a lift - fork type carriage means capable of lifting , carrying and emplacing filled gabion baskets into position in a revetment mattress lining a stream bed or other erosion prone area to control water erosion . the gabion basket handling device is characterized by a plurality of lift - fork tines adapted to engage the under - surface of a filled gabion basket , a plurality of hold - down arms rotatable into contact with the top and one side of the filled gabion basket by linkage means actuated upon application of lifting forces to the apparatus . the hold - down arm linkage is counterbalanced so that lifting forces applied to the apparatus when empty are insufficient to rotate the hold - down arms into a closed position .