CH. IV ROOF-SEATS 73 



more than six persons on the roof and two on the 

 box beside the driver. * 



The roof-seats, therefore, did not extend much 

 beyond the edge of the roof, but later they were 

 lengthened so as to hold four. These roof-seats 

 are sometimes called the ' gammon-boards,' f obvi- 

 ously from the name of the author of the Act. 



In the present coach, the roof-seats are fastened 

 to the roof, with their edges fair with the front and 

 back parts of the body. To carry four persons 

 with comfort they should be 6 feet long, and their 

 length may be practically increased without adding 

 to their apparent size, by bending the side irons 

 outward, six inches being thus easily added. 



The mail-coaches had no hind roof-seat and car- 

 ried only three on the front roof-seat, and down 

 to 1870 drags usually had seats long enough for 

 only three, and extending slightly beyond the edge 

 of the roof. These seats are now uniformly made 

 to hold four ; and while the width of the load on 

 top does undoubtedly detract somewhat from the 

 ' smart' appearance of the coach, the additional ac- 

 commodation more than makes up for it, and 

 when only three people are up, they have a com- 

 fortable abundance of room and do not make the 

 load look really much wider than if they were 

 crowded together. 



* Brighton and its Coaches, p. 25. 



f 'Nimrod,' Road, p. 17, calls the hind roof-seat the 'gammon- 

 board.' 



