316 ELEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE 



Very few words or signals should be used, and these 

 should always be used to mean exactly the same thing, 

 and the command should be carried out. Whoa should 

 always mean to stop; it should not mean to go slowly 

 or to get ready to stop. Steady is the word to use if we 

 wish to go more slowly. Back should always mean to 

 move backwards. Many drivers use it to mean to stop. 

 A horse should never be allowed to start without the 

 spoken word. If getting into the wagon is the signal 

 for starting, we should not blame the horse if he starts 

 before we are all ready. He is obeying our command 

 if he starts as soon as he hears the step on the wagon. 

 If we wiggle the lines to make him start, we must not 

 blame him for starting when we pick up the lines. Such 

 words as whoa-back are impossible commands. While 

 I was writing one of these chapters, a man who was cul- 

 tivating in the garden under my window, gave the fol- 

 lowing command: Come here! Where are you going! 

 Whoa-back! Get up there! Whoa! Whoa! The horse 

 merely stepped around on a few more vegetables. 



The word should precede any severe pull on the lines, 

 as the command should precede the punishment for diso- 

 bedience. Some persons pull on the lines when they want 

 a horse to go faster. The team that ran away and ran 

 harder the more it was held in, but that stopped when 

 the pulling ceased, was trained in this manner. 



288. Rules of the Road. When two vehicles meet, 

 each one should turn to the right, and give more than half 

 of the road. If one of the vehicles has a heavy load and 

 cannot readily turn out, the lighter one should go around. 

 The heavy load should stop if the passing is difficult. 



