PLATE 5
Vol. 11.
PLATE 6
Vol. 11.
ROAD    B U GGY . — Ł in. scale.
Designed expressly for  the New  York Coach-maker's Magazine.
Explained on page 24.
SCROLL   PHAETON.-im.  scale.
Designed expressly for the New  York Coach-maker's Magazine.
Explained on page 24.
PLATE 7
Vol. 11.
SHIFTING-TOP    BUGGY.— Ł   in.   scale.
Designed expressly for the New  York  Coach-maker's Magazine.
]Sxpyained en page 24.
PLATE a
Vol. 11.
GAYLORD'S    IMPROVEMENT   IN    CARRIAGE   SPRINGS. — \ in. scalk.
Engraved expressly for the New  York Coach-make r' s Magazine
Explained on page 24.
LIGHT   TWO-WHEELED   TUB.-{ in. scale
Designed expressly  for the New  York Coach-maker's Magazine.
Explained on page 24.
DEVOTED   TO   THE   LITERARY,   SOCIAL,   AND   MECHANICAL   INTERESTS  OF   THE  CRAFT.
Vol.   XI.
NEW   YOKK,   JULY,   1869.
jSTo. 2
 ITtteratiux
ADVENTURES OF THREE JOURS.
BY   H.   S.   WILLIAMS.
Chapter II.
Pretty clever sort of a fellow I judge, exclaimed the
General as he turned away from the party and proceeded
to the bar alone. This rather singular act surprised the
party, for previous to this he had never smiled without
inviting the crowd to join him, and they began to whisper
among themselves, ' the General is about broke, else he is
getting on a bender.' The latter supposition proved cor-
rect, and by ten o'clock that night he was talking- more,
laughing louder, and making more noise generally, than
all the other passengers on board combined.
There was one consolation, however, the deeper the
potations, the merrier he grew. And now his liberality
returned again. He invited anybody and everybody to
drink with him, not only once bu.t several times, and if
one refused he seemed to feel really aggrieved. And then
he appeared to be everywhere at the same time; in the
captain's office, insisting on that worthy taking a drink ; at
the stove expounding law to the Illinois Judge ; down
midships, instructing a gaping crowd of cabin boys how
to cook beef-steaks and set tables properly; in a word, he
was in all places, and talking on all subjects.
" The General is in a splendid condition to have some
sport out of now," remarked a small quiet looking man
who had come aboard at Cairo, as he drew his cigar from
his mouth, and emitted a dense volume of smoke that
curled in graceful circles above his head.
" Fine subject for a green-court trial."
"That's so," cried Loring, "let's have him arrested and
tried for disorderly conduct.   Judge, issue your warrant."
" And I'll serve it," returned the first speaker, " I'll
return by the time you can get it ready," and he dis-
appeared in his state-room. Going in the clerk's office,
the Judge soon wrote the necessary paper, and just as
he returned to the stove, the gentleman who offered to
serve it, re-entered by the front door, dressed in a com-
plete policeman's suit, then worn by the force in New
Orleans.
Vol. xi.—3.
" All ready," he exclaimed, " you see I am a regular
star, Judge ; been up river on duty. Guess I'll surprise
the old General somewhat."
Just then the object of their remarks joined the
group.
" You see Judge," he said, " the best way to render
justice to all mankind in general, is for all mankind to do
justice to everybody generally. But let's go and take a
"drink."
" One moment first," exclaimed the detective. " Your
name is —"
" Norval, on the Texan hills my father feeds his flocks.
Won't you take a drink too?" and the General put his
arm familiarly on the detective's shoulder, while a loud
laugh followed his rather apt quotation.
" But I am serious sir," exclaimed the detective, turn-
ing full upon him, and taking good care to display the
star on his breast. " As you see, I am a policeman, and I
hold in my hand a warrant for your arrest."
" Don't say so," returned the General in a voice that
gave greater evidence of intoxication than before. " Never
were so surprised in my life. Warrant for my 'rest, eh!
well, what's the 'fence1?"
" That you will learn hereafter; for the present, con-
sider yourself arrested."
" Certainly, I'll 'sider myself 'rested," and he sat down
heavily in the nearest chair.
" Keep the prisoner closely guarded until we are ready
for him. In the meantime we will proceed to open court in
the barber's shop," cried the Judge, as he proceeded
thither, followed by the whole crowd.
It did not take long to open the Court. The Judge took
the barber's chair, seats were arranged upon the left for
the twelve jurymen, and a small table on the right served
to accomodate the counsel, a prosecuting attorney was
appointed in the person of a lawyer present, and then the
prisoner was ordered in.
"Engage a lawyer and defend yourself," said the Judge
with becoming dignity.
" Jus' so, Judge," returned the General steadying him-
self against the back of a chair. " Let's see, my friend,"
continued he, turning towards Gloner. "You appear like
a lawyer, so I'll engage you; and as I always like to keep
square with the world here is your fee. Jus' take it, and
take good care of it," and unfastening a huge leathern belt
from about his waist he handed it to Gloner.
18
THE    NEW   YORK    COACH-MAKER'S    MAGAZINE.
July,
" Although no lawyer," replied Gloner as he took it,
"yet I'll do my best for my client."
" Jus' so. Well, you see I am a kind of a lawyer, so
I'll help you." "Judge, proceed," and he seated himself,
but not without some difficulty.
" Is the prosecution ready for the case ?" asked the
Judge.
" What case is this to be tried in1?" asked the Gene-
ral. " Is it the dative or vocative 1 I prefer the vocative
—-fiat justicia mat ccelum—which for the special edification
of the eminent counsel on t'other side, as well as your honor,
I will freely translate in the vulgar tongue—' Be sure
you'r right, then go ahead,' as my lamented friend Davy
Crocket used to say."
" We will first proceed to empannel a jury. Mr. Sheriff
call the names of the jurymen," said the Judge.
As the fifth name was called, a young beardless youth
stepped out, when the General exclaimed.
"I 'ject to that boy."
" The boy as you call him is of age," returned the
Judge, "but state your objections."
" I only want to ask 'm one question."
" You have the right, proceed."
" Young man," said the General, looking him as
straight in the face as possible, and in a tone so serious,
that under the circumstances it was really ludicrous,
" young man, if you bought a hoss, and paid a big
price for him, and found out afterwards that he was balk-
ly, or was spavined, or had the heaves, or something of
that sort, what would you do with him ?" " I 'd trade him
off as soon as possible," replied the youth. " Young man,
your head is level," returned the General. " I withdraw
my 'jection, proceed." .
The Jury were all empanneled, after an indefinite deal
of amusement, through all of which the Judge and Gene-
ral maintained the utmost gravity.
"Mr. Prosecuting Attorney, you will now read the
charges preferred against the prisoner," said the Judge,
and the gentleman acting in that capacity rose and did
so, wherein the prisoner was accused of willfully and
deliberately transgressing the laws of good society, by
getting under the influence of liquor, and disturbing the
peace and quiet of the good steamer Champion, etc.
" What does the prisoner say 1 guilty or not guilty!"
" The prisoner pleads not guilty," answered Gloner. " That's
right my boy," answered the General, patting his counsel
familiarly on the back. " Not guilty ! we'll stick to that
all day, and all night too, for that matter."
" Then the case is ready to proceed," said the Judge.
"Mr. Sheriff call up the witnesses."
