hilly or uneven ground, incur enormous trouble, 
18 
for the conveyance of very great loads, but, on 
and not a little danger, from great and sudden 
changes of the centre of gravity. “It is obvious,” 
remarks Martin Doyle, “that the attainment of 
great wheel-power is principally regarded in the 
construction of the French cart. On ascending 
and level ground, this mechanical advantage is 
most desirable; but in descents, it is a serious 
inconvenience, and, though much counteracted 
in the larger carts by the application of a friction- 
break, and also by the removal of all the horses 
except the shaft one to the rear, in order to hold 
back on severe descents, by means of tight breech- 
ing, the difficulty to that poor brute is great, and 
the consequence is, that a vast number of the 
cart-horses in France are injured in the hind 
quarters by the pressure upon those parts. Then 
there is the opposite extreme of inconvenience to 
the shaft horse when in ascent; the belly-band 
squeezes him severely, and the tendency of the 
load behind, now deranged from its equilibrium, 
to lift him from his legs, not only deprives him 
of any power of pulling, but distresses him ex- 
ceedingly ; and if any relaxation of draught on 
the part of the leading horses takes place, he is 
unable to keep his fore-legs on the ground, while 
he is tortured by the constriction of his belly- 
band. So great are these opposite difficulties, to 
be encountered with in the long cart, that we 
must give it our unqualified condemnation ; the 
necessity of balancing the load with precision is 
so great, and the attention of the driver so un- 
intermittedly demanded to direct the movements, 
of the team, that we repudiate a system of cart- 
‘age which, independently of the objections to 
which it is liable even under the most favourable 
circumstances, has this obvious one, that the ani- 
mals employed in drawing large carts are liable, 
on any occasion, to be cruelly ill-treated and 
overpowered by the brutality or the negligence 
of ignorant or intoxicated carters.” 
The Hampshire cart holds 40 bushels, and is 
usually laden with 16 cwt. when drawn by one 
horse, and with 30 cwt. when drawn by two. Its 
length, irrespective of the yoke portion of the 
shafts, is 114 feet ; its depth, inclusive of a pro- 
jection of boarded raves, is 23 feet ; and the dia- 
meter of its wheels is 4 feet 4 inches.—The Norfolk 
carts are constructed on the principle of the dor- 
mant-bodied carts, and yet are worked somewhat 
in the manner, though very awkwardly and cru- 
elly, of tilt-carts. “ In setting on manure, a long 
belly-band is made use of; so that the shafts rise 
with the forepart of the cart; the shaft-horse 
being the only stay to its tilting up entirely. 
Nor is this an uncommon circumstance; the 
shaft-horse, in this case, remaining upon his 
hind-legs until he be drawn down again by the 
fore-horses.” [Marshal’s Rural Economy of Nor- 
Jolk.| 
The London hay-cart is an exceedingly clumsy 
vehicle ; yet it is employed in the carriage of by 
CART. 
far the larger portion of hay, straw, and police- | 
manure in the district round the metropolis, and | 
It carries | 
is therefore very extensively known. 
18 cwt. of hay or straw, is provided with tail- 
piece, fore-ladders, and iron-arms, and can be 
drawn by one, two, or three horses,—the shaft- 
horse being yoked under head-rails. It requires 
great nicety in adjusting the load with a proper 
reference to the centre of gravity, and would be 
utterly useless in a hilly district ; and it seems | 
to be preferred to a waggon, solely on account of 
the smaller cost of its construction, and the 
smaller charge at the turnpikes.—A vehicle with 
very nearly the body of a waggon, mounted on 
two wheels, like a cart drawn by two horses, and | 
carrying with ease a load and a half of straw, is 
advantageously used in some level districts for 
the cartage of hay. 
The tilt-cart, with the addition of a hay-frame, 
serves as a very good hay-cart, and is used in the 
harvesting cartage of a large proportion of the 
farmers of Scotland. In the hay-frame, two 
main-bearers are fitted to lie across the cart, the 
one on the fore part close to the front, and the 
other on the back part close to the door; a pair 
of light side-rails lie at right angles across each 
end of the bearers, and are fastened to them with 
screw-bolts; two rails cross these at right angles 
behind, and three in front, all the five lying par- 
allel to the bearers; and as the three rails in 
front project over part of the horse, they are 
formed with an upward curve, to prevent their 
interfering with his motions.—But various corn 
and hay carts, more efficient than the tilt-cart 
with a hay-frame, are in use; and probably the 
best of these is Robert Robertson’s, represented 
in Mig. 10, Plate XII. which was brought first 
into trial in 1832, and is described as follows, in 
the Transactions of the Highland Society :—‘ It 
is of extreme simplicity in its construction, con- | 
sisting first of the shafts and usual framing of 
those intended for the carriage of timber. Upon 
this is superimposed a wooden frame, extending 
at once to the breadth of the upper works of the 
common cart.. The outward longitudinal rails of 
this frame are not continuous, but are cut off be- 
fore and behind the wheels, and again connected 
by means of an arched bar of iron. Between 
these arches, and placed upon the inward rails, 
there is a board rounded off, to be concentric 
with the arched bars, and sloping outward, fol- 
lowing the dish of the wheels. Across these 
arches is laid a broad rail, bolted to the former ; 
thus forming a recess for the wheels, and guard- 
ing them from rubbing against the load. In 
front, and immediately behind the horse, a rail 
is raised, of sufficient height to carry the sheaves 
above the back of the horse ; this rail is supported 
by two iron stays standing forward on the shafts.” 
This cart possesses much simplicity and ease of 
construction ; it can readily be transmuted into 
a cart for conveying timber, simply by unbolting 
the frame from the shafts, and-putting in its 
