5S6 
Proceedings of Public Socieiiesi [ ?? 
obviate the brittleness of the wax in its 
pure state, without giving it any unplea¬ 
sant effect.* 
BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 
On wheel Carriages ; by Mr. Booth, 
of AUertotiy near JLixerpool. 
IMr. Booth begins his paper w'ith 
strong recommendations of broad wheels, 
in favor of wliich he states the same ar¬ 
guments whicli have already been laid 
before our readers in the account of other 
papers on the subject j and in this part 
of his memoir there is nothing new, but 
liis finding fault with the legislature fpr 
not absolutely prohibiting narrow wheels. 
In the latter part of the paper, he pro¬ 
poses regulations of the breadth of the 
wheels in proportion to the load tlrawn, 
very nearly siniilar to those already re¬ 
commended by the committee of the 
House of Commons ; speaks of Mr. Cum¬ 
mings’s observations as being familiar to 
every one conversant with the subject; 
and repeats the old error, of the power 
of the horse being increased in the draft 
in proportion as the diameter of the 
wheel is greater; but limits this to five 
feet and a half. Jn the middle of the 
paper, the author recommends two-horse 
cai ts in place of single-horse carts, fur 
the follov\ing reasons.* 
Ist, That the two-horse cart may be 
made one ninth lighter than two single- 
horse carts, proper to carry an equal 
load. 
12(1, The first cost of the large cart will 
be less tlian that of the two smaller ones. 
'I’he harness of the large cart will also 
cost less. 
od, In his neiglihourhood a carter had 
18s. per week : there will be then this 
sum saved weekly by using the two-boise 
CcU'i * 
4th, In the two-horse cart one of the 
horses will sometimes draw most of the 
load, which gives the other time to rest, 
by which they will be on the whole less 
fatigued ; on the same principle as a man 
leels less tired when walking, than when 
standing on one foot. 
5th, The cliaiu-horse greatly assists 
and supports the shait-horse when be 
slips. 
6th, In hilly countries both horses, 
when yoked a-breast, assist each txher 
alternately in like n;ianner. 
7tli, Two single carts will together 
w’eigh a ton; but one double cart wifi 
* What manufacturer has made these can- 
d’es cr dcjcs anv one design to mak? them ? 
4 
weigh 240lb. less, and can consequently 
carry that weight of goods more witfi 
the same horses, vvhich, at one farthing 
a pound, each day’s journey will make 
SOs. a week, and this added to the wa^es 
of one driver saved, will be 48s. weekly 
in favor of the double-horse cart. 
SOCIETY OF ARTS. 
On Manufacturing F^ax^ Tozr, and Cot* 
ton, from the Common Nettle; by ffir. 
Edward Smith, of Brentwood, Essex» 
The kind of common stinging nettle, 
wliich Mr. Smith prefers, he describes 
as that which Iras the smoothest and 
most concave tubes, the largest joints, 
the fewer leaves, and the least seed 
he has always e.xperienced these to be 
most productive of lint, and has found 
them in greatest abundance growing in 
the bottoms of ditches among briars, and 
in shaded vallevs, where the soil has 
been a blue clay or strong loam ; and in 
such places he has sometimes found tlieni 
more than twelve feet in length, and two 
inches in circumference. Plants wliich 
grow in poor soils, with rough w’oody 
stems, many branches, and running much 
to seed, work unkindly, and produce lint 
more coarse, harsh, and thin. 
The plants should be cut, and the roots 
left to produce another crop; the best 
time for cutting tiiem is from tlie be¬ 
ginning of July to the end of August, and 
may be continued to the end of October ; 
hut the lint then will be less supple, and 
there will not be time to steep and grass 
them in unfavorable seasons. 
After Iving in the air some time to 
gain firmness enough, to keep the skin 
from being damaged in handling, their 
lateral branches and seed should ba 
stripped off, and they should be sorted 
according to their lengtli and haieness, 
and then made up into bundles, as large 
as both hands can grasp. They should, 
after this, be steeped in clear water (in 
the same manner as flax), from five to 
eight days. When the fibre approaches 
to a pulp, and will easily separate from 
the reed, and the reed becomes white 
and brittle, the operation is finished. 
The bundles should be taken out 
singly, and the filth rinsed from them, 
and then be spread thin on the grass ; in 
doing which, they must be iiandicd 
gently; they must be turned frequently, 
till tlie hard blisters and the stems be¬ 
come brittle, when they should be made 
into bundles and secured from the wea¬ 
ther. 
Afver ihi?« hail is to be separated 
from 
