FENCES AND FARM BUILDINGS. 49 



it remains firmly in its perpendicular position, the best gate will 

 work badly. 



The best gate-post for farm purposes, is a single long stone, 

 but a good stick of hard wood, set not less than five feet in the 

 ground, and filled around at least for three feet below the surface 

 with small stones, so that the frost can have no effect on it, is 

 good enough — while it lasts. The various devices for holding the 

 post upright by rods, or braces, are of little effect. 



The post against which the gate is fastened when shut, it is not 

 so important to have set deeply. It need only be firm enough 

 to withstand the racking to which it will be subjected when a 

 high wind blows directly against the gate. It ought, for this pur- 

 pose, to be a stout stick or stone, set not less than three and a 

 half feet in the ground, and protected against the action of frost 

 as recommended for the other post. 



The gate may be fastened by a hook, a latch, a bolt, or a pin. 

 In either case, the fastening should be about half way between the 

 top and the bottom, so that the force of direct winds will have an 

 equal bearing above and below. If fastened at the top or bottom, 

 the gate would be more racked in heavy blows. 



The form of latches are various. That which seems to 

 me the best for farm-gates is shown in Fig 3, which is a 

 bar of hard wood passing easily through two slots in 

 the gate, and hung lightly on the short straps of iron, so 

 that it will swing freely back and forth, hanging natu- 

 rally in such a position that it will enter a groove in the 

 post (Fig 5), or better, a space between two blocks in 

 front of the post. This space should be at least half an 

 inch wider than the thickness of the bolt, and the blocks 

 should slope off gradually, and be faced with sheet-iron, 

 over which the end of the latch will slip easily. When 

 the gate is closed, this inclined plane or slope forces the latch 

 back, and when it reaches the groove it drops in by its own 

 weight. 



