ON DRAUGHT. 5ti9 



view than for the accommodation of travellers ; they have since been found 

 loTnswer several important ends. They convert al percussions into mere 

 ncrease of pressure, thus preserving both the carriage and the materials 

 of the roadsTom the effect of blowsl and small obstacles are surmounted 

 when springs allow the frame and wheels freely to ascend, without sensibly 

 movino- the^body of the carriage from its place. 



'K the whole weight is supposed to be concentrated on springs very 

 lon<. extremely flexible, and with the frame and wheels wholly devoid of 

 inertia, his paradoxical conclusion will most certainly follow : that such 

 a carriage maybe drawn over the roughest road without any agitation, 

 and bv the smallest increase of force. 



'It seems probable that springs, under some modification of form and 

 material, may be appHcable with advantage to the heaviest waggon. 



And there can be no doubt that, in the words of the writer, the apphca- 

 tiot of springs would be highly advantageous. At Inghve ocities, as we 

 I ave before s^aid, the eff-ect of springs is still greater. .What we have m- 

 stanced as regards springs is generally well known and understood. All 

 s aSe-coachest and many travelHng carriages, hang upon grasshopper- 

 springs which allow of perpendicular without any longitudmal ackon. 

 ifwould be muchtotheinterestsofhorsemastersifthemodeof susp^^^^^ 

 poslchaises were a little more attended to. The more elasticity, or m other 

 words the more action, there is in grasshopper-springs, the more effect it 

 ^11 p;oduce in diminishing the draught : with a C spring a vey contrary 

 Tffect is produced. A carrSige hung upon C sprmgs may certainly be made 

 the most comfortable to the rider; but all the ease that can be required, 

 and much more than is found in the general ty of post-chaises, may be 

 obtained by well-constructed grasshopper-spiings, and with considerable 



advantage to the horses. ., ■, , ■, .i 



The practice of loading coaches as high as possible to make them run 

 h.ht, as the coachmen have found by experience, is only a mode of assist- 

 no. 4e springs. The mass being placed at a greater height above the 

 wheels, at the extremity of a long lever, is not so easily displaced lateral y 

 by any motion of the wheels, which, therefore, rise and fall on either side as 

 they run over the stones, acting only on the springs which restore theful 

 preLre and velocity in descending, from the obstacle which was imparted 

 to them in ascending, and without producing any sudden concussions upon 

 the load, which swings to and fro with long, easy movements. It is possible 

 also, that the weight, being thus swung from side to side, may, ^^pongood 

 rolds, diminish the draught, as it is in fact generally running upon two of 

 the wheels ; while, in the other direction, it equally admits of the front and 

 hind wheels successively passing over any impediments ; f ^ y«J' J ^^;; 

 manner in which it is fixed upon the springs, it does not admit of any 



^T^ftt'lftltttthus loaded runni^ has been clearly proved 



by the failure of what were called Safety Coaches m which the only differ- 

 ence consisted in placing the load very low. These coaches a though 

 completely answering their purpose of safety, were discontinued solely, we 

 believe from their being found destructive of the horses 



Srinients, nevertheless, have been made to prove that this was only 

 an idle prejudice of coachmen; but universally received opinions, even if 

 leading to erroneous conclusions, generally have some good foundation; 

 and coachmen, although they may not have been so much so at the time 

 these experiments were published (in 1817) are certainly now rather an 

 intelHgent class of men. We should, therefore, prefer risking a theory, if 

 a theory were necessary, in support of their prejudices rather than m op- 

 position to them. The experiments alluded to were not. m our opinion, 



