266 



DRAUGHT AND HARNESS. 



remedied or avoided. First of all, the pieces of 

 wood, which are brought into contact with the tire 

 of the wheel are usually made fast to the arm of the 



Fief. 25. 



brake by means of bolts whose heads are counter, 

 sunk, as the technical term says, into the piece of 

 wood. But after a very short time the wood is worn 

 away and the head of the bolt coming into immediate 

 contact with the tire of the wheel is not only in 

 its turn rapidly worn away and requires to be re- 

 placed, but also makes a very unpleasant grating 

 noise w^hich,when the brake is applied, is apt to startle 

 the horse and make it increase its pace just at the 

 moment one wants the vehicle to go slowly down 

 hill. To remedy this, to a great extent at least, it 

 is only necessary to give the pieces of iron that 

 carry the little blocks, which rub against the tire, 

 what are called flangeS; making these pieces also 

 somewhat wider at one end than at the other. The 



