Book IV. 



CARTS. 



399 



the first place, from the single horse being so near the load he draws ; and, in the next 

 place, from the point or line of draught being so much below his breast, it being usual 

 to make the wheels of single-horse carts low. A horse harnessed singly, has nothing but 

 his load to contend wita ; whereas, when he draws in conjunction with another, he is 

 generally embarrassed by some difference of rate, the horse behind or before him moving 

 quicker or slower than himself; he is likewise frequently inconvenienced by the greater 

 or lesser 'height of his neighbor : these considerations give a decided advantage to the 

 single-horse cart. The very great ease with which a low cart is filled may be added ; as 

 a man may load it, with the help of a long-handled shovel or fork, by means of his hands 

 only ; whereas, in order to fill a higher cart, not only the man's back, but his arms and 

 whole person must be exerted. To the use of single horses in draught there can be no 

 objection, unless it be the supposed necessity of additional drivers created by it : the fact 

 however is, that it has no such effect; for horses once in the habit of going singly, will 

 follow each other as uniformly and as steadily as they do when harnessed together; and 

 accordingly we see, on the most frequented roads in Ireland, men conducting three, 

 four, or five, single-horse carts each, without any inconvenience to the passengers : such, 

 likewise, is the case where lime and coal are generally carried upon pack-horses. In 

 some of the northern counties of Britain also, one man manages two or three, and 

 sometimes more, one-horse carts. 



2609. Carts drawn hy one or two horses, says a writer, whose authority is unquestionable 

 (Supp. Encyc. Brit. ), are the only farm carriages of some~bf the best cultivated counties, 

 and no other are ever used in Scotland, Their load depends upon the strength of the 

 horses, and nature of the roads ; but in every case, it is asserted that a given number of 

 horses will draw a great deal more, according to some one-third more, in single-horse 

 carts than in waggons. Two-horse carts are still the most common among farmers in 

 Scotland ; but those drawn by one horse, two of which are always driven by one man, 

 are unquestionably preferable for most purposes. The carriers of the west of Scotland 

 usually load from a ton, to a ton and a half, on a single-horse cart, and no where does it 

 carry less than 12 cwt. if the roads are tolerable. 



2610. Wheels y such as are broad, with conical or convex rims, are common in England ; 

 in Scotland the wheels are generally narrow, though broader ones are beginning to be 

 introduced. Those used for the common, or two-horse carts, are usually about 4^ feet 

 high, and mounted on iron axles. The advantages of broad cylindrical wheels have 

 been illustrated with much force and ingenuity in several late publications. {Communi- 

 cations to the Board of Agriculture, vol. ii. and vol. vii. part i.) 



2611. The Scotch one-horse cart in general use in husbandry is what is called a close 

 coup cart, and is either used with- 



341 



out or with a frame {Jig. 341.) 

 for corn, straw or hay. On draw- 

 ing out an iron pin, the fore part 

 of the body rises up from the 

 shafts, while the other end sinks 

 and allows the load, whether of 

 dung, earth, or stores in the close 

 cart or of hay, or sheaves of corn 

 on the cart and frame, to fall to 

 the ground. 



2612. The Scotch two-horse cart differs little from the one-horse cart, excepting in 

 being larger. To prove the inferiority of double to single horse carts, Gray observes, 

 " that whatever greater part of the load is placed before the centre of gravity, which is 

 always in the axle, must rest constantly on the horse that is in the shafts. In going 

 down hill, this burden must be considerably increased, especially if the load be high above 

 the centre of the axle, or the descent steep ; and the additional burden upon the shaft- 

 horse is always in proportion to these two causes united. But there is another disad- 

 vantage ; for unless the line of the draught of the foremost horse be exactly in the line, 

 from the hook of his collar to the centre of the axle, (which is hardly possible), he will 

 perpetually be pulling down the hindmost horse, or, in other words, will be giving him 

 more weight to carry. For, as the traces of the foremost horse are generally fixed u^jon 

 the shafts, this throws his line of draught at a considerable angle above the centre of the 

 axle ; from which it is evident, that although the road be ever so level , yet in every 

 double or two-horse cart, the foremost horse must either not draw at all, or must brijig 

 additional weight upon the horse in the shafts, which weight will always be in proportion 

 to the force with which the trace-horse draws, and the largeness of the angle, which the 

 line of his draught makes with the line from the hook of his collar to the centre of the 

 axle. Besides, unless the driver be more careful than ordinary, and keep the trace horse 

 to his duty, the other one has not only this great weight to carry, but also the whole load 

 to draw. The angle is increased considerably, when the trace horse is of a lower size 



