ISO DRIVING. 



rugs, nose-bags, and halters for the ponies ; and very likely at 

 times a luncheon-box ; therefore, for many reasons I would re- 

 commend a wide cart. My own measures six feet. 



One of the greatest difficulties in a two-wheeled carriage is 

 the proper balance. Nothing is so important, both for the 

 comfort of those driving and also for the ease of the shaft 

 animal. What can look and feel more dreadful than for a cart 

 to be tilted up at such an angle that the luckless occupants of 

 the back seat have the greatest difficulty in remaining there ? 

 Should the horse give the smallest start, the muddy road would 

 most likely be their fate. But, if the appearance of a cart 

 balanced in this manner is bad, what word should be applied 

 to the balance of one which is tilted in the opposite extreme, 

 with all the weight falling on the shoulders of the wheeler ? 

 The latter is soon fatigued and goes with a laboured gait, and 

 the carriage is shaken in every spring and bolt, while the occu- 

 pants are jolted in the most uncomfortable manner. What a 

 difference it makes to all concerned when the happy medium is 

 arrived at, and the cart swings perfectly, with the shafts quite 

 straight, and yet with the tugs on the pad working easily all the 

 time, showing that the weight is offthe horse, and at the same time 

 that the cart has no inclination to slant backwards ! There are 

 several ways of obtaining this correct state of things; first, by shift- 

 ing the two seats backwards or forwards as the case may be, ac- 

 cording to the number of people in the cart and the height of the 

 shaft horse, and, secondly, by lowering or raising the shafts on 

 the pad. Few people think of the latter method, and yet I do 

 not know one more effective. I myself think the best rule to 

 go byjs that the driver should always see that the shafts are 

 perfectly level ; if the cart is a well-built one, this rule should 

 make the weight correct. The balance is much simplified, and 

 all shifting of seats dispensed with, if the cart is fitted with a 

 lever near the driver's right hand, which, when moved back- 

 wards and forwards, moves the whole body of the cart on the 

 shafts. I can strongly recommend this arrangement ; for, not 

 only can the driver save time by balancing the weight as he 



