CONSTRUCTION. 885 



The Spokes should, for heavy work, be made of tv^hlte 

 oak of clear grain, and free from checks or knots — for 

 light carriages hickory is preferable — fourteen in the fore 

 wheel and sixteen in the hind wheel, except in vehicles of 

 the lighter kinds, when two less in each wheel will answer. 

 If the tenon or " tang," which is inserted in the felloe, is 

 Bquare instead of round, it will greatly add to the strength, 

 though few makers are found who will take this trouble. 

 Every spoke which is discovered to be defective, in any 

 way, should be scrupulously rejected by the carriage- 

 maker; for one bad spoke will spoil the wheel. In a 

 business wagon, the spokes should be set in the hub in 

 range, or in a straight line, while in a buggy or light car- 

 riage, they should be placed alternately, in and out, that 

 the weakness caused by their light construction may be 

 compensated for by the bracing position, which this zig- 

 zag position affords. 



The Felloes or Rim. — This part of the wheel should 

 be of the best eastern white ash or hickory (the western 

 growth is softer and less tough). Oak is often used for 

 this purpose, but is much more liable to sun checks, and 

 will split more easily, and is more apt to break in at the 

 joints. For pleasure carriages, which are kept well 

 painted, and, for the most part, secure from the weather, 

 the bent rim is better than the short pieces or sawn, 

 felloes ; but for business wagons, or those much ex« 

 posed to the sun and rain, with the paint not always in 

 the best condition, and which require a more frequent 

 resetting of the tire and the consequent cutting of the ends 

 of the felloe-sections, it is better not to be obliged so often 

 to cut the same ends, as is the case when there are only 

 two pieces. There are always, when the felloes are sawn^ 

 two spokes to each section. 



The wheels should, in all cases, be ^dished, as this adds 