The scene that followed beggared description; in a
word our humble abilities would fail to do it justice. Our
friend Gloner distinguished himself by an argument that
was pronounced superior to the prosecuting attorney's; or,
as the General said, "he sawed that fella' up completely."
It was proven by several witnesses that the General was
one of an invited party to take the first drink on board
the boat, which fact Gloner used with great effect. But
it was reserved for the General to cap the climax in
his closing speech. It was full of wit and odd sayings,
and then delivered in such a style, as to cause peal after
peal of laughter to ring through the boat, in which the
Judge himself was forced to join on two or three oc-
casions.
" May it please your honor and gentlemen of jury,"
said he, steadying himself by the back of his chair, " I
had the very honorable privilege of being born in a poor
man's house, and I've held my own well ever since. But,
poor as I am, it is my right as an 'merican citizen of the
State of Texas, to have justice done me the same as
though I owned the Missisippi river, and all the land
'tiguous thereto. Ar'nt that so, Judge ?" The Judge,
on thus being appealed to, nodded assent. "Jus' so,"
continued the General. " Well, our mutual friend, Black-
stone, says: law is equity, and equity is law, and that
bein' the case, I don't care which I take in mine, law or
equity, it's all the same to me. May it please 'yer honor,
and gentlemen of jury, no doubt, but what you've heard
of the man of whom it was said, what he did'ent know
would'nt make a primer. Well, I've always been look-
ing for that man ; always had a laudable cur'osity to see
him, and I'm happy to say my efforts have been crowned
with complete success, for I've found him at last; there
he sits, Judge, your pros'cuting 'torney. Why, he knows
more law than Coke or Lyttleton ever dreamed of, and
as for Dan'l Webster, why, in the classical language of
the backwoods, ' he's no whar.' "
For a full half hour he addressed the Judge in the most
serious manner, which only rendered it so much the more
laughable, when turning to the jury he exclaimed, " And
now, gentlemen, I wish- to say a few words to you, and
will preface it with the language of a well known and
very practical friend of mine, who, under very similar
circumstances, exclaimed. 'Pity the sorrows of a.poor
old man, whose trembling limbs,' " here he let go the chair
with one hand, and attempted to make a gesture, when he
lost his balance and slid down, chair and all, but even
then he did not lose his wits but drawled out,—" have
borne him to the floor:' After the laughter had subsided,
he continued, without attempting to regain his feet. " May
it please yer 'onor, I'll submit the case without further
argument." "Then I'll proceed to charge the Jury,"
said the Judge. " All right," returned the General. < I
don't care how much you charge them, jus' so its enough
to pay for drinks all round."
" Gentlemen of the jury," commenced the Judge, " I
have noticed that from the beginning you have paid this
case that serious attention which its importance demands,
therefore I shall address you briefly. Notwithstanding
the very ingenious defense of the prisoner's counsel, as
well as the witticisms of the prisoner himself, to draw
your attention from the main points at issue, I doubt not
but you will remember in your verdict that the charges
on which we are trying the prisoner are simply these —
getting intoxicated, and disturbing the peace and quiet of
the steamer Champion."
" You all understand what peace and quiet is, so I will
not dwell on that part of the charge; you also know what
getting intoxicated is."
"You can bet all you've got on that, Judge," muttered
the General.
"And," continued the Judge, "if the prisoner has
done these things, you cannot do otherwise than brinrr in
a verdict of guilty. Therefore, to sum up all the evidence
you have only to decide, has the prisoner got drunk, and
has he _ disturbed the peace and quiet of the steamer
Champion ? You can retire and agree upon your verdict."
We have already agreed," exclaimed the foreman.
the verdict0"1'1         '   ^^ the ^^  " Let us have
1869.
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19
" Guilty!"
" Then it only remains for me to pronounce the sen-
tence," said the Judge.    "It is the order of this court"—
" That we all go and take a drink," muttered the Gene-
ral, striving to regain his feet.
" Silence," cried the Judge. " It is the order of this
court that the prisoner be confined in his state-room for
twelve hours and fed on"—
" Calves' 'ead soup and soda-water," put in the General.
" Exactly," said the Judge. " Mr. Sheriff', see the sen-
tence duly executed," and in ten minutes more the Gene-
ral was snoring in utter oblivion, between the sheets of
his own bunk.
It was along in the wee sma' hours of morning before
the court broke up, so that there was a late breakfast on
board the Champion next morning; in fact, the General
did not show himself until just before dinner, when Gloner
and Loring, being on the hurricane deck admiring the
scenery and breathing the fresh air, now warm and balmy,
met him, looking as sober and serious as though there
was not a particle of fun in his composition.
"Well, General, how do you feel by this time?"
asked Gloner.
" I tell you what it is," returned the General, in his
most serious tone, " Last night I- imagined I owned this
steamboat, but this morning I feel as though I don't own
a dug-out. But:, by the way, did I give you a belt last
night?"
" Yes."
" You took good care of it, I hope."
" I threw it in my trunk when I went to bed, and have
not thought about it since.    I'll go and get it."
He soon returned bearing the belt in his hand. The
General seized it, and exclaimed, " you cannot tell how
much I owe you. All the fortune I have in the world is
in that belt, over ten-thousand dollars."
" I had no idea it was so valuable," exclaimed Gloner,
" Else I would have slept but little last night. Don't get
on another spree, 1 beg of you."
" Oh! there's no danger now, I only take these spells
about once in three or four years. This one has left me
all right; the last one cost me a cool two thousand. But
there's the gong, let's go down to dinner, for my long fast
has made me ravenous."
That evening Loring get off at Vicksburg, and Gloner
was left to pursue his journey to New Orleans.
The scenery soon became more interesting. After
leaving the bluffs at Natchez, the low land bottoms of
Louisiana stretched out to the west, then came the land
with immense sugar plantations beyond, as level as a
floor, with huge brick sugar house's in the center, now in
active operation,—then came Baton Rouge, with its capitol
on the river bank, a neat and beautiful building surrounded
with a yard that presented a very wilderness of roses in
full bloom, and, finally, the Cresent city itself, low and
level, but presenting a magnificent appearance from the
decks of the steamer; all these were objects of the great-
est interest to our hero, and fully occupied his time and
attention. It was but little after sunrise when the Champion
affected a landing among hundreds of other boats that
crowded the levee two and three deep for miles up and
down the river; thousands of stevedores with hundreds of
deck hands were busy rolling bales of cotton and " toting"
sacks of corn from the boats just arrived, and thousands
more were rolling and toting freight on the boats getting
ready to depart; and then the language spoken, he could
hear representatives of every nationality in the world,
and he could see people from every part of our country.
The regular "down easter" with his peculiar nasal twang,
the rough western backwoodsman with his ungrammatical
provincialism, the aristocratic southerner with his cool
quiet tone, and the cosmopolitan with his smile, and nod,
and pleasant word for everybody, all met there on the
crowded levee, where the commerce of a dozen States was
transacted.
" What hotel do you stop at ?" asked the General of
Gloner, who was leaning over the guards looking eagerly
at the bustling throng below him.
" I have no preference for hotels, as this is my first
visit to the city," he answered.
"Then I should like to have you go to the St. Louis
with me. Most of the crowd go to the St. Charles, which
is the most popular, and the most noisy. But for quiet
homelike attention and refinement, give me the St. Louis."
