28 



places of the maine, yet, if you respect the easinesse 

 of their pase, it is hard to saie where their Hke are 

 to be had. Our cart or plough horses (for we use 

 them indifferently), are commonlie so strong that five 

 or six of them (at most), will draw three thousand 

 weight of the greatest tale with ease for a long 

 journeie — although it be not a load of common usage 

 — which consisted onlie of two thousand, or fiftie 

 foot of timber, fortie bushels of white salt, or six and 

 thirtie of bale, or five quarters of wheat — experience 

 dailie teacheth, and [as] I have elsewhere remem- 

 bered. Such as are kept for burden, will carie four 

 hundred weight commonlie, without any hurt or 

 hinderance. This furthermore is to be noted, that 

 our princes and nobilitie have their carriage com- 

 monlie made by carts ; whereby it commeth to passe, 

 that when the queenes majestic dooth remove from 

 anie one place to another, there are vsuallie 400 care- 

 wares, which amount to the summe of 2,400 horses, 

 appointed out of the countries adioining, whereby 

 her cariage is conveied vnto the appointed place. 

 Hereby, also, the ancient vse of somers and sumpter 

 horsses is in a maner vtterlie relinquished ; which 

 causes the traines of our princes in their progresses 

 to shew far lesse than those of the kings of other 

 nations." 



The loads so respectfully described by 

 Holinshed do not at first sight appear to 

 indicate any very remarkable draught power 

 on the part of a team of five or six horses ; 

 rather the contrary. In regard to^ this, 

 however, we must bear in mind that three 

 hundred years ago the roads were so bad 

 and rutty that an empty waggon would be 

 harder to draw in those days than a heavily 

 loaded wain on a modern road. 



