88 DRIVING AS I FOUND IT. 



weight hanging back so far as to cause any exertion of 

 the horse to keep it down must be a useless expendi- 

 ture of strength is quite cei^tain; the desideratum is to 

 give him if possible increased hold of the ground, but 

 putting any portion of weight on his back that he can 

 so easily drawn is preposterous. A fact has 

 ofteoi Ibeen proved on the other side to this, put 

 a load behind a horse which he cannot move and then 

 put a 200-pound man on his back. He will draw it. 

 This only shows the effect of increased weight against 

 weight. B ut it would be rather a curious manoeuvre to 

 make a 200-pound coachman ride one of a pair of horses 

 in order to facilitate their going ten miles an hour in 

 harness even allowing that we took the 200 pounds 

 from the carriage. In many ways the power of horses 

 is wasted quite as ridiculously from want of considera- 

 tion. It is quite clear that whatever presses against 

 the front part of the axle has a tendency to drive the 

 wheels back, while whatever acts upon his back part 

 has an opposite effect. 



All carts should have nearly straight shafts, with a 

 slight turn outwards towards the end. The (White- 

 chapel cart, which is mostly used for tandem, is built 

 with straight, stiff shafts. Before purchasing a cart it 

 is advisable to get some one to hold the shafts ; then take 

 your seats and you can easily see if the cart is balanced 