•'Then I'll go with you, of course; for you could not
have given it a better recomendation."
" Very well; let this boy have your baggage, he
will take it up all safely; and, Jim," he continued to
the boy, "if you get there first, present my compliments
to the landlord, and tell him I want my old room for
a day or two. We will walk Mr. Gloner, it is not far,
and then I want to drop in at a barber's as well as
take a cup of cafe at the French market."
" All right," exclaimed Gloner, and in five minutes'
more they were walking along the crowded sidewalks
of the crescent city, while the perspiration stood in large
drops on his forehead, in great contrast to Gloner's
condition a week previous. At the French market they
drank their coffee, and such coffee as Gloner was forced
to confess he had never tasted before. Perhaps this
was owing in part to the fact that it was served by one
of the prettiest and most vivacious of French girls, to
whom the General seemed well known, and who was,
of course, a great favorite. Then, after half an hour at
a French barber's, they passed up the broad steps of the
St. Louis, and in a few minutes more were seated in the
quiet of their own room.
(To be continued.)
TREATISE ON THE WOOD-WORK OF
CARRIAGES.
INTRODUCTORY.
(Continued from page 5.)
It is well to remark here, that from this epoch, the
English carriages began to be distinguished by great
simplicity of construction. From this reason they sin-
gularly contrasted with the French cai'riages which were
profusely ornamented. For daily or common use, the
former were certainly preferable to the latter, and those
reasons alone suffice to explain their popularity.
We have under our eyes a treatise upon the con-
struction of carriages, which in reality is only the market
prices, published in 1796, by William Felton, manufacturer
of carriages in London. This work is illustrated with a
great number of carriages of which the bodies, aside from
the form of some parts, are absolutely made like those in
our day. The panels are framed in simple mouldings,
where there is  only a little square amulet as they are
20
THE   NEW    YORK    COACH-MAKER'S   MAGAZINE.
July,
usually made at the present time. As to form, one de-
tects in this treatise some models styled Louis XV. This
proves that if the French are sometimes inspire I by their
neighbors over the British Channel, these latter make
equally as much of equivalent inspiration on.-their side.
The treatise of Roubo and the prix courant of William
Felton bring us down to the French revolution, which
marks for the progress of our coach making a time of
considerable interest. This industry, like many other arts
of luxury, was totally deserted. Resumption took place
only at the accession of the imperial government, with
some old veterans, who in the meantime had forgotten
more than they had learned. The first empire, as one
knows, was more occupied in forging cannon than in con-
structing carriages, and this industry, from the first rank
that it held under Louis XV., descended to the fourth.
English coach-making, flourishing in a country then priv-
ileged by its geographical situation and by the harbors
and surroundings that assured it the empire of the seas,
continued to be developed, and naturally became first in
rank. The two cities, Hague and Brussells, had, as late as
1830, in carriage-making, a greater renown than Paris.
It is only since 1830 that Parisan coach-making has
visibly and really regained the ground it lost after 1790.
Joinery, however, had not made much progress. Its exe-
cution continued to run in the groove of routine. We
have under our eyes two drawings of models for a body,
executed by a professional wood-workman named Depuis,
who, in 1830, gave evening lessons after his day's work,
and who passed for one of the most clever in the art of
drawing. These plates demonstrate beyond doubt that
not only their author knew nothing of drawing, but that
be was also ignorant of the first elements. The methods
that he taught have nearly all been everywhere practiced
by the most advanced.
The joinery of carriages, then, remained plunged in
the shades until 1839, the epoch when one of our con-
temporaries, M. Lablot, twenty-five years old, discovered
a practical and very expeditious method for the sweeping
of the surface of bodies, by which one can determine
with exactness in regard to the structure and the various
points necessary. M. Lablot teaches his method in the
atelier (workshop), when he works, as in a class he teaches
in the evening, with an ardor and enthusiasm which is
convincing that he has made a useful discovery. The
classes that he formed, of which a great number in turn
became teachers, rapidly propagated his method, which
was immediately introduced throughout Paris, and since
practiced by all joiners in coach-making.
This method o^ Lablot's is the same in truth which
is demonstrated in the work by Roubo, pages 524 and
525, for outlining the lengthened dimensions of the boun-
dary of a berline (carriage); but at that time, the treatise
of Roubo was not generally known, and had it been, it is
not certain that it would have fond interpreters capable
of utilizing the principles it contained: moreover his
method is some what confused in this particular, and the
reader who had not a profound knowledge of the art of
drawing, would comprehend nothing. M. Lablot has,"
therefore, the double merit of discovery and of teaching;
and the year 1839, when he began his career, is a remark-
able epoch in the progress of wood-work in carriages.
The sweeping of the surface of bodies (ccisses) as it
has been taught by M. Lablot, is a part of tae art of
drawing, especially for joinery in carriages, as we have
not encountered similar constructions elsewhere, as
joinery in building, carpenter work and naval construc-
tion. This part is also most important in carriage
making, as the good or bad form of the body is solely
due to the surface. It is, moreover, most facile to
comprehend; every demonstration for the construction
limits, or radiates, from one point.
When there is shrinkage in the surfaces, the applica-
tion becomes a little difficult. The shrinkage perhaps
divides or may be distributed in two ways, one in
quantities proportioned to the greatness of the surface,
or in varied quantities. The first can receive but one
solution, but. the second admits of an infinity, following
the law assigned to the variable quantity. M. Lablot
has given also upon this matter some very interesting
demonstrations; but the theory of shrinkage, as being
generally well understood, has need of being more
thoroughly developed than it has been, even to this pre-
sent day.
The operations upon straight lines and the plans which
constitute the most important part of the art of drawing,
capable of being applied to carriage joinery, have not yet
been demonstrated with the systematic order which
distinguishes the most of scientific works of our day. a
fault, well understood, of a work upon the subject. It is
this void which our treatise is intended to fill, and under
this relation we hope that it will render some service
even to the most experienced workmen.
Although most bodies may have their surfaces limited
by curved lines, these lines are not the result of geometri-
cal drawing; they are simply designed as the contour of
an ornament, with no law save that of taste. Certain
methods of unity, or leveling, in lines used in archi-
tecture, cannot be utilized at all in carriage joinery, such
for example, as the harmony of an arc of a circle of a
small radius with a straight line whose radius is of infinite
greatness.
We shall indicate the means of drawing some curves
in   the   third  part,   notably,   the   ninety  degrees (quart
de no?ian(e,) made use of in naval construction, and which
should also be applied in drawing the lines for the sweeps.
(To be continued.)
THE CARRUS OF THE ANCIENTS.
TRANSLATED   FROM   THE   GERMAN   OF   GINZROT.
This is the common two wheeled cart, which was
destined only for the conveyance of (heavy) loads
merchandise or baggage, and not for that of passengers.'
The term Carrus" is not of Latin but foreignorio-in for
the ancient Roman writers did not employ it; but Julius
Caesar in his Commentaries mentions them in the ac
ceptation of the .common word " Plaustrum," used in
bringing up the rear-guard and military equipments of
the army. Hence, they merely answered the purpose of
munition or baggage-wagons to the troops and were des-
ignated by the Romans under the appellation of «Im-
pedimenta." The term « Impedimenta," however, is Tot
exclusively applied to the baggage, but likewise'to the
baggage-wagons themselves, as well as to other convey-
ances following the army. We nowhere find an allusion
to their having been employed as a means of locomotion
to  passengers  in town or country, and whenever (W
1869.
