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WAGTAIL. 
horse; that in ascending or descending hills, the 
whole) weight being above the axle-tree, it de- 
stroys the balance, and is thrown too much upon 
the horse in the former case, or tends to raise 
him from the ground in the latter, which even 
if any alteration of the balance be found advan- 
tageous, is exactly the contrary of what would 
be necessary. That with a waggon—the average 
power of several horses is obtained—horses of 
inferior quality may therefore be used ;—they 
are not so much fatigued, because by relieving 
each other they can alternately exert themselves 
or relax. Greater loads can be carried with less 
attendance of drivers, and they are less liable to 
accidents; they are easier withdrawn from any 
hole, or for ced over any obstruction, because only 
half the load being upon each pair of wheels, the 
whole force of the team is applied successively to 
each half of the load, consequently in any bad 
road the power occasionally required is less, al- 
though the draught of the carriage, properly 
speaking, is greater than that of a two-wheeled 
cart. These - various arguments would appear to 
lead to the conclusion, that upon good roads, and 
for short distances, with good horses, two-wheeled 
single-horse carts are the best; but that, with 
inferior roads and ordinary horas light four- 
wheeled waggons, with a team of three or four 
horses, are the most advantageous. T'wo-wheeled 
carts with two horses are decidedly inferior to 
either of these: the shaft horse suffers all the 
inconveniences complained of in the single-horse 
cart, and the leader does not produce more effect 
than when in a waggon team. It is impossible 
to decide generally upon the comparative merits 
of the different arrangements, because the result 
depends entirely upon the circumstances of the 
case. We may, however, endeavour to unite in 
some degree the advantages claimed by both. 
The draught of a cart is less than that of a wag- 
gon for several reasons,—amongst others, because 
the wheels are larger and the horse produces 
more effect, because his force is applied imme- 
diately to the resistance. A light waggon with 
large front wheels would not be much inferior in 
point of draught to the cart, and two horses 
abreast in double shafts would work with equal 
advantage to the single horse; while an addi- 
tional horse may always be applied when an ex- 
cessive load or the state of the roads should re- 
quire it.” 
WAGTAIL,—scientifically Motacilla. A genus 
of passerinous birds, of the warbler family. Their 
bill is more slender than even that of the fau- 
vettes; their legs are long; their scapular fea- 
thers are extended enough to cover the top of 
the folded wing, and give them an affinity to the 
majority of the waders; and their tail is long, 
and is continually in upward and downward 
action or “ wagging.” 
The pied wagtail or Yarrell’s wagtail, Motacilla 
Yarrelli, is a British bird, and has generally been 
confounded with the white wagtail of Continen- 
601 
tal Kurope, WV. alba, or with the ashy wagtail of 
the Linnzan or old zoological nomenclature, JZ. 
cinerea, but possesses some quite distinct and pe- 
culiar though not very marked characteristics, 
It abounds in most parts of Britain, and resides 
throughout the year in the southern parts of 
England; and it is everywhere known, to even 
careless observers, by its pied black and white 
plumage, and its remarkable nimbleness and 
airiness and constancy of action. It lives on 
aquatic insects; and frequents moist pastures, 
the wet parts of pleasure-grounds, and the vi- 
cinity of pools and streams; and may often be 
seen wading in shallow water, in search of its 
prey. It has a very elegant form and a very 
graceful activity ; and it is ever in motion, skip- 
ping from spot to spot, flitting and curving in 
short flights, chirpingly leaping on the wing, 
buoyantly alighting on the ground, and constant- 
ly wagging its tail with a graceful fanning mo- 
tion. The male is 64 inches long; and the female 
is 6. The nest is built sometimes on the ground, 
sometimes in a hole of a wall, and sometimes in 
the side of a hay rick or turf wall or peat stack, 
but always in the vicinity of water; and it con- 
sists of moss, dead grass, and root fibres, lined 
with hair anda few feathers. The eggs amount 
to 4 or 5,and have a white ground colour, 
speckled with ash, and measure 9 lines in length 
and 7 in width. 
The grey wagtail, Motacilla boarula, is much 
less abundant in Britain than the preceding spe- 
cies, and generally migrates in spring from the 
southern countries to the northern, and in au- 
tumn from the northern to the southern. It 
frequents marshes and water-meadows, and is 
seldom seen on such comparatively dry grass 
lands as are partially frequented by the pied 
wagtail. It has a total length of 7? inches, 
nearly one half of which consists merely of the 
tail-feathers. The nest is built on the ground, 
usually in the near vicinity of the waters where 
the bird obtains its prey, and generally on some 
tufty bank or rugged surface whose inequalities 
afford ready concealment. The eggs amount to 
5 or 6, and have a yellowish-white ground-colour, 
mottled with a various tint of pale brown, and 
measure 84 lines in length, and 7 in width. 
The common yellow wagtail, or Ray’s wagtail, 
Motacilla Rayi, abounds in Britain throughout 
the summer, but leaves our southern shores in 
September, and arrives again in April. It fre- 
quents downs, pastures, fallow-lands, fields of 
young green corn, fields of pease and vetches, 
and other kinds of cultivated ground; and may 
generally be seen to the greatest advantage, 
perched on a clod or stone in a quite bare field. 
Its breast has a rich yellow colour, and its tail is 
in constant fanning motion. Its total length is 
64 inches. The nest is built on the ground, and 
usually consists of dried bent and root fibres, 
lined with hair, The eggs amount to from 4 to 
6, and have a whitish ground colour, mottled — 
