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 then retain the wood inj 

 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, an^ 

 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^ 