THE   NEW    YORK    COACH-MAKER'S    MAGAZINE.
21
alludes to the train of women and children in the wake
of the baggage, he invariably mentions the " Rheda"
along with the cart; for the former were four-wheeled
carriages with a box in the shape of a parallelogram, in
which from six to eight persons could be seated, as I shall
presently show. The Barbarians (for this was the title
bestowed by the Romans upon all foreigners) took their
wives and children with them to the field, (the latter al-
ways following the army in wagons, which they at night
placed in such a manner as to afford them the protection
of a redoubt). These people were incited to fresh deeds
of valor, in knowing that they had their family [loved
ones] with them.
These "Carri" were perfectly well adapted to the
narrow defiles of the country, inhabited by the Helve-
tians ; for this very reason they were provided with a
narrow gauge, to enable them, and probably their four
wheeled " Rheda" also, to pass with safety the numerous
mountains passes; for it is evidently easier to construct
vehicles to suit the condition of the roads than it is to
make the latter adapted to the construction of the ve-
hicles. Julius Caesar often mentions those " Viis angustis"
or narrow passes, where one cart could scarcely pass after
the other, a fact4 which is more minutely illustrated in
his Bell. Gall., Lib. I., Cap. 6, and in his Bell. Hispan.
Cap. 6. In this case, therefore, the brcad-gauge track
would have been impracticable or very inconvenient.
Csesar (Bell. Gall., Lib. I., Cap. 6) says : " the road lead-
ing through the country of the Sequani, betwixt Mount
Jura and the river Rhone, was so narrow and difficult to
travel that scarcely a single " Carrus" was able to pass
over it."
This word (Carrus) may be indiscriminately used in
the masculine or neuter genders, and accordingly we say,
" Carrus or Carrum." The term seems to be of Gallic
origin, and no doubt should read " Karr or Karre," inas-
much as the Swiss of the present day—descendants of the
ancient Helvetians—name their wagons, " Kai-ren." The
French, in some sections of their country, as in Burgundy
and the " Gold Coast," where the primitive wagon of the
Gallicans (called, Char a bane—wagon provided with
benches) has been retained in use, still name their wagons,
Chariot-car, hence we find Cabriolet, Cart, Chariot, etc.
With the old Teutons, a light sporting carriage was called
a " Karrette," and a show, or parade-wagon Karratsch.
In Teutonic ballads of the chivalrous age, we frequently
meet with this word. Now-a-days, an old fashioned,
lumbering vehicle is derisively styled an old " Karrete."
In the Breton tongue the Carrus is called " Kar," and in
the Chaldaic tongue " Carron." With the English people,
a Karren is a Cart, a Wagon.
Csesar thought proper to retain the popular nomen-
clature and to Romanise the same in giving it a Latin final
syllable, as the Romans were wont to do. Fabricius, in his
" Bibliographia Antiquaria," ridiculously retraces the or-
igin of the term. " Carrus to Quadrus, quasi a quatnor
rotis." The Carrus differed from the Plaustrum in the
following particulars : the box or form could not be re-
moved as in the former case, but was fastened upon the
axle-tree; it lacked the broad flooring of planks or boards,
which served as a receptacle for certain commodities,
when the sides were removed; the wheels were higher as
with the common Roman Plaustrum; they were more-
over spoked and not solid like the Tympana, which are
impracticable in mountainous regions.
There was another Carrus, the box of which was com-
posed of planks. The wheels had eight spokes and were
stellated; this Carrus carried casks, which the Romans,
engaged in warfare, preferred to leather pipes, for the rea-
son, that certain liquids, such as oil, wine or vinegar
could be more conveniently aiftl safely transported in
them. Wine and vinegar, so eminently wholesome in hot
climes, was served out in rations to the soldiers along
with oil to season their greens (herbage) with. This cut
is taken from Marcus Aurelius' Pillar, which bears numer-
ous representations of baggage-wagons. The ancients
were skilled in the art of sewing their pipes so tightly
that no liquid could ooze out from them.
Herodotus, Lib. III., speaks of a sort of pipe or leather
tube, which, owing to its width and tremendous length, may
well be numerated here. The king of Arabia, yielding
to the entreaties of Cambyses to supply with water the
army of the latter on their march through the arid desert,
caused huge tubes of raw ox-skins to be made in such
plenty that he was enabled to conduct water from the
Nile to immense reservoirs, built on the very outskirts of
those desolate roads, which the army was to traverse, and
at a distance of twelve days' journey from that river.
ROMAN   WINE   CART.
This cut represents a Carrus laden with barrels, lying
on crossbeams or rafters ; the wheels only have six spokes
to them. The yoke being at both of its ends provided
with carved lions' heads (a peculiarity quoted in a pre-
vious chapter on Yokes) deserves special mention. A
well preserved illustration of the same may be seen on
the Trajan pillar. Besides, as far as these two carts are
concerned, we are at liberty to aver tnat that kind of casks
was not such a rarity with the Romans as Herr von
Caylus in his explanation would have us believe.
The next is an illustration of another Carrus taken
from the Pillar of Marcus Aurelius. The wheels with but
four spokes to them, are rather low; the box in parallelo-
gram shape appears to be encompassed by wooden planks,
with ornaments in the form of foliage engraved or painted
thereon; the inside space is filled with bucklers and
various arms.
This cart is drawn by mules. J. Ceesar in his, Bell.
Gall. Lib. I., chap. 3, says of the Helvetians: they re-
solved to provide themselves with all that was necessary
for conducting the campaign and to purchase as many
" Carros" as possible. They were used for the conveyance
of heavy burdens. Sisenna Histor. Lib. III. says : They
pile up their baggage and shove their " Carros" into one
another; and Csesar de Bell. Gall., Lib. I., Cap. 24, in-
cludes  the  cart among  the  baggage.    The   Helvetians
22
THE    NEW    YORK    COACH-MAKER'S    MAGAZINE.
July,
ROMAN   BAGGAGE   WAGON.
followed with all their carts and piled up their baggage
(Impedimenta) on one spot. From this, however, it is not
to be inferred that with the Romans, non-combatants
were not allowed to avail themselves of this vehicle for
the conveyance of their ammunition and burdens; only
they were more generally used abroad than amongst the
Romans, with whom the " Plaustrum" was more in
favor.
That the "Carrus"was not a four-wheeled carriage,
as some are inclined to believe, may be gleaned from the
" Codex Theodosius de Cursu publico" reading thus : The
two-wheeled cart—5the " Birota"—must not be laden with
over six hundred pounds weight; and further (Leg. 47),
where it is enjoined to load the body of the " Rheda"
with a thousand pounds, and the " Carrus" with six hun-
dred pounds, no more nor less. We should indeed judge
rashly, were we to affirm that for carrying six hundred,
more than two beasts of burden and one four-wheeled
wagon was required. Three hundred pounds is a light load
for a single ox or mule to pull, since any beast of burden
may conveniently carry that much on its back. Carts
were not only brought in requisition in war-times, but
they were likewise used in time of peace on the roads, in
the public service, to bring up ammunition for the troops,
or the luggage of certain functionaries, who were entitled
to the use of a car like the above. In order, however, to
prevent an abuse on their part of this..immunity, to the
detriment of the indigent peasantry (they generally over-
loaded them), the weight of the load which they were
permitted to take with them was fixed by statute, a step
resulting in the prevention of arbitrary measures on the
part of those favored way-farers, and in enabling the beasts
of burden to get along without injury to themselves on
the very worst kind of roads.
