THE FARMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR. 



137 



Ftom Iho Philadelphia Farmer'B Cabinet. 

 Harnessing Horses. 



Under this he.d comes th^.q""''"" "'',,\w ''bul 

 direction of the traees, or, as " '«%g''""'^"/' ''^ ■ 

 less clearly been called, the angle of mchnat.on ol 

 he Uneot- traction. This question appears to have 

 been Iways considered one of great .mportance. 

 the point has been frequently discussed, and var- 

 ou.op nions have been advanced; some -v.ng re 

 comrnended ittobe horizontal, others .ncuned and 

 as they have each in the.r turn, m den.ons atmg 

 the coVreclness of their own theory, proved the er- 

 ror of others, there can be no presunpt.on ,n laj - 

 ing them all aside, and in takmg a d,fterent,but at 

 thf same time, a more simple and practical v,ew of 

 thr case. By referring to a figure, we see that ,f 

 AD represent that portion of his whole we.ght 

 which is relieved from his fore legs and A E the 

 direction of the traces, then A F .s the measure of 

 the horizontal pull upon the carnage. Now, At 

 bears a constant proportion to A B wh.ch represent, 

 the strain upon the legs ; and A D bemg constant 

 A B, and consequently A F.ncrease or d,mm sh 

 according as the angle A D B .s mcreased or d,mm- 

 ished: that is to say, the horizontal pull appl.ed to 

 the carrla<re is proportionate to the strain upon the 

 leffs • but°they are both dependent upon the angle 

 fofmed by the traces, increasing or diminishing as 

 the latter are inclined downwards or upwards from 

 the collar ; so that whether the traces be inclined 

 upwards, as Fig. 46, or downwards, as Fig. 4b. or 



[Fig. 46.] 



feelings, we will put the case of a man. An able 

 bodied man is more adapted for lifting than pul- 

 ling ; consequently, in his case it would be advan- 

 tageous to throw a certain portion of the weight up- 

 on him, by making him pull upwards, as in hg 4J, 

 [Fig. 49.] 



or what we are more accustomed to see, and which 

 amounts to the same thing, applying his strength 

 to a wheelbarrow, fig. 50, and we have frequently 



;55»j^j3;ttar-N <-'!-''' <_ 



seen an ordinary man wheel 800 lbs. in this man- 

 ner. , 



If, however, we take a person unaccustomed to 

 hard work, and consequently not so strong in the legs 

 although lie may he unable even to lift the wheel- 

 barrow which the other moved with ease, still he 

 may,by pushing horizontally, put in motion a con- 

 siderable load ; and lastly, in the cascofaninva 



... . 11 !.:_. .1 ....^'..rlit it' hi. ipar 



-' ■" • siderabJe load; and lastly, in ine cjoi- oi a.. .-..»- 



u .1 .Vio, 1,P horizontal as Fig. 47, makes no lid „ho can barely carry his own weiglit if he lean 

 whether they be horizontal, a „ , ^^^^ ^^ ^ ^^^^^ ^l_^^_ ,_^ ^^.^,1 ^^^ ^„, 



difference in the manner of pulling. 

 [Fig. 47.] 



From the Albany Cultivator. 



Schools of Agricnltnre. 



When we consider that agriculture is the great 

 business of the nation— of mankind ;— that its suc- 

 cessful prosecution depends upon a knowledge, in 

 the cultivators of the soil, of the principles of nat- 

 ural science— and that our agriculture stands in 

 special need of this auxiliary aid— we cannot with- 

 hold our surprise and regret, that we have not long 

 since established professional schools, in which 

 our youth, or such of Ihein as are designed to man- 

 age this branch of national labor, might be taught, 

 smiullaneously, the principles and practice of tlieir 

 future business of life, and on which, more than on 

 any other branch of business, the fortunes oi our 

 country, moral, political and national, essentially 

 depend. We require an initiatory study of years, 

 in the principles of law and medicine, before wo 

 permit the pupil to practise in these professions. We 

 require a like preliminary study in our military and 

 naval schools, in the science of war and naviga- 

 tion, ere the student is deemed qualified to com- 

 mand. And yet, in agriculture, by which, by the 

 permission of Providence, we virtually "live and 

 move, and have our being," and which truly era- 

 braces a wider range of useful science, than either 

 law, medicine, war or navigation, we have no 

 schools, we give no instruction, we bestow no gov- 

 ernmental patronage. Scientific knowledge is 

 deemed indispensable in many minor t>inployments 

 of life; but in this great business,in which its in- 

 fluence would be most potent and useful, we con- 

 sider it, judging from our practice, of less conse- 

 quence then the fictions of the novelist. We re- 

 oard mind as the efficient power in most other pur- 

 suits ; while we forget, that in agriculture, it la 

 the Archimedean lever, wliich though it does not 

 move a wo"rld, tends to fill one with plenty, with 

 moral, hcaltliv and human happiness. Can it ex- 

 cite surprise,'that under these circumstances of 

 trross neglect, agriculture should have become 

 among us, in popular estimation, a clownish and 

 ignoble employment .' 



In the absence of professional agricultural schools, 

 could we not do much to enlighten and to raise the 

 character of American husbandry, by making its 

 principles a branch of study in our district schools? 

