46 
Field Oates. 
the spirit of mischief is still strong enough to make the attempt 
a foregone failure. Nor is sheet iron or tin plate much more 
safe, and these are less suitable. Every post should be so shaped 
on the top as to prevent water lodging. Tar or paint will 
greatly protect this vulnerable part. The condition of the tops 
of posts where no precaution is taken best proves the need of 
protection. 
Charring and tarring the part of the post to be set in the 
ground, especially at the ground-line and a foot above it, has a 
most beneficial effect. 
There is not a great variety of methods for fixing gate posts. 
Some soils possess that medium consistency as to moisture and 
grit that a labourer, who is careful to return the soil in thin 
layers and is not afraid of a bit of hard woi’k in ramming it 
round the post, can give it the firmness which is necessary. 
This is the most desirable method. Damp clay and loam, the 
more they are rammed the softer they become, and they are in- 
capable of setting firmly, so that dry materials must be brought to 
mix with them — the drier the better, as the after damping will 
cause expansion and increase the firmness. On the Cotswold 
Hills and in' Oxfordshire, where firm flat stones are procurable, 
a common practice is to use such stones as wedges. The hole 
is dug with two flat upright sides, and the post is set against 
these, any irregularity of “ fit ” being assisted by a suitable 
stone, to give solid backing. For the opposite sides the hole is 
made slightly wider at the top, and to give 6 or 8 inches of 
clear space. Suitable stones are set edgeways, and rammed 
firmly down between the post and the soil. The soil is then 
'returned as best the workman may and can do. This is often a 
successful method, but a stone may snap just as the ramming 
ceases, or afterwards, from a sudden change in the weather, or 
on the first “ bang ” of the gate, and the fixing is lost ; for, if a 
movement commences, all must go. Telegraph engineers use 
creosoted timber blocks as wedges to meet side strains on their 
poles. Certainly, timber blocks will not snap, nor be easily 
affected by accident. 
Another method is to dig out the ground the full distance 
between the posts and as deep as the pits. A strong piece of 
oak is driven down wedging the posts apart at the bottom. 
Let it be supposed they are firmly backed. The soil is returned, 
and a second piece of oak is wedged 1)6 tween the posts, a little 
below the surface level. This is an effective fixing, but expen- 
sive. ' 1 ‘ 
Much of this work has to be done by unskilled labour and 
under slight supervision, hence a. strong reason for adopting any 