The above mentioned law, moreover, prescribed that
public funds, and articles of value destined for presents
(largitionales species), be no more carried indiscriminately
on sundry conveyances or entrusted to the safe-keeping
of an arbitrary escort or of the managers, but should be
carried on vehicles adapted to such loads. The box had
to be closed up all around, unlike those provided with
wooden rails, sticks, or a bee-hive (the latter being often
full of holes), in order to prevent the scattering of the
money, in the event of one or the other of the money-
casks or chests bursting open. A cart-load, like the above,
was afterwards called, "Carrada," also "Carrata," French
" Charretee." In an ecclesiastic register of the time of
Charles the Great, we find : {de foeno provendarunt Car-
rades XXX.) there were sold thirty loads of hay. Ac-
cording to EchhardCs "Francia Orientalist a cart-load in
the eighth century was called Carica; old Teutonic, Fodar;
hence we have " Fuder" of wood, wine, hay etc. The
Spaniards call a load " Carga," the French "Charge"
(Ladung, Last.). It is also used in the signification of
" office." In time of war, when the carts, were slid into
one another and placed as a bulwark around the camp
(the way the Gallicans and Helvetians used to do, accord-
ing to Caesar), this was called a " Wagenburg, Carrago or
Carragium" to which subject I shall recur in my treatise
on War Chariots. According to Ammianus 31, the old
(teutonic) Goths in their language, called the " Wagen-
burg" itself " Carrago." To transport a load was, in the
Latin in vogue in the middle-ages, called : Carriaginwn
facere; Caretta or Carecta was the term applied to a
two-wheeled cart (a quotation frequently^ occurring in the
Magna Charta); and that of " Caruca" for a four-wheeled
carriage. " S. Carlo, de foresta IX.: Henry III, §. 14, el de
nulla alia carecta vel Summagio aliquo cheminagium
capiatur." " On no ot!ier cart or beast of burden shall my
toll be levied." And in Magna Charta, A. D. MCCXVIL,
" Pro Caretta ad duos equos (pro cariagio faciendo) decem
denarios per diem pet er Caretta ad Ires equos qualordecim,"
["For a two horse cart (pro cariago faciendo), ten
denarius per diem," and for a cart with three horses
forty denarius].
Since the " Carrus" was not used as a swift means of
locomotion, but merely served for pleasure trips, it was
generally (as a reference to all the cuts will show) hitched
up with oxen or mules only and not with horses, which
were commonly employed in drawing vehicles for pas-
sengers. The " Carrus" was put to another use in the
conveyance, in the wake of an army of the " Ballisten"
and similar heavy ordnance ; for this reason these vehicles
were styled " Carrobalistas" of .which more in my chapter
on War-Chariots. A number of by-words, as, Carruca,
Carrhedaor Carreta, Carpentum and others probably took
their origin from "Carrus ;" and although their shape in the
course of time differed somewhat from that of the " Car-
rus," yet they no doubt, resembled it at first more closely.
In quoting the word "Carrus," Matthew Paris says:
none of our " Balliven" nor " Vicecomes," or any one else
shall employ the " Carreta" for riding-purposes, and in
the " Magna Charta of king John," Art. 20, said passage
runs thus : " ne Vicecome vel Ballivus regis vel aliquid altus
capiat equos vel carretlas alicujus liberi hominis pro caria-
gio faciendo, nisi ex volutate ipsius."
In conclusion I think I am justified in saying that the
" Carrus" had no " Tympana," but spoked wheels, which
were better adapted for the passage over mountains and
through ravines If this were not so, Csesar would cer-
tainly have mentioned now and then the " Plaustrum" or
the " Target-Wheel;" but nowhere in his work on the
war in Gaul do we meet with any allusion to this subject
In the monasterial archives of the "Middle Latin Times "
we frequently find the word " Carrus funarms " a low
mason s or bricklayer's cart, which was hoisted bv means
of a pulley.                                                     J
Where is the Schoolmaster ?—A " shingle " over the
door of a carriage shop on Thirty-second street, in this city
reads thus: "Wagons of every decrition, made and repaired "
1869.
THE   NEW   YORK    COACH -MAKER'S    MAGAZINE.
23
SWEEPS FOR SCALE DRAFTING.—V.
This month we furnish the reader with another pattern
br making sweeps to use in scale drafting. How to
ransfer this to the veneer, cut out and prepare the thing
br use, will be found on page 5. The space A, should be
_;ut out entirely. If properly made from rosewood ve-
neer, it will answer your purpose as well as those found
n the stores, and at much less expense.
SCREW-DRIVERS AGAIN.
Mr. Editor,—I find, in your last Magazine, some re-
marks from Mr. Peek, in answer to my challenge on the
Screw-driver question. I am at a loss to decide whether
he accepts my wager, or not. He seems to ask new
terms, and claims it as his right, according to the code of
the duellist. I do not see as that code applies to this case,
but, rather, the rules of the debating club. The argu-
ments upon both sides have been presented, and I am ready
for the decision. If Mr Peek wants to present new argu-
ments or evidence, I am perfectly willing that he should
do so, and send as many screw-drivers as he chooses. But
he says, " I have accepted his challenge." If so, let him
send along the five dollars, and three dollars with it, to
cover the three dollars I send with this, to pay subscrip-
tion to Scientific American. My challenge still stands,
with the addition of three dollars. I am ready for the de-
cision.                                                  Body-Maker.
[This article must close the discussion for the present.
Should Mr. Peek comply with Body-maker's request, we
shall submit the matter for decision, and, when made, pub-
lish the result.—Ed.]
SUMMER IDYL.
BY   CARRIE   M.   WHITNEY.
SWEEP FOB  SCAIiE   DRAFTING.
Hush ! hush ! there is a trembling of melody sweet
Pulsing up from each hill side and leafy retreat.
A murmur, a breath, and a rustling of breeze,
Gently sighing about in the tender green trees.
A music of waters, like silvery bells.
Dripping down, drop by drop, in the deep, mossy dells ;
The hum of an insect, the chirp of a bird.
The chatter of squirrels that can scarcely be heard.
There is a faint, subtle fragrance, a perfume of delight
Floating out on the air at the dewy twilight.
An odor from woodlands—a balm from the flowers,
Growing stronger and sweeter with swift coming hours.
Old memories awaken, old yearnings revive,
AbseDtfaces come haxmting, some dead, some alive,
Old footsteps reecho thro' the chambers of thought,
And hope sings again, by past failures taught.
0, dear summer voices, how welcome the strains
Of your wanderings, and echoings, and wierd refrains;
How soothing to spirits by sadness oppressed;
How grateful to hearts that are longing for rest!
"While I listen, I dream of the far Summer Land,
Till these songs seem an echo of its dear, happy band;
I know that there Summers are fading and fleet,
And I 'm hast'ning to that, its immortals to greet.
South Adams, Mass.
24
THE    NEW    YORK    COACH-MAKER'S   MAGAZINE.
July,
fen lltettutimts of \\t frafk
SIX   PASSENGER   PARK   PHAETON.
Illustrated on Plate V.
