giving it a coat of pyrolignous liquor; and all that is above 

 ground exposed to the action of the weather, should be well covered with one or two 

 good coats of oil-paint. The expense of tliis preparation is but trifling, while tlie benefit 

 is very great. 



2859. The substance of a gate-post, according to Parker, should be from eight to ten 

 inches square, or, for very heavy gates, a foot square would not be too large. If made 

 of still larger size, it is better. And he says, that the steadiness of a gate-post depends, 

 in a great measure, upon the depth to which it is set in the ground, which ought to be 

 nearly equal to the height of it. Five or six feet is, in general , fully sufficient. But 

 the posts may be kept in their places by a strong frame-work placed under the ground, 

 extending between the posts. 



2860. The fastenings of gates, it is observed by Parker {Essay, 

 &c. 1816.), are as various as the blacksmiths who construct them: 

 the subject occupied his attention in connection with tlie hanging of 

 gates, and he has introduced various improved forms. One of the 

 most secure {fig. 399.), is a spring-latch (a), opened by a lever 

 {b), which works in a groove of the upper bar of the gate, and there- 

 fore cannot be rubbed open by cattle, while, by means of a knob at 

 the end of the lever, and rising up against the top of the upright 

 bar (c), so that cattle cannot touch it, it is very easily opened by 

 persons on horseback with or without a stick or whip. 



2861. A simple, economical, and effective spring-latch consists of a bolt {jig. 400 a.), 

 . -^ .^Q which is loose, and plays freely, in two mortised open- 

 ^~^ ff"! ings in the upright bars, and is kept in place by a 



spring {b). The gate may be shut from either side, 

 when the bar, striking against the projection (c) on the 

 falling post is pushed back, till, arriving at the mortise 



..^a 



399 

 i_ 



jQ 



"^ 



cB 



I (e), the spring (6) forces it in, and the gate is shut 

 ^ \ securely. Such a gate is easily opened by a rider. 

 This is a good latch for the common field gates of a 

 farm. 



