CHAPTER V. 

 CARRIAGES. 



DEVELOPMENT, CONSTRUCTION, COST, WEIGHT, TYPES, 



AND APPOINTMENTS. 



In the use of 

 equipage we are the 

 youngest of the 

 civilized nations. 

 Not more than two 

 generations ago the 

 number of priv^ate 

 vehicles in any one 

 town could be 

 counted upon the 

 fingers ; and in many large Western cities, whose develop- 

 ment was subsequent to the invention of the "trolley," this 

 public means of conveyance has delayed the introduction 

 of the private carriage almost to the extent of exclusion. 

 Some of our great-grandparents owned coaches, the elabo- 

 rateness of which has since never been approached. Many 

 of these coaches were imported, and represented the highest 

 development of the coach builder's art. 



It may be asked, if having started on even terms with the 

 mother country, and having at our command the advantages 

 of superior qualities of wood for the construction of vehicles, 

 why are the designs of the majority of our carriages in- 



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