48 SEATS AND SADDLES. 



practice to reduce the volume of the wood, and regain 

 the strength thus sacrificed by iron platings. This 

 metal is, however, very inelastic : if the plates be made 

 thin and light, they bend, and thus retain the wood in 

 a distorted shape ; if thick, they are heavy, and very 

 liable to break with a severe shock, or, if not, to con- 

 vey this rudely to the horse's shoulder or back, in- 

 stead of acting as the buffer does between two railway 

 trucks. The platings should be made of steel, not too 

 highly tempered, and it ought to be possible to devise 

 means of strengthening the wood of that part of the 

 tree we allude to without increasing its bulk, and 

 with a diminution of its weight. As to military sad- 

 dles, they are best made wholly of wood and without 

 any iron whatever. The necessity of attaching a pack 

 makes the question of neat appearance altogether 

 secondary, and the weight that must be carried ren- 

 ders it imperative to economise every ounce that is 

 possible. Moreover, once introduce iron into the com- 

 position of a saddle and you must have a smith and a 

 forge to enable you to repair a broken one, which is 

 often out of the question in the field. The original 

 Hungarian saddle had not a particle of iron on it ; no 

 doubt it was subject to breakage, but it could be re- 

 paired or a new one made at the side of a ditch, and in 

 time for the next day's march. We nineteenth-century 

 men have improved it everywhere, especially in Eng- 

 land, up to more than double its original weight, to a 

 nearly total incapacity for repair or alteration, and to 

 being the most efficient instrument conceivable for 

 making holes in horses' backs. 



Supposing, now, the under surface of the saddle to 

 have the proper form and size, the next point to be 



