DIVISION OF AGRICULTURAL LABOR. 
181 
move in, free of friction. Leaving the groove and 
passing the head of the lower bone of the shoulder, 
the tendon becomes a round fleshy muscle filled 
with tendinous fibres. It makes the bulk of the 
front of the arm mainly. It is attached to the head 
and neck of the bone of the arm, and to the cover¬ 
ing ligament of the elbow point. The whole of the 
leg below the arm is bent, carried forward and up¬ 
ward almost wholly by this muscle. It is a muscle 
of great importance and power. 
a, in fig. 34, represents the muscles crossing the 
breast. It arises from the first four bones of the 
breast, attaches itself to the under part of the lower 
shoulder bone, and crossing to the inner part of the 
arm, runs some way down the arm. It binds the 
arm to the side of the chest; keeps the leg straight 
in front when the horse moves. The weight of the 
body is thus received on the legs in an easy and 
safe direction, and most advantageous for the full 
play of all the muscles concerned in forward mo¬ 
tion. This muscle is employed more in sustaining 
weight and keeping the leg in a straight direction, 
than in motion. When it becomes weary, the 
horse spreads out his fore legs and falters. Of 
course its duty is important and extensive, and it 
must be large to be equal to its task. 
The flesh parts of the muscles contain the power 
by which motion is procured. They contract and 
draw the tendons, and motion is the result. Below 
the knee and the hock there are no muscles, but 
only tendons. Of course all power of motion is 
above the knee and hock. 
This completes all we have to say of the muscles 
of the fore hand. In our next number we shall 
take up those of the quarters and hind legs. 
- Muscles of the back. —These are in chief the sur¬ 
face muscles of the ribs; ihe transverse or crosswise 
muscles of the ribs ; the long (or longest) muscles of 
the back; and the spinal muscles of the back. 
The surface and transverse muscles of the ribs 
extend along the whole of the hack and loins, and 
are connected with the pack-wax or ligament of 
the neck. The pack-wax is inserted into them. 
They are attached to the last spinal bone of the 
neck ; and extend from thence and from the pack- 
wax along the back to the part of the ribs 
nearest the spine or back. At that point they at¬ 
tach to the ribs. Their office is to raise the ribs, 
and assist thus the expansion of the chest, and 
give full play to the lungs. These muscles are 
also put in use when the head is to be raised or 
lowered. By contraction they draw the tendon of 
the neck or pack-wax backward, and elevate the 
head; by relaxing, they extend the pack-wax for¬ 
ward and lower the head. These muscles will be 
found to be large in every horse that carries a fine 
hold head and neck ; and full also, in horses of 
superior breathing powers, as they are instrumen¬ 
tal in that free and perfect action of the lungs so 
necessary to good wind. 
The long * muscles of the back constitute a large 
mass, and by far the largest mass of muscle at this 
point. They attach to the upright and horizontal 
spurs (or projections) of the spinal bones', and are 
mingled with the muscles of the shoulder in front 
and with the muscles of the haunch behind. Into 
the long muscles of the back, the pack-wax is in¬ 
serted by its branching fibres at its lower end ; the 
| fibres of all the other ligaments along the uppei 
I side of the back are embedded in, and the fibres ol 
I those ligaments are diffused among the mass ol 
I these long muscles. By these muscles, the various 
motions of the spine, back, and loins, are made ; and 
they are the only means by which those parts can 
have their power of motion put in action. In¬ 
serted into the muscles of the haunches, when the 
haunches are kept on the ground, these muscles are 
employed to raise the fore-quarters in rearing; 
inserted into the muscles of the fore-hand, when 
the fore-legs are fixed, the hind-quarters by them 
are raised in kicking. 
The spinal muscles of the back extend from the 
upright spurs or projections of the bones of the 
loins to the back bones, at the withers These 
muscles are thick and strong about the withers, 
and are extensively attached to them. .When the 
withers are high, they are the larger in mass, and 
more strongly attached, and their power is propor¬ 
tionately increased. From the withers they pro¬ 
ceed upwards to the three lowest bones of the neck, 
to which they attach. They are mainly concerned 
in elevating the fore-quarters in motion, and they 
produce, when large and powerful, high and safe 
action, and contribute to speed. High withers are 
valuable as affording large space for the muscles of 
the back to attach to, and of course the muscles will 
be in proportion ; and hence, to the good judge, 
they are an evidence of a capacity for good action, 
and general'y, for speed. High and lofty action will 
always depend on high withers. 
DIVISION OF AGRICULTURAL LABOR 
The perfection to which the various arts have 
arrived in their several departments may be distinctly 
traced to the system of division of labor. So it is 
with science—with commerce; and so it must he 
with agriculture in America, if we ever succeed 
with its advancement in any great degree of per¬ 
fection. England, taken altogether, is probably the 
best agricultural country in the world ; carries its 
divisions of rural labor to almost as nice extremes 
as its mechanical; and for this reason the farmers 
of England excel us infinitely in the perfect man¬ 
ner in which the work is accomplished, and the 
ease with which they manage their otherwise com¬ 
plicated farming operations. From this practice or 
a division of labor is it that we find so few among 
English, Scotch, and Irish laborers, who under¬ 
stand all kinds of farm work. They are either 
plowmen, ditchers, reapers, stackers, herdsmen, and 
shepherds, or teamsters, or two or more of these 
several branches of labor combined, rather than the 
“ Jack of all trades, and good at none,” which is 
not altogether universally, but too much the case 
with our American laborers who are brought up— 
not educated—to do a little of everything partially, 
and nothing really well. I speak this not in dis¬ 
paragement, but as the inevitable consequence, of 
our system of all work on our iarms—a dabbling 
at everything in a small way, and at nothing in the 
main— a system well enough for the small farmer, 
who tills only a few acres; but totally unworthy 
the attention of the extensive farmer who occupies 
his hundreds or his thousands of acres, and prose¬ 
cutes agriculture as a business on tl^e scale that the 
manufacturer and the merchant prosecute theirs, 