 This knowledge would seldom come amiss, and it 

 would often prove a ready help, under misfortune, 

 to those who should fail in other business. What man 

 is there, who may not expect, at some time of life, 

 to profit directly, by a knowledge of these princi- 

 ples ' Who does not hope to become the owner, or 

 cultivator of a garden or a farm .' And what man, 

 enjoying the blessings of health, would be ataloss 

 for the means of an honest livelihood, whose mind 



llu\%Ilo^aiiuaicij'i-imj ••. to ' 



on the back of a garden chair, he will not only 

 walk himself, but push en the chair; or a child 

 who is yet too weak to stand, cr.n, if part c.I his 

 weight be supported in a gocart, not only move 

 himself, but also the frame which supjiorts him.— 

 These are very familiar and lioiiiely comparisons, 

 but they are cases exactly similar to the thr^e posi- 

 tions of the traces ; and the argument will equally f^j the means of an honest iiveiiiiooo, wiiose .u...>. 

 apply to horses as to men. It istiue, Wf rarely use ii^d been early imbued with the philosophy ot rural 

 for draught a horse that can hardly stand ; lul the culture— and who would rather work then beg . 



_ ___. -.i.i^ 4k,.f n in-<^i- h.--r,vv hrirne. nth- j^jj early acquaintance with natural science, is 



calculated to beget a taste for rural life, and rural 



/-I .-„_C* ^«,1 Urtni-vf - trt 



ease a portion of the animal's weight is borne by 



the Uaces, and is transferred by them to the car 



iaee A F is here small, but the strain upon he 



g^AB, is also proportionably less thaniu the 



selond case, where the traces are horizontal. In 



fiff 4.4, where the traces incline downwards, we •ce 

 that the horizontal force A E is much more consid- 

 erable ; but, at the same time, A B is increased, and 

 consequently the muscular exertion required in the 

 legs is prepnrtionably great : in fact, here a por- 

 lion of the weight of the load is transferred to his 

 shoulders. ^ , 



The comparative advantages, therefore, ot tlie 

 three, do not follow any general rule, but depend 

 .impiv upon the peculur qualities of the particular 

 animal employed, and his relative capabihties ot 

 lifting and pulling, or the proportion existing be- 

 tween the weight of his body and his muscular 

 strength To render this mora clear to our own 



case is very possible that a large heavy horse, oth 

 erwisc not strong, or one which ,t v.as net desirable 

 to fatigue, might pull better ai:u long, r, if part of 

 the weight was borne upon the c:irriage,fr if,in oth- 

 er words, the traces pulled upwards. And we know 

 by experience, that in the case of stage-coaches, 

 where, owing to the speed, the weight of the horse's 

 body is already generally a burden to him, it is dis- 

 advantageous to increase the weight by inclining 

 the trac'cs much downwards ; on the contrary, 

 where we wish to obtain the utmost effect of a pow- 

 erful horse, or of ahorse that is muscular, but with- 

 out much weight forward, it is highly advantage- 

 ous to augment the effect of his gravity by inclin- 

 ing the traces even as much as 15 degrees, or about 

 1 upon '3 ; the strain upon the traces will be then 

 considerably increased, and the effect augmented, 

 provided always that he is able to exert the neces- 

 eary strength in his legs. As far, therefore, as the 

 mere force of traction is concerned, there is no par- 

 ticular angle which will always produce the great- 

 est effect— but it must depend upon the particular 

 capability of the horse; and this in its turn varies, 

 and is affected bv circumstances; for the same 

 horse that upr.n a level road requires no addition to 

 his weiirht, might bo materially assi.~ted by a slight 

 addition when ascending a hill, if not continued too 

 lono-; and most horses would be benefitted consid- 

 erably by the opposite arrangement in a descent, 

 that is, by a portion of their weight being borne up; 

 they should at least have no additional load thrown 

 on them while descending a hill. 



IJons that arc shut up to fatten should be kept 

 warm°and dry, and they should be kept clean in- 

 stead of beiiitr confined to dirt and mud, six or 

 eight inches deep, as is the case with many. It is 

 not possible fur hogs to fatten fast, unless they are 

 comfortable, and they cannot be comfortable while 

 covered with filth and exposed to cold and wet, in- 

 stead of having a good waim nest. Hogs should 

 have pare earth occasionally, and a little charcoal. 



CaiCUiateu LU urytri. ti iti.>Lt -..-- » ] 



labors, a source of pleasure, profit and honor ; to 

 stimulate to the improvement of the mmd— to ele- 

 vate and to purify it— to self respect, to moral de- 

 portment. And It will tend to deter from the for- 

 mation of bad habits, which steal upon the igno- 

 rant and the idle unawares, and which consign 

 thousands of promising young men to poverty 

 and disgrace, if not to premature graves. A knowl- 

 edge of these principles, to a very useful extent, 

 can be acquired with as much facility, in the 

 school or upon the farm, as other branches of learn- 

 ino-. Why, then, shall they not be taught ? Why 

 shall we withhold from our agricultural population, 

 that knowledge which is so indispensable to their 

 profit, to their independence, and to their correct 

 bcarinir as freemen ? Why, while we boast of our 

 superior privileges, keep in comparative ignorance 

 of the principles of their busmeis, that class of our 

 citizens who arc truly the conservators of our free 

 dom ' We know of but one objection— the want 

 of teachers. A few years ago, civil engineers were 

 not to be found among us. The demand for them 

 created a supply. We have demonstrated, that we 

 have the materials for civil engineers, and that W8 

 can work them up. We have materials for teach- 

 ers of agricultural scieuce, vvhicli wecanalso work 

 up. Demand will always insure a supply. 



Georoe Ffrost, Esq. of Durham, N. H. informs 

 us that he weighed on the 9tli December, a half 

 blooded Durham short horn Bull Calf six weeks 

 old produced on his farm, whose weight was found 

 to be two hundred and ninety-two pounds. Gen- 

 tlemen of independent means like Mr. F. do their 

 neighbors and the State a great service by the in- 

 troduction of such fine animi/ls as his calf If a 

 present and immediate profit does not always re- 

 sult, it rarely fails in the end richly to remunerate 

 the enterprise and public spirit which has an ey« 

 to the general improvement of th» coontr/. 