In this instance the body is mounted upon scroll and
C-spririgs back, and elliptic in front, making the carriage
very easy riding. Our artist, with an eye to the fashions,
has adopted the latest improvements from Paris, and
accommodated them to American taste with pleasing
effect. The sides are " set-off" with half-inch chamfered
mouldings; width of body 50 inches; axles lŁ inches;
wheels 3 feet 3 inches, and 4 feet high; hubs 4% by 7
inches; spokes 1Ł inches ; felloes 1Ł inches deep; tire
re Dy H inches. Painting for a vehicle of this description
should be rich, without being gaudy, either black, blue or
brown color, with two narrow over one broad stripe, the
colors contrasting, with the ground color. Trimming,
brown satin. The workman's price for building the body
in New York is about $75. The price at which sold $1,500
@ $1,600.
ROAD   BUGGY.
Illustrated on Plate VI.
Our artist in his effort to produce something new, has
given us something rather eccentric this time. Its oddity
may perhaps recommend it some customer, which is often
found the case. The side mouldings should be one-quarter
of an inch wide, either rounded or chamfered, glued on
and beaded. The rule for making this kind of seat will
be found on pages 166 and 167. Volume X. Springs, 3
plate, 1Ł, No. 3 steel, and 36 and 38 inches long. Wheels,
3 feet 11 inches, and 4 feet 1 inch high; hubs 3^ by 6
inches; spokes Ł inch; rims 1 inch; tires Ł by ^ inch.
Making the body $14.    Selling price of buggy $300.
SCROLL   PHAETON
Illustrated on Plate  VI.
This Phaeton, moulded as it is, in a novel way, makes
a very pretty thing for summer driving in the Central
Park, in pleasant weather. Drab corduroy of a fine quality
makes a very good lining for open phaetons. If lively
colors are ever required in painting carriages, we think
this is an instance where such may be used to advantage.
This being rather "an aristocratic" vehicle, should ac-
cordingly have a fancy finish. Wheels 3 feet 11 inches,
and 4 feet 1 inch high; hubs 3f by 6Ł long ; spoke 1 inch ;
rims 1^; tires T5g- by 1 inch. The workman's charges for
making the body is $25; the sellers price for Phaeton
about $500 with pole, or $460 without pole.
SHIFTING-TOP   BUGGY.
Illustrated on Plate VII.
The coal-box still continues popular with the public,
and is not likely to be discarded, although many predic-
tions of this nature have been made. The cleft side is
rather an old idea, but then it serves to relieve the body
of that monotony found when the side panel is left plain.
It is a common practice now to close the back of the body
behind the seat by paneling. Wheels 4 feet, front and
back ; hubs 3^ by 6Ł inches; spokes 1 inch; rims 1 inch
deep.    Price from $450 to $460.
LIGHT   TWO-WHEELED   TUB.
llhistrated on Plate VIII.
These "tubs" are well calculated for the ladies' amuse-
ment at a watering place, and no doubt will find favor with
the strong minded, when going to the polls, electioneering
—should " the tyrant man," ever accord them the priv-
ilege of voting. Wheels 3 feet 6 inches high; hubs 4
inches by 7; spokes 1^; rims 1^-. Price of vehicle
$225.
Sharks from \\t
TEMPERING TAPS.
To give the correct temper to a tap or reamer is of
the greatest importance to the blacksmith. A correspon-
dent of the Scientific American says : " To accomplish
this, let the blacksmith select his steel for the job, and
forge the tap with a little more than the usual allowance,
being careful not heat too hot nor to hammer too cold.
After the tap or reamer is forged, heat it and hold it on
one end upon the anvil. If a large one, hit it with the
sledge ; if a small one, the hammer will do. During this
operation the tap will give away on its weaker side, and
become bent. Do not attempt to straighten it. On
finishing and hardening the tap it will become perfectly
straight. If any are doubtful, a simple trial will convince
them.
ERRATUM.
In the article on Improved Bending Irons given in the
June number, at line eighth, instead of saying "this arm C
should be suaged oval," it should read should be suaged
square, and the upper end of B and D should be oval shaped.
GAYLORD'S IMPROVEMENT IN CARRIAGE
SPRINGS.
Illustrated on Plate VIII.
On Plate VIII we have given a buggy hung on a new
style of spring, dispensing with the perch, although such
has been used m connection therewith. The improve
ment sought for is a side spring of good style, much
lighter than the common s.de spring, and more elastic than
the half ehptic with side bars. This spring is very sim-
ple in construction a pair being made of four steel bars
all shaped in one form. The bars being set edgewise in
the center glve strength with lightness, Jnd the ends be-
ing twisted a quarter turn in opposite directions give
elasticity, besides bracing sideways and acting asg In
equalizer when the load is accidentally thrown upon one
1869.
THE   NEW   YORK   COACH-MAKER'S   MAGAZINE.
25
bird's-eye view of gaylord's improved springs.
side.    Should the vehicle  be  overloaded, the two  bars
forming a spring are pressed together, thus preventing
injury from an overweight.
A top buggy with a full seat, on springs weighing only
fifteen pounds, two seasons in use, has given the fullest
satisfaction. A lighter'one may be seen at the manufac-
tory of Rufus M. Stivers, in East Thirty-first street,
New York city, by those interested. This buggy was
made by Mansuy & Smith, of Hartford, Connecticut, for
the inventor, E. L. Gaylord, who is also the patentee, and
will sell the whole right. Applicants wishing to pur-
chase will please address E. L. Gaylord, Terryville,
Conn.
faint
FINISHING COAT OF VARNISH.
Much has been written of late years on the subject
of varnishing, and doubtless much more might be said to
advantage, for it is still the fact that the cause of failure
lies as often with the operator as with the varnish. This
has been proved by experiment where different workmen
have taken the article from the same can with quite differ-
ent results. Probably no varnish sold in this country is
of such uniform quality as the English, yet, notwith-
standing this, there are many persons who are entirely
unable to lay a smooth coat of flowing varnish as it should
be done. It is amusing to hear the excuses from some of
these unskillful workmen. Not long ago we sent to order
a genuine article, purchased in person from " the sole
agent," which after being opened and tried by one journey-
man was returned as spurious—only American imitation
—put, up in English cans to make it sell. We might have
been "stuck," but the can having been marked C. O. D.,
and the express company not having carried out our in-
structions, by allowing the can to be opened before col-
lecting pay we threw the whole thing on its hands. The
company therefore had to pay us, and as a last resort take
the varnish back to the shop from whence it last came.
Meanwhile another hand had been engaged, and a few
months afterwards on visiting the shop referred to, we
found the article all used, and it was pronounced the best
Vol. xi.—4.
English varnish ever spread on a job;
the " sole " trouble being with the man-
ipulator.
Success in laying varnish is very
much dependent upon the quality of the
brush. We believe it is conceded that
the flat fitch or bear-hair brush, is the
best fitted for laying varnish, and we
think none exceed in make those fur-
nished by Mr. Charles D. Thum, of
Philadelphia, whose card will be found
in our pages. These he warrants to stand,
and they are so pointed that they may
be immediately put to use, without pre-
vious wearing down in painting; a great
advantage, since brushes filled with paint
—as such unavoidably must be,—cannot
be in the best condition for varnishing,
afterwards.
