ox DRAUGHT. AW 



wliure, owing to tlie speed, the weight of the horse's body is ah-eady 

 generally a burden to him, it is disadvantageous to increase that weight 

 by inclining the traces much do^vnwards; on the contrary, where we wish 

 to obtain the utmost effect of a powerful horse, or of a horse that is 

 muscular, but without much weight forward, it is highly advantageous to 

 augment the effect of his gravity by inchning the traces downwards even 

 as much as 15°, 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 necessary strength in his legs. As far, there- 

 fore, as the mere force of traction is concerned, there is no particular 

 angle which will always produce the greatest effect — ^but it must depend 

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

 and is affected by circumstances ; for the same horse that upon a level 

 road requires no addition to his weight, might be materially assisteil by 

 a slight addition when ascending a hill, if not continued too long ; and 

 most horses would be benefited considerably by the opjoosite arrangement 

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

 should at least have no additional load thro^vn on them while descending 

 ahiU. 



There is also a time, when inclining the traces do>vnwards is almost 

 indispensable ; it is when dragging a four-wheeled waggon over a rough 

 broken road. If the front wheel, which is generally small, meets with an 

 obstacle by falling into a hole, or stopping against a stone, it requires no 

 profound reasoning to show, that a force pulling upwards in the direction 

 AB, fig. 9, will rise the whole wheel over the obstacle pig. 9. 



with much greater facility than if applied horizon- 

 tally, as AC ; this is the only cii'cumstance, uncon- 

 nected T\dth the horse, that ought to govern the 

 direction of the traces, and the degree of the incHna- 

 tion here must, of course, still be proportioned to the 

 power of the horse. We see therefore that, in pro- 

 portion as the horse is stronger, or that we are dis- 

 posed to make him exert a greater effort, the traces 

 should be inclined dovmwards from the collar ; with a good average horse, 

 perhaps one-sixth or one-seventh of the distance from the collar to the 

 extremity ; with a horse of inferior capabihties, arising from weakness in 

 the limbs, and not want of weight, or with an ordinary horse when travel- 

 ling above six miles an hour, the traces should be nearer the horizontal 

 line, except when the circumstance of a rough road, before alluded to, 

 requires some modification of this. To be able to apply these rules generally 

 in practice, it would be necessary to have some means of altering the 

 traces while on the road ; as we have stated that they should be differently 

 arranged according as the road is level or rough, or ascending or descend- 

 ing ; this would not be difiicult to contrive, and has, indeed, been suggested 

 by some writers upon this subject ; but it is probable that, except in stage- 

 waggons, where the same carriage goes along a great extent, and conse- 

 quent variety of road, it will be sufficient to adjust the traces according to 

 the average state of the roads in the neighbourhood ; and we cannot greatly 

 err, if we bear in mind that inclining the traces downwards from the collar 

 to the carriages amounts to the same thing as throwing part of the weight 

 of the load on to the shafts, a thing frequently done in two- wheeled carts, 

 and a manoeuvi-e which all good carmen know how to put in practice. 

 The impossibility of inclining the traces of the leaders, owdng to their 

 distance from the carriage, is an additional reason to those given before, 

 why they (the leaders) cannot, when required, exert such an effort as the 

 shaft-horse or wheeler ; and on rough cross-roads, is a great argument in 

 favour of harnessincr horses abreast. 



