The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-01-21

horse. TO do work under conditions that
we know would cause the most carefully
constructed steam engine ever built to wear
itself out in useless endeayor. Que man, a
civil engineer in London, named Briggs.
has recently applied his mind to this
problem, and some OF the conclusions he
has reached are so novel and seemingly
preposterous as TO require careful study
before their reas0nab lenesS can be fully
demonstrated. MIR. Briggs demonstra-
tons of what horse may do under pro per
conditions of Loading have been pro-
nounced by represen tatives of humane and
engineering societies. before whom he has
lectured. to be of the utmost Importance.
To begin with he lays down general
proposition that pulling is largely a mat
ter of weight. Casually speaking, most
horsemen understand this to be a fact.
They know that they require heavy
horse to pull a heavy load, but in htching
the horse to the load they invariably pro-
coed upon the idea that 1t is the extra
strength rather than the extra weight of
the large animal that is required. By our
methods of Harvesting Mr.. Briggs con-
tends the animals are SO handicapped that
in many cases, if not in ALL there is
an absolute loss of 30 per cent of
their power A horse, he claims, does not
pull at any time; he thrusrs. Th5
collar and traces are no part of the horse,
any more than the shafts are. The amount
VI lcSlStdDCc d EUISt Gall uNSICOul6 Ut
DendS upon his own weight, his height, his
length and his muscular development. A
curious experiment was given at a lecture
in London to demonstrate the claim made
that pulling is matter of weight. Two
men were brought out on the stage, one
much heavier than the other. but both of
about equal muscular development. Each
took hold of rope, and the heavier man
pulled the lighter one across the stage. A
small boy then perched himself upon the
lighter mans shoulders. and with this al
dltional weight to aid him, he, in turn,
hauled his heavier antagonist across the
stage.
Another experiment tried by Mr.. Briggs,
in London, is very conclusive. A stout
draft horse was set to pull a load of 1000
pounds up grade. BY straining with all
his powers. the horse was able, with great
difficulty, nearly TO move the load. The
experimenters then removed from the
load two sacks. each containing 100 pounds,
and placed them on the horses back.
With hardly more than an ordinary effort
the horse walked up hill with the loaded
wagon.
l remember, myself. seeing on one of
our city streets sight which showed cop-
clusively the relation between weight and
hauling power. A heavy drafthorse. at
tached to two-wheeled fat dray. was
hauling with apparent difficulty a not
very large load. The load, in fact, seemed
the nerest trlf1e for an animal of his size,
yet he was leaning against the collar, his
legs 0raced, his muscles Quivering with
the strain of pulling. The disadvantage
under which he labored was not difficult
to recognize. The load, though by no
means one that should have taxed his
strength. was rendered about double its
natural weight by being disposed on the
rear end of the dray platform. The ten
dency OF the load in this position was to
weigh down the end of the dray and
throw the shafts in the air. To coun-
teract this tendency must have required
vertical pressure of several hundred
pounds at the other end. This pressure
was applied at the saddle by means of the
shaft supports and girth, and tine force re-
CURED TO exert 1t was taken directly from
the weight of the horse In other words,
part OF the weight that Sh ould have been
imposed against the load was expended in
holding down the shafts. so that in reality
1t was horse Of very ordinary weight that
was drawing the dray. II the load had
Deen shifted so as to rest forward of the
axle the effect would have been to throw
part OF the weight forward upon the
horses back, in which case he would
nave had just that additional amount OF
force to throw into the collar, and the
hauling OF the wagon would have been
mere bagatelle to him.
IL Mr.. Briggs could have seen this rig
as saw 1t that day he might have added
another to the collection Of pictures with
which he illustrates his lectures. all show
ing the waste of horsepower.
The lighter the load. says our civil en-