In spreading, care should be taken to
lay the varnish on as level as possible,
and to cross brush the coat when finishing off.    To insure
success it is absolutely necessary that the brush should be
held in the hand perfectly flat and carried over the surface
as lightly as possible and make it smooth. Care should be
taken to avoid moving the varnish on the under side, since
if this is done, it is liable to lose the gloss, and entail much
injury (5n the whole job. Young beginners, specially, are
cautioned against letting the varnish run near the top or
mouldings. Carrying the hand and brush over the center
of a panel heavily, leaves too little varnish there and forces
it to the top, bottom, and sides, where it inevitably runs
and spoils the whole thing. To spread a nicely flowing
coat is difficult with some, but should be the ambition of
every painter to arrive at. Those who are competent to
spread varnish well, with certain success, have reason to
feel proud of their attainment, and as they ought, certainly
will command good wages from their employers.
HALF-TINTS IN PAINTING.
The great difficulty in shading is the management of
the half-tints. Any one can make an extreme shade of
black; and if the right feeling for half-tints and semi-tones
is not a natural one—something analogous to that of a
good ear for music—it can be to a great extent acquired,
though in some cases it will require a much greater amount
of practical experience and observation than in others,
before they begin to perceive the many varieties of tone
which are spread upon the surface of an object, especially
if it be an irregular one. But when we have to add color
in connection with light and shade, we go further into a
field of change and variety that is unbounded. And here
is the test of the painter. It is the management of the
minor tones which makes all the difference between a first-
class artist, and a common country sign-painter. The
latter may paint a red cow sufficiently well to answer the
purpose of giving a title to the village ale-house.
We will grant that he has the ability to make a toler-
able representation of the animal in outline, when he at-
tempts to paint it he will do nothing more than to fill up
the outline with red, and darken the parts in shade with
black, because he can see nothing further; but the eye of
the true artist would sieze upon the innumerable tints
spread all over the surface—the various degrees of color
26
THE    NEW    YORK   COACH-MAKER'S   MAGAZINE.
July,
influenced by the position and strength of the light, some
parts more brilliant, some more subdued, intermingled
with grays of various hues in every portion—added to
which are the reflections of color and light among the
shadows, some warm, some cold; in short, to name all
the changes and tones that would require his especial
attention can only be done by him who is able to paint
them. Here, then, is the secret why one painter is greater
than another; and their comparative excellence is deter-
mined by their ability to perceive and represent few or
many of the infinite varieties of tones scattered over
every object in nature.
A NEW PAINT.
At a recent meeting of the French Academy, M. Sace
called attention to the fact that tungstate of baryta forms
an excellent white paint, which has as good a tone and
depth as white lead, and has the advantage above this of
not getting blackened on exposure to the atmosphere.
Zinc white, which was tried as a substitute for white lead,
has failed, he said, through wanting body. M. Elie de
Beaumont remarked that if this statement was confirmed,
it would be of great importance; for we have no need to
employ special mining operation for tungsten, as this
metal is commonly found in company with tin.
WOOD FILLING.
We are in receipt of a note from Messrs. Valentine
& Co., stating that " in the Directions for using the Wood
Filling we notice one inaccuracy which we fear may mis-
lead some painters. You said that an open grained wood,
such as ash, &c, a previous coating of paint must be used.
In this you misunderstood us, for the Permanent Wood
Filling is intended to penetrate the pores, and this it could
not do if there was a previous coat of paint put on."
LANDAU LININGS.
Mb. Editor—The trimming of a Landau is a part of
carriage building which requires the exercise of good
taste, and at the same time a study for the comfort of
those purchasers who look as well for that quality as for
elegance and style, in the selection of a carriage. The
quality and color of the fabrics in trimmings are mere
matters of taste; some prefer a well blended assortment
of colors, while others delight in loud contrasts, that make
a showy and dashing appearance; but this is a matter
that does not interest the mechanic.
The trimmer, after fitting his patterns, will mark off
places for his tufts; as shown in the following illustration
—this being the style most in vogue at present. In this
style the trimming is made up loosely, instead of in dia
monds or squares. 1 cannot say that this mode is an en-
tirely new one, but it is the present prevailing taste, and
makes a much easier lining than does the diamond or
square form.
In marking the pattern for the back, spaces of about two
and a half inches should be allowed for tufts from side to
side; four and a half inches from top of back to the first
row of tufts ; a space of about three inches between the
LININGS   FOR   A   LANDAU.
bottom row and the seat, and two and a half inches be-
tween this and the second bottom row. In case the back
be very deep, three rows are used. The side squab is
marked off in a similar manner.
In cutting the goods for such a trimming, an eighth of
an inch fullness should be allowed across, and two and a
half inches for swell of back. Nothing should be allowed
for fullness between the two lower rows of tufts. There
are five tufts through the centre of the back, as shown
in example. The side lining is made up in the same way,
there being the same fullness across,but none from top to
bottom, leaving enough, however, on the top to form an
arm—thei'e. being no arm-rests used but two rows of
seeming lace, with pasting lace between, the lace extend-
ing around the back as well as the squab. This manner
of trimming gives a very roomy appearance to the inte-
rior of the carriage.
The cushions are made up in the same style, allowing
one-quarter of an inch fullness between each tuft. If the
body be very large, with sufficient space for headroom,
the trimmer can give one-half inch fullness. Should the
bows be set vei*y low, the cushions should be made as
thin as possible, compatible with comfort. It will not be
necessary for us to say anything about the falls to the
seat, as that part is generally understood by all first-class
workmen.
The first thing after cutting out the materialis to make
up the linings, and should be done in this way : First
having picked the hair very fine and laid it loosely on the
frame, next put a layer of cotton over that, so that the
goods will not touch the hair. There are two advantages
gained by the use of cotton, as it gives a softer and
smoother surface to the lining, as well as a saving in the
wear of material, besides imparting to the inside a more
luxurious appearance. The trimmer should be particu-
lar in working the hair under the cotton, that he does not
work it up through the cotton, and, in order to avoid this,
he should adopt the French mode, by not using a stuffing
stick, which is a characteristic of the American mechanic.
If he will adopt this method of working, he will find that
it will add much to the appearance of his work when
finished.                                                    Q   y^   p
[We have the pleasure of informing our readers that
we have made such arrangements with a practical trimmer
of this city (of which this article is the first installment),
that we hope to give new interest to this department, and
render it not only instructive but very interesting to trim-
mers generally. The communication is quite lengthy and
has been divided for lack of space.    Ed.]
1869.
THE   NEW    YORK    COACH-MAKER'S    MAGAZINE
27
Leather Cement.—A cement for leather is made by
mixing ten parts of sulphide of carbon with one of oil of
turpentine, and then adding enough gutta-percha to make
a tough thickly flowing liquid. One essential pre-requisite
to a thorough union of the parts consists in freedom of the
surfaces to be joined from grease. This may be accom-
plished by laying a cloth upon them and applying a hot
iron for a time. The cement is then applied to both
pieces, the surfaces brought in contact, and pressure ap-
plied until the joint is dry.
CfMtor's
DISCOURAGEMENTS TO ART.
