1876 .] 
ANB HORTIOULTURIST. 
5 
ment, and might be sent to gymnasiums, or to 
dyspeptic clergymen, as a means of gentle exer- 
cise in the garden, of benefit both to body and 
mind. The machine has been introduced to us 
by Mr. Thomas Jackson, of Portland, Maine, who 
is doing good service in distributing it. 
An Automatic Gate. — We have never seen a 
gate of this character that did not in time get out 
of order to an extent that caused an early aban- 
donment. The idea of a self-opener is too good 
in a gate to be wholly given up, and we are glad 
to note that among those who are working on it 
is our ingenious friend. Dr. Weed, of Des Moines, 
as we find by the following in an Iowa paper : — 
“We visited the farm of Dr. James Weed, yes- 
terday, and inspected his self-opening gate. It 
works like magic. As you approach in a buggy 
the gate suddenly parts in the middle (being 
double) and the two parts turn over backwards, 
leaving the way clear to drive in, without slack- 
ing speed, even though your horse should be on 
the trot, and as you drive along, the gate as sud- 
denly closes and latches as snugly as it was be- 
fore you came to it. The principle on which 
this gate operates is difficult to describe on paper. 
All the machinery visible above ground is two 
pieces of rounded iron in the road, one on each 
side of the gate, about thirty feet from it. This 
must be run over by the buggy, its weight press- 
ing the iron down and causing certain motor 
springs connecting with rods to throw the parts 
of the gate upward. These parts are steadied by 
“tortion’’ springs, which counteract the weight 
of the gate, so that there is no slam or jar as it 
comes down to the ground. The return of the 
parts of the gate is caused on the same principle 
by the buggy running over the other piece of 
rounded iron inside the enclosure. The ma- 
chinery is so adjusted that the principle works 
precisely the same whether going in or out of the 
enclosure. It is not only a novelty, but a pleas- 
ure and convenience to ride along and, without 
moving hand or foot, have the gate open and 
close for you by some unseen power. Dr. Weed 
has been experimenting on these gates for sev- 
eral years, and his latest improvements are. sub- 
stituting motor springs for gearing, and “ tortion” 
springs for the former method of balancing the 
gates with stones of equal weight. He claims 
that it is now perfect in every particular, and not 
liable to get out of order in any kind of weather. 
He secured a patent last year. These gates are 
rather expensive — $200 — but what is that to a j 
man who is able and willing to pay for the thing , 
that suits him? We wish the Doctor success 
after his long years of patient study in perfecting 
his invention.” 
The Tulip Tree in England. — A correspon- 
dent of Gardener’s Chronicle says : “ There is in 
Lord Llanerton’s grounds, Woolbeding, near 
Midhurst, Sussex, ‘ a very fine Tulip tree,’ which 
was acknowledged by the late Sir Wm. Hooker 
to be the finest specimen in the kingdom ; and 
it certainly is a magnificent tree, being one mass 
of foliage from its sqmmit to the ground. Its 
measurements in 1871 were as follows : Height, 
91 feet 5 inches ; girth at 3 feet from the ground, 
17 feet 2 inches ; circumference round the 
branches, 79 yards. It is in perfect health, and 
has doubtless increased somewhat in size since 
the above measurements were taken.” 
Wintering Echeverias.— Echeverias which 
have served for borders, beds, or floral inscrip- 
tions during summer, if potted to pass the win- 
ter, are liable to rot or spindle up. A method of 
preserving them, which occupies practically no 
room whatever, and which avoids the above 
mentioned inconvenience, is to shake out the 
earth from their roots when taken up in autumn, 
and suspend them heels up or anyhow, in small 
bunches, on strings stretched horizontally, like 
linen hung on a line to dry, beneath the roof of 
a cool greenhouse, which just keeps out the 
frost. — Gardener’s Chronicle. 
Arundo conspicua. — Vietch says it is very 
similar in habit to the well-known Pampas 
Grass (Gynerium argenteum), but blooming 
about two months earlier than that variety, and 
lasting much longer in beauty. 
NEW FLANm 
Physianthus albens. — The Garden says : — 
“Those of your readers who are in want of a 
quick-growing summer climber, foP“ covering a 
wall or trellis, should procure this interesting 
Asclepiad. A small plant of it, little more than 
a foot high, with a few laterals, was turned out 
against an ordinary wall, with a warm exposure, 
about the end of May, and now covers five or six 
square yards of surface, every joint being fur- 
nished with a raceme of pure white flowers. A 
month hence the shoots will be pruned back, 
and the plant potted up for wintering in a warm 
greenhouse. I have yet to learn what degree of 
cold it will survive, but probably it would endure 
mild winters in the southern counties of Eng- 
