ON DRAUGHT. 



419 



or the proportion existing between the weiglit of his hody and his muscular 

 strength. To render this more clear to our own feelings, we will put the 

 case of a man : — We have already seen that an able-bodied man is mor«» 

 adapted for lifting than pulling ; consequently, in his case, it would be ad- 

 vantageous to throw a certain portion of the weight upon him, by making 



him pull upwards, as in jig. 7; or, what we are more accustomed to see, 

 and which amounts to the same thing, applying his strength to a wheel- 

 barrow, jig. 8 ; and we have frequently seen an ordinary man wheel 800 

 lbs. in this manner. 



If, however, we take a person accustomed to hard work, and conse- 

 quently not so strong in the legs, although he may be unable even to lift 

 the wheelbarrow which the other moved with ease, still he may, by push- 

 ing horizontally, put in motion a considerable load ; and, lastly, in the case 

 of an invalid who can barely carry his own weight, if he lean on the back 

 of a garden-chair, he will not only walk himself, but push on the chair; or 

 a child who is yet too weak to stand, can, if part of his weight be supported 

 in a go-cart, not only move himself, but also the frame which supports him. 

 These are very familiar and homely comparisons, but they are cases exactly 

 similar to the three positions of the traces; and the argument will equally 

 apply to horses as to men. It is true, we rarely use for draught a horse 

 that cannot stand ; but the case is very possible that a large, heavy horse, 

 otherwise not strong, or one which it was not desirable to fatigue, might 

 pull better and longer, if part of the weight was thrown upon the carriage, 

 or if, in other words, the traces pulled upwards. And we know by expe- 

 rience that, in the case of stage-coaches, where, owing to the speed, the 

 weight of the horse's body is already generally a burden to him, it is dis- 

 advantageous to increase that weight by inclining the traces much down- 

 wards ; on the contrary, where we wish to obtain the utmost effect of a 

 powerful horse, or of a horse that is muscular, but without much weiglit 

 forward, it is highly advantageous to augment the effect of his gravity by 

 inclining the traces even as much as fifteen degrees, or about one upon 

 three ; the strain upon the traces will be then considerably increased, and 

 the effect augmented, provided always that he is able to exert the necessary 

 strength in his legs. 



As far, therefore, as the mere force of traction is concerned, there is no 

 particular angle which will always produce the greatest effect ; but it must 

 depend upon the particular capability of the hoi'se ; and this in its turn varies, 

 and is affected by circumstances; for the same horse that upon a level road 

 requires no addition to his weight, might be materially assisted by a slight 

 addition when ascending a hill, if not continued too long; and most horses 

 would be benefited considerably by the opposite arrangement in a descent: 

 that is, by a portion of their weight being borne up; they should, at least, 

 have no additional load thrown on them while descending a hill. 



