Fidel Gates : 
49 
too high from the ground, allowing stock to work under it. 
This is perhaps a lesser evil for the gate than when it drags on 
the ground, for if stock is found working under a gate the defect 
will be attended to ; but it may drag a long time, and rank vege- 
tation may grow high up on the timbers before anyone sees that 
something is wrong. 
Unless the gate is intended to swing both ways, it should not 
be hung between the posts, but against them. This makes a 
difference of 4 or 0 inches in width of way, and when open there 
is less liability to injury from anything passing through. Be- 
sides, the gate falls against the “ folding ” post, and not upon 
any extemporised check, which is clumsy, and can only be tem- 
porary. The hanging post should be set perpendicularly. Work- 
men are prone to give it an inclination to assist the work of the 
hinges in throwing up the point of the gate and making it self- 
closing. The c; hooks” and u bands” ought to be the same for 
all gates opening one way, to secure a uniform motion, and 
there ought to be the least projection of hook from the post and 
of band from the heel, which gives the gate free action to open 
at right angles to the gateway if that is all that is necessary, 
or to turn over and fall against the fence, and in line with the 
gateway. Any superfluous length of the iron is weakness. 
Additional length must be given to the lower hook if the gate 
has to rise at the point, and if it is to be self-closing. 
The first sketch (fig. 7) shows the least possible projec- 
tion of the top hook, the centre of the hook being, say, an inch 
out from the face of the post. The second sketch (fig. 8) 
shows the lower hook, say, 2£ inches out from the face of the 
post. When a gate so hung is opened till it is at right angles 
with the line of the posts, the heel of the gate is thrown off the 
perpendicular and forward a full 1^ inch at the bottom, and 
this will raise a gate 10 feet wide nearly 6 inches at the point. 
But if opened till it is at right angles to the linq of the posts, it 
VOL. IV. T. S. — 13 E 
