AGRICULTURAL MECHANICS AND RURAL ECONOMY. 39 



Improved Harness Buckle. 



MUCH peril as well as painful annoyance has resulted from the old-fashioned harness 

 buckles, by reason of their liability to break or draw out during accidents, which their own 

 defects not unfrequently cause, and also from the difficulty of release to falling horses, 

 occasioned by the tightening force of the animal's weight. C. and L. B. Oyster, of Chambers- 

 burg, Pennsylvania, have jointly claimed an improvement in buckles, which will completely 

 revolutionize the principle of their action, if found applicable as designed by the inventors. 

 It is proposed to dispense entirely with the tongue-holes in traces and other straps, and to 

 rivet the tongue to the leather instead of the buckle. The bar of the buckle is furnished 

 with a number of rachet-shaped teeth or stops, and corresponding cavities are cut in the 

 tongue, but having reversed catches. The desired length of the trace is adjusted by bring- 

 ing these teeth together at a given point, and securing them with a set screw. The screw 

 puts the unhitching of the horse under the instantaneous control of the driver in cases of 

 falls or other perilous entanglements. Scientific American. 



Horse Muzzles. 



THB attention of Mr. Clowes, of England, has been directed to the removal of an unpleasant 

 habit which some horses have of biting or sucking their crib or manger. This he professes 

 to effect by means of a muzzle, which is represented in elevation in fig. 1 of our engravings, 

 and in vertical section in fig. 2. 



Fig. 1. Fig. 2. 



The body of the muzzle A is composed of leather, or any other suitable material, and is formed 

 with apertures in it, in order not to impede respiration. A light metal frame B is fitted into the 

 lower portion of the muzzle, and across this frame is fixed longitudinally the perforated bar C. 

 Immediately beneath this fixed bar is placed a second bar D, which is movable in a vertical 

 direction, and is fitted with a number of prickers or sharp points E. This movable bar is 

 connected to the fixed bar by the two screws F, which allow of a slight vertical play between the 

 two bars. Two blade springs G, secured to the under side of the fixed bar, are for the pur- 

 pose of pushing down the bar D, and shielding the prickers in the perforations of the fixed 

 bar, when the movable bar is not acted upon by pressure from below. Two small pro- 

 jections H, formed on the frame B, and projecting beyond the bar D, serve to prevent this 

 bar from being acted upon when the horse is eating off a flat or hollow surface of a greater 

 width than the distance between the projections. But if the animal attempts to bite or suck 

 his crib, or presses his mouth downwards upon any hard thing which is not wider than the 

 distances between the projections H, the prickers will be-forced upwards through the perfora- 

 tions in the bar C, and as these pricking points will thereby be brought into contact with the 

 animal's mouth, the objectionable habit will be effectually checked. The muzzle being open 

 at the bottom, will not prevent the animal from feeding ; but when it is desirable to stop 

 him from feeding, a perforated plate may be inserted into the frame of the muzzle, being 

 fastened therein temporarily by a fixed pin on one side and a small bolt on the other, so 



