science now guides the agriculturist in his in- 

 vestigations, as Astronomy and the compass 

 guide the navigator in his course. 



It is no way to entice agi'iculturists to tlie ac- 

 quisition of knowledge, to begin by telling them 

 that they and their ancestors have been hereto- 

 fore ruled by prejudice and sunk in degrading 

 ignorance ; and if, in addition to this, it is attempt- 

 ed to make them forsake the plow for the pur- 

 pose of learning, not the science of Chemistrj', but 

 its words and plu-ases, depend upon it they will 

 dismiss the Schoolmaster, and say of him, as the 

 Haberdasher said of Mr. Pjckwck, " the honor- 



able gentleman is a humbug." Tell them the 

 truth — tell them that the experimental mode of 

 investigation is right, and must not be changed ; 

 satisfy them that, by following it, they have 

 learned much, and raised their art to the dignity 

 of a science. Show them, then, in what man- 

 ner Chemistry has lately placed within their 

 reach the means of obtaining additional know- 

 ledge, and you may confidently trost them for 

 the acquisition of it. 



Very respectfully, your ob't sei-v't, 



P. A. ROST. 

 J. S. Skinner, Esq. 



ON AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE MODE OF ATTACHING 

 HORSES TO WAGONS. 



BY J. H. GRIEVE. 



Having observed amongst the topics pro- 

 posed by the Society as subjects fiw prize es- 

 says, that of the use of one-horse carts, I thought 

 it miajht be agreeable to you to receive some re- 

 marks relative to different modes of ti-action 

 which have been suggested to me by actual ob- 

 servation, and which, so far as my knowledge 

 extends, have as yet pa.ssed almost without no- 

 tice. 



There is no mechanical reason why a single- 

 horse cart should possess any advantage over a 

 four-wheeled wagon ; and if that opinion has 

 gained ground in tliis country, it is \^holly to be 

 attributed to the defective manner of application 

 of horsepower. 



In one-horse carts, a part of the load weighs 

 upon the saddle placed behind the shoulders of 

 the horse ; and, as the principal fulcrum upon 

 which he acts is concentrated in his hind-feet, it 

 may, at first sight, appear that the load upon 

 the back would assist in the effort of traction, 

 and 1 have no doubt that it does so to a certain 

 degree ; but this small advantage is only trained 

 at tlie expense of the muscular power of the an- 

 imal, and has a natural tendency to exhaust and 

 fatigue him. 



If the use of -wagons has hitherto proved un- 

 satisfactory, the cause is merely that no suffi- 

 cient care has been taken to ensure the simitl- 

 tanroiis effort of the horses, .so that a gi'eat part 

 of their po\ver becomes inefficient. 



Nothing, indeed, can be more opposed to rea- 

 son and good sense than the manner of j'oking 

 several horses in tandem that is u.sually prac- 

 tised both for carts and wagons, particularly in 

 the soutli of England. 



In the first phice the sliafts are often too much 

 elevated, and then the shafthor.se is borne to the 

 ground by tlie eftbrts of tho.se that precede him, 

 or he is made to swerve from side to side by 

 the alternate jolting of the wheels, or by the 

 leaders varjing from the straight line of traction. 



In the case of four-\\'heeled wagons, with 

 horses yoked abreast, the traces of each hor.se 

 are always fixed to tlie splinter-bar ; it is more 

 than difficult for the driver to ascertain if all his 

 (.399) 



horses are exerting their strength together, and 

 it is almost impossible for liim, even with the 

 utmost care, to force them to do .so. 



A much better method of yoking has been ap- 

 plied for ages past to the plow, viz. that of the 

 swing-bar ; but, strange to say, this system has 

 not been adopted for caniages, with the excep- 

 tion of the leaders of stage-coaches; and this 

 only proves that convenience, or, ■v>'e may say, 

 necessity, has been the primary cause of its be- 

 ing adopted at all, and not any sense of the .su- 

 perior mechanical aiTangement of the .system. 



A little reflection will, however, show that 

 this aiTangement is better adapted than any- 

 other to produce simultaneous action — each 

 horse being so placed respectively to his neigh- 

 bor as to opei-ato on a balance-beam ; and it is 

 self-e%'ident that neither can draw unless the 

 other acts as a counterpoise : the result is that 

 the full and united force of the team is obtained 

 for the purposes of traction. 



For centuries past this .system has been snc- 

 cessfully applied in Belu:iiim to the yoking of 

 horses to four-wheeled wagons ; and I ccnid 

 cite various instances of great loads convejed 

 in that manner, but will only mention a single 

 instance of a load of goods which I myself .saw 

 weighed, and which was brought from Antwerp 

 to the neighborhood of Mons, a di.stance of about 

 72 miles. The wagon was a very heavy one, 

 with the wlieel-tires 8 inches in" breadth, and 

 was drawn bj' five hor.scs, and the load weighed 

 fully 14 tons. Now when we take into consid- 

 eration that several considerable acclivities had 

 to be surmounted, at only t^^■o of ^\ hich spare 

 horses had been used, this example alone is suf- 

 ficient to denion.strate the evident superiority of 

 this system of traction. Doubtless the paved 

 roads otler less friction than our u.sual macadam- 

 ized ones, but this advantage will not account 

 for the marked superiority of this load, which 

 amounts, including the weight of the wagon, to 

 about /(^ tons per horse. 



I may observe that in Belgium the load is 

 strictly limited, by law, in proportion to tlie 

 breadth of the tires, and that a greater load than 



