1 Ave., 1902.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 113 
of each sapling. When the rope is hauled down, the gate rises from the blocks 
and begins to run back by the working of the pivoted battens. When half 
through the right-hand posts it falls back by its own weight, and rests on a 
block fixed in the ground at the distance of its own length from the roadway. 
The gate is now open. To close it, it is merely necessary to seize the rope on 
the opposite side and haul down on it, when the gate again rises and falls 
across the road. There is no need of great strength—a girl can operate the 
poor. The great advantage gained is, that when a traveller arrives, either on 
orseback or in a vehicle, he need not stop. All he has to do is, in passing, to 
pull on the rope and at once let go. The gate falls back and allows him to get 
clear before he reaches the closing rope, which he hauls on without stopping, 
and the gate returns to its original position, closing the road. 
To illustrate this, one of Mr. Skerman’s brothers, a Mounted Infantry 
man in full uniform, galloped up to the gate, seized the rope, opened the gate, 
and, without breaking his pace, closed it behind him. An attempt to do this 
on a bicycle, however, ended in failure. Such a contrivance is very welcome 
when roads are ankle-deep in mud, and when the driver of a vehicle would have 
to get down to open and close his gate. 
Here, for the present, we will close our account of this very interesting 
farm. By and by, however, there will be a number of imprevements made— 
such as a new dairy, an engine for driving the separator, a tramway from the 
dairy to the cowsheds, and a variety of other conveniences which, when com- 
pleted, will result in this farm being the show one of the district. We need 
scarcely state that the proverbial Australian hospitality was bestowed upon us 
by Mrs. Skerman and her amiable family. 
HOW TO TETHER A WATCHDOG IN A FIELD. 
Whenever it is found necessary to guard a small field from depredators, 
such as wallabies, bandicoots, or even human plunderers, it is a good plan to 
stretch a running wire alongside it inside the fence. The dog’s chain is fastened 
to this by a loose ring. The dog can run the whole length of this wire, and 
this gives him a long range and an appearance of freedom which will drive off 
wild animals and other evil-doers. 
