Vol. LVII. No. 2537. 
NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 10, 1898. 
*1 PER YEAR. 
A NEW IDEA IN FARM GATES. 
THIS ONE TURNS OVER ANI) OVER. 
What the Inventor Says About It. 
The R. N.-Y. is always on the lookout for novel and 
interesting features of farm life, consequently, when 
Mr. S. Geo. Stevens, of Wayne County, N. Y., wrote 
us that he had invented agate “which stands ajar 
for man, hut not for beast”, we made haste to find out 
something about it. Any gate that is able to dis¬ 
criminate between the farmer and one of his four- 
footed friends is, certainly, just as valuable as a hired 
man. Mr. Stevens sent us photographs of his gate 
standing in various situations, and we have had them 
engraved so that our readers may know what the gate 
is. Mr. Stevens has had his 
device patented, but the 
whole thing is so simple 
that almost any farmer 
with the right to do so, can 
put it together. 
“ What is the distinct 
principle of your gate?” 
was asked Mr. Stevens. 
“ As you can see from the 
picture, the gate is sup¬ 
posed to roll over and over 
and not to swing or slide. 
Wheels and rollers have 
been used in every con¬ 
ceivable manner to reduce 
friction upon gates, but the 
idea of a gate going over 
and over when opened and 
closed is entirely novel, and 
I think I can show that it 
is going to fill what we 
call a long-felt want among 
farmers.” 
How It Behaves. —“We 
can see how the gate oper¬ 
ates ; how do you make it?” 
“ The gate shown in Fig. 
288 was made by fastening 
an old wagon tire or other 
suitable hoop to one end of 
the gate, and a common 
hook-aud-eye hinge at the 
other end.” 
“ That is all there is to it 
then ? ” 
“ Yes, but of course the 
manner of applying this 
attachment would have a 
good deal to do with the 
behavior of the gate. For 
instance, if you put the 
hinge a trifle above the 
center of the gate, or if 
your hoop is flattened a 
little at one side, your gate 
will go shut with a slam and remain so. You can get 
the same result by putting an extra board at the bot¬ 
tom of the gate or by grading up the ground so that 
the gate would naturally roll down hill.” 
“ How do you fasten the hoops on ? ” 
“ They may be simply nailed or tacked on, although 
we prefer a small casting which tits upon one edge of 
the gate and into which the hoop is bolted in such a 
way that, by a sudden jerk or pull, the hoop may be 
twisted around parallel with the gate and thus leave 
the entire passage free. This would be useful in a 
lane or in some place where the gate must be swung 
clear back. The hoop majr be fastened quite close to 
the end of the gate, as shown in Fig. 288, or located any 
distance back from the end.” 
What do you mean by a hook-and-eye hinge ? ” 
“This is made by first boring, say a %-inch hole, 
into the end of the center board of the gate, so that 
it will extend in beyond the width of the end piece ; 
then drive into this hole a piece of gas pipe, say six 
inches long, which forms the hub. Into this hub put 
a piece of %-inch rod with a nut on the inner end, 
and the outer end bent down about two inches to 
form a hook. The other half of the hinge consists of 
a simple eye staple driven into the gate post. These 
two when hooked together form a perfect universal 
joint, as the hook will revolve vertically in the eye 
and horizontally in the gas pipe. Thus you can see 
that the gate can be turned over and over, or lifted, 
as shown in the lower part of Fig. 388.” 
“ Well now, what do you claim for this gate?” 
“ First, it will beat anything for cheapness, sim¬ 
plicity and durability. You can take almost any gate 
in common use, and put these fittings on so that it 
will revolve.” 
“ Well, what else ? ” 
“ This gate will always close itself unless it has 
been opened more than a half revolution. By grading 
the ground or weighting the hoop, you can fix it so 
that it will always close shut from any position. It 
forms a perfect barrier to all domestic animals with¬ 
out being locked.” 
Stock Can’t Get Through. —“Why? It looks 
as though a horse could turn it right over and get 
through.” 
“ Horses or cattle cannot pass it for the simple rea¬ 
son that when they crowd or push over op the top the 
bottom comes up and strikes them on the front legs 
which, of course, permanently locks the gate. In 
this position, the animal cannot advance a step, in 
order to push the gate open farther. I have seen a 
horse try for 10 minutes to get through one of these 
gates, and finally wheel around and kick at it with 
full force with both feet. Then he walked off be¬ 
hind the barn, evidently disgusted, while the gate 
rolled back into place, all ready for the next round.” 
“ But how about smaller animals, like pigs or 
sheep ?” 
“To prevent their pushing against the underside, 
two short stakes are driven into the ground, one for 
each gate post, behind which the gate will revolve and 
remain and close, or if desired, it may be locked by 
any common catch or lock.” 
“Is it easy to pass 
through, carrying a bur¬ 
den ? ” 
“The upper picture shows 
how this is done. Suppose 
you are going through with 
two pails of milk. You 
step up to the gate, put 
down the pails close to 
it, roll the gate open part 
of a turn, step through 
with the pails and go on, 
the gate rolling closed be¬ 
hind. In going through 
from the other side, a slight 
push with your foot will 
accomplish all.” 
Mr. Stevens says that this 
gate can be made any de¬ 
sired length. It is the only 
gate that can be stretched 
out, without affecting its 
durability. All swinging 
gates eventually get on to 
the ground, while this gate 
is on the ground all the 
time. There is no side draft 
whatever, on the gate post, 
and the gate cannot sag, 
twist or get out of shape. 
Certainly the two women 
in the center picture are 
giving this gate a good test 
for durability and sagging. 
A Winter Gate ; Port¬ 
able. —“ Does it work well 
in Winter ? ” 
“ First-rate, as the snow 
cuts no figure whatever 
with its operations, for it 
will roll or slide up over 
any height of snow with 
perfect ease. We know, 
because we tested this 
matter thoroughly during 
the past Winter with half a dozen different gates. 
This was the only one that operated over snowdrifts 
without special adjustment. You will also see that, 
in sorting pigs and sheep from larger animals, this 
gate becomes very handy, as it can be turned over 
right in the gap to a horizontal position, which will 
allow a small animal to pass underneath, yet form a 
barrier for the larger one. Another feature about 
this gate which is covered by patent, is its use as a 
portable gate or fence. We add a wheel to the other 
end and unhook the hinge so that it then can be rolled 
about at will and, if need be, put into a gap to keep 
out all stock. This gate may, also, be rolled about 
and used to excellent advantage as a table for sorting 
fruit upon.” 
Mr. Stevens says that there are many other points 
A NEW THING IN GATES; THE STEVENS REVOLVER. Fig. 288. 
