ON DRAUGHT. 419 



or the proportion existing between the weight of his body and his muscu- 

 lar strencrth. To render this more clear to our own feelings, we will put 

 the case^of a man. We have already seen that an able-bodied man is 

 more adapted for lifting than pulling ; consequently, in his case it would 

 be advantageous to throw a certain portion of the weight upon him, by 

 making him pull upwards, as in fig. 7, or what we are more accustomed 



to see, and which amounts to the same thing, applying his strength to a 

 wheelbarrow, Jig. 8, and we have frequently seen an ordinary man wheel 

 800 lbs. in this manner. 



If, however, we take a person accustomed to hard work, and conse- 

 quently not so strong in the legs, although he may be unable even to lift 

 the wheelbarrow which the other moved with ease, still he may, by push- 

 ing horizontally, put in motion a considerable load ; and lastly, in the 

 case of an invalid who can barely carry his own weight, if he lean on the 

 back of a garden chair, he will not only walk himself, but push on the 

 chair ; or a child who is yet too weak to stand, can, if part of his weight 

 be supported in a go-cart, not only move himself, but also the frame which 

 supports him. These are very familiar and homely comparisons, but they 

 are cases exactly similar to the three positions of the traces ; and the 

 argument will equally apply to horses as to men. It is true, we rarely 

 use for draught a horse that cannot stand ; but the case is very possible 

 that a large heavy horse, otherwise not strong, or one which it was not 

 desirable to fatigue, might pull better and longer, if part of the weight was 

 borne upon the carriage, or if, in other words, the traces pulled upwards. 

 And we know by experience, that in the case of stage-coaches, where, 

 owing to the speed, the weight of the horse's body is already generally a 

 burden to him, it is disadvantageous to increase that weight by inclining 

 the traces much downwards ; 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 inclining the traces 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, therefore, as the mere force of 

 traction is concerned, there is no particular angle which will always pro- 

 duce 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 assisted by a slight addition when ascending a hill, 

 if not continued too long ; and most horses would be benefited consider- 

 ably by the opposite arrangement in a descent, that is, by a portion of their 

 weight being borne up ; they should at least have no additional load thrown 

 on them while descending a hill. 



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