284 
Lawrence’s tongueless buckle. 
and planks in reaching- the boat, and were glad to 
find ourselves on the way to Cologne. The great 
quantity of snow that had fallen was now melting 
from the mountains, and the small streams poured 
their swollen torrents into the Rhine, whose waters 
were constantly increasing and driving hundreds of 
families from their homes. All around us were seen 
houses with the water above their second story win¬ 
dows. 
On arriving at Cologne we found a great part of 
the town flooded, and after some difficulty were 
comfortably ensconced in the second story of a hotel, 
just out of the water, not, however, without the ap¬ 
prehension of being turned out before morning. Here 
circumstances compelled us to remain a few days, 
and partake of the dullness of the city of perfumes; 
for dreary indeed is Germany, both city and country, 
amid the watery desolation and chilling temperature 
of a winter like the present. It was here that I often 
found myself looking back with something like re¬ 
gret to the pleasant fire-sides and agreeable society of 
our own America. European travelling is often 
productive of much instruction to one who wishes 
to obtain information, and he cannot well return from 
such a trip without feeling that he has reaped many 
advantages, if no actual increase in his store of know¬ 
ledge, yet as far as regards pleasure and enjoyment, 
there is much more in anticipation and retrospect than 
in reality ; and one soon becomes convinced that there 
is no place where rational pleasure and true social 
enjoyment can so well be found, as in that where 
men, trees, and localities excite vivid recollections of 
former days, of early associations and of things that 
once were. S. B. Parsons. 
Cologne , March, 1845. 
LAWRENCE’S TONGUELESS-B UCKLE. 
Here is an improvement. It is designed for the 
traces or tugs of harness. It is useful and economi¬ 
cal ; and will save money, time, and vexation. With 
the ordinary buckle, the trace is weakened by the 
hole made to admit the tongue. When a trace, uni¬ 
formly sound, breaks, it is always at the buckle, its 
weakest part. To obviate this, all those engaged in 
heavy draught have of late years ceased the use of 
buckles for traces, and adopted chains at the end of 
the trace with rings on the whiffle-trees. Farmers and 
stage proprietors especially have resorted to this mode 
of attachment. But the objection to the chains is, 
that with sudden jerks, especially in frosty weather, 
they are liable to break. This rarely ever happens 
with a sound trace, except at the buckle holes. 
Hence the great necessity of some plan to obviate 
this evil; and in Mr. Lawrence’s buckle it is perfectly 
done. The buckle is a lever . It is applied in this 
manner. There is a loop ; three sides (one of which 
is long and grooved) of the loop are fixed, the fourth 
is the lower end (but not the extremity), and is 
movable. The lever is double, and is like and looks 
like an ordinary buckle ; that is, it is a lever of two 
arms, with a cross piece at the ends of the arms. 
The fulcrum of the lever is at the extremity; and 
the fulcrum is pivoted into the loop, so that a part of 
the lever just above the fulcrum makes the fourth 
side of the loop. It will thus be seen that the lever, 
having a pivoted fulcrum, may by motion widen or 
narrow the loop. The lever is curved. The trace 
passes through the loop and the hole in the lever. 
The curve of the lever gives an oblique direction to 
the trace just at the buckle. Draught straightens the 
trace. As the lever gives an oblique direction to the 
trace, the draught in straightening the trace presses 
the lever up in such a manner that the loop is nar¬ 
rowed. The trace being in the loop is pressed firmly. 
The draught cannot entirely straighten the trace, the 
buckle-lever being too much curved to allow it. So 
long as the trace is in the loop, there is some capacity 
in the lever to move in the direction of its power. 
The only chance for the escape of the trace is, that it 
shall break at the loop. But there is less liability of 
this there than in any other part; for the pressure 
which holds the trace in the loop, condenses the 
trace at the point of pressure. The surface of the 
loop is smooth ; for although one side is grooved, the 
grooving is smooth and not sharp or angular (indeed 
the grooving is not necessary); therefore, the trace 
cannot be cut. But no ordinary pressure can crush 
leather, perhaps no pressure whatever, and certainly 
no pressure that can arise from the draught of a horse. 
The pressure which condenses the trace gives greater 
strength to the trace, and this pressure is applied at 
the point where the trace is held. Then the trace is 
strengthened at the place of weakness, in traces ad¬ 
justed with the ordinary buckle, and this is an im¬ 
portant point. 
The merits of this buckle are, 1st, that it obviates 
the necessity of cutting holes in the trace to admit a 
tongue ; this leaves the trace as strong at the point of 
application of the buckle as at any other point. 2d, 
It strengthens the trace at the point of fastening by 
condensing; this compensates (and more) for the 
slight wear at the point of fastening. 3d, The greater 
the draught the more firmly the trace is pressed; this 
gives greater strength with the greater draught, just 
the reverse of the tongue-buckle. Of course the 
trace cannot break at the point where the buckle 
holds it. These are positive merits, and in these 
respects it is superior to tongue-buckles. Is it in any¬ 
thing inferior ? No ! 
It is attached in the same manner as ordinary 
buckles. Besides the parts described, there is a loop 
for attaching it to the hame-tug; but here it has a 
positive advantage. Not only may it be attached to 
the hame-tug as ordinary buckles, but it may have 
the hame-tug pass through the loop, and be fastened 
in the same manner as the trace ; thus in case the 
ordinary manner of attaching gives way, the loop may 
be used to fasten. The method of taking up or let¬ 
ting out the trace is just as simple, and is always as 
easy and generally more easy, than in the common 
buckle. It is sometimes very difficult to either 
shorten or lengthen the trace when attached to 
tongue-buckles ; with the tongueless buckle never. 
The peculiar merit of this buckle may be illus¬ 
trated by the arch. The greater the weight the more 
firmly its parts are held, and the stronger the arch; 
the abutments supporting the arch are weakened by 
the weight on the arch. With this buckle it is the 
same; the trace is the more firmly held, and the 
stronger the greater the draught, and the greater the 
draught the weaker the buckle. But the buckle is 
stronger than any trace, and stronger than the power 
of any horse. . ft is stronger than any common 
buckle, for the draught is on the hame-tug and the 
trace. The power of the buckle being that of the 
lever, with a pivot for a fulcrum, its weak point is 
