464 
Platform Gate. 
PLATFORM GATE. 
BY R. V. D. W. 
A friend of mine residing at Oneida, near the Utica and Syra- 
cuse Rail Road, being very much annoyed by the conduct of the 
workmen engaged in the construction of the road, who having 
constant recourse to a well of water in his yard, were in the com- 
mon habit of leaving the gate open and exposing his grounds to 
the depredations of cattle, and not caring to exclude them and 
create unpleasant feelings and subject himself to the chance of 
their resentment, set his wits to work to obviate the evil, and pro- 
duced the following ingenious device, which fully answered his 
purpose, and is worth noting for the benefit of whom it may con- 
cern. 
Fence. 
=^a 
A 
IT 
Fence. 
' 
Taking his gate from between its posts A Jl, he dug a shallow 
pit from post to post aa a a, say 18 inches deep, 8 feet long, (I 
am not precise in the dimensions) curbed with wood. Over this 
pit, even with the surface of the ground, he placed a platform, 
b b b b, a trifle smaller than the area of the pit, and supported it 
on a horizontal axis, c c, which was so placed that the inner end 
e, of the platform would preponderate. Under that end a stop 
was placed so as to keep the platform at its proper level. 
At the other end of the platform there was also placed a stop, 
but it was arranged so as to allow the platform to settle down a few- 
inches before it was stopped, the platform was then so nearly 
balanced, that a few pounds placed on its latter end would depress 
it to the stop. 
The operation of it was that whenever any animal, from a goose 
upwards, set its foot upon the outer end of the apparatus, the sud- 
den and unexpected descent of that end, so alarmed the intruder, 
that it instantly backed off, nor made a second attempt to invade 
the premises. Even the old house dog could never be induced to 
walk in, but made it an invariable custom to jump from the out- 
side edge of the platform to within the line of the posts, so as not 
to disturb the equilibrium of the platform. 