Arthur Helps, in a recent number of a popular
periodical, indulges in a little speculation illustrative of
the difficulties the earliest inventor of the wheel under-
went from the skeptical around him, and puts into the
mouth of an objector the following words :
" We seem to have gone on very well for thousands
of years without this rolling thing. Your father carried
burdens on his back. The king is content to be borne on
men's shoulders. The high priest is not too proud to do
the same. Indeed, I question whether it is not irreligious
to attempt to shift from men's shoulders their natural
burdens. Then, as to succeeding—for my part, I see no
chance of that. How can it go up hill 1 How is one to
stop it going down 1 How often you have failed before
in other fanciful things of the same nature! Besides you
are losing your time; and the yams about your hut
are only half planted. You will be a beggar, and it is
my duty, as a friend, to tell you so plainly."
These objections, although not very probable to the
minds of those who have studied our pages, yet serve in
a great measure to exhibit the great trials and discourage-
ments which almost all ingenious men have experienced
on introducing to the world, new discoveries and inven-
tions. How was it with Harvey when he told the people
of England how the blood in the human body was forced
through the veins by the heart-pump. And did he not as
his reward receive the deep-felt scorn of every practical
physician in the land 1 And was he not suffered to pine
away in neglect and poverty % Gallileo was made to feel
the displeasures of the Inquisition by imprisonment for
asserting that the earth moved around the sun, instead of
the sun around the earth* and Fulton, too, when he launched
his first steamboat upon the wave, was laughed at by the
crowd as a crazy man. It is only in modern tintes that
inventors have become respectable, by the force of cir-
cumstance, although hardly deserving of such honor, when
judged of by the value of their productions. Full one-
half of the patents obtained now-a-days are comparatively
of little worth, and sink into oblivion soon after they are
secured.    The larger portion of the remainder die in the
inventors' hands, because he never goes to the trouble of
advertising and otherwise making his improvements
known, being simply content with the short-lived fame he
imagines is his for all time.
CABBY.
Once in about every four years the cab fever returns
to this city, irritating the nerves of a certain portion of
its inhabitants. These are generally Englishmen, who,
have been led to think that the Hansom cab is the neplus
ultra of every thing vehicular in the line of public service,
and that their introduction must necessarily " run-off"
those admitted pests, the common hackmen, against whom
common prejudice has instituted common warfare in con-
sequence of their common dishonesty and lack of justice
in public transactions.
Although these unhandsome pets have before been
tried in this country, and discarded, witji loss to indi-
viduals, we now find that a " Hansom Cab Company"
has been organized in our midst, having for its object their
permanent introduction under the protection of a joint
stock company. This movement may be successful in one
respect, the cabs may be introduced, but success as a pay-
ing investment is quite another thing. The fact is Amer-
cans could never relish these trans-atlantic tubs anyway,
and just now everything English is unpopular, in conse-
quence of England's treatment of us in the Alabama affair,
making it extremely hazardous in a pecuniary sense to
introduce them now. We predict, therefore, that the com-
pany will loose their money.
There has lately been organized another institution
which will most likely succeed, and take the place of those
nuisances, the hackmen, who have hitherto disgraced the
Central Park with their extortionate charges and filthy
traps.    This new claimant to public, favor is a sort of
Cabriolet-wagonette, built by J. M. Quimby & Co., of
Newark, N. J.,  capable of accomodating  six or  eight
passengers, at a charge of twenty-five cents each, for the
round trip through the Park.    These have been furnished
by Messrs. Barber, Stuart & Roberts, and although not
all that completeness in design would seem to demand,
are, notwithstanding this, very convenient and comfortable
vehicles for the purpose  intended, and a great improve-
ment over those heretofore in use, being hung very low,
open at the sides, affording the passenger an interrupted
view of the varied and interesting objects which every-
where meets the eye of the visitor to this already famous
locality.    Strangers who do not wish to be imposed upon
by the old hackmen, will  find  the new candidates for
public favor at the south-east corner of the Park, on the
Eighth avenue entrance.    The drivers have adopted a sort
of uniform, not much unlike that worn by our policemen,
and are under strict discipline.
28
THE   NEW    YORK    COACH-MAKER'S   MAGAZINE.
July,
THE VELOCIPEDE WAR.
Our last report informed the reader that Stephen W.
Smith, the cantering horse man, had sued Calvin Witty,
a carriage dealer in this city, for certain infringements
upon a patent granted to one P. W. McKenzie, inventor,
of Jersey City, which patent he claimed somehow covered
that of Lallement, of which by purchase Witty had come
in possession. Since that article was written, Witty &
Smith, under the influence of self-interest, seem to have
come to a mutual understanding, buried the hatchet, and
united their resources in a common stock to make warfare
in law against all who they conceive have trespassed upon
their imaginary rights. We say imaginary, for we cannot
consider their claims in any other light, since this unlooked
for union on the part of the litigants, who probably
imagine that their united claims will make out a stronger
case and insure success in their warfare with offenders.
That which still further weakens our faith in their ex-
pectation of final triumph is the fact that instead of asking
from the manufacturers a royalty of ten dollars on each
machine constructed as formerly, they now modestly offer
to take up with half that amount and settle back dues on
the same basis. Whether this alliance will render them
" masters of the situation," or not, time will prove, if a
case is ever tried.
Just at this point, however, these claimants have met
with unforseen opposition from a quarter least expected.
Those who are supposed to be the victims—the manu-
facturers of velocipedes—have now formed a combination
among themselves for mutual protection—the result of
several conferences—engaged legal counsel and contributed
to a common fund from which to fight it out on that line
to the bitter end. This counsel we learn express the same
opinion we have all along given the public—that neither
of the claimants, Witty nor Smith, will ever be able to
maintain or establish any legal claim to a valid patent, so
as to demand damages under the sanction of law. The
probability is that the proceedings, now taken on both
sides, will kill the whole thing by the time the machines
go out of use. Those, therefore, who have taken our ad-
vice, and held on to their money, will feel relieved, and
should they desire will now have the opportunity for
making common cause against their enemies, by associa-
tion, at a small expense, with their friends in New York
who are willing and ready to receive offers from country
manufacturers. Remember that "in union there is
strength" and act accordingly.
Since the above was penned, we have received the
following in the form of a circular:
Office of C. Van Horn & Co.,
No. 31 Chambers Street, New York, June \\th, 1869.
E. M. Stratton, Esq., 208 Lexington Avenue.
Dear. Sir: The undersigned, a Committee appointed at
the National Meeting of Velocipede Manufacturers, held in
this City, June 7th, respectfully call your attention to the
transactions of that meeting, as herein stated, and solicit
your contribution for the purpose specified. (Perhaps a
brief account of the origin of the meeting may give in-
formation to those whose names were not accessible to
the Secretary, and consequently not notified.)
In view of the annoyance and embarrassment felt by
Velocipede Manufacturers, relative to numerous patents
under which they have been notified to pay a royalty, and
under the conviction that the makers against whom the
several owners of patents claim payment for the use of
certain inventions, have a common interest, and should
adopt some concerted action, the New York manufacturers
determined, a short time ago, to effect a Union Associa-
tion, and invite the co-operation of manufacturers all over
the country. A preliminary meeting was held in this
City on the 24th of May, at which the matter was dis-
cussed, and it was moved to adjourn over to the 7th of
June, with the view of obtaining further advice on the
several patents, and notifying manufacturers throughout
the country, inviting them to be present.
The meeting of ^une 7th has represented fully the
manufacturers of New York and other States, and after a
full deliberation of all the points to be considered, it was
unanimously
Resolved—That of the three patents—the Hanlon, the
Lallement or Witty, and the McKenzie or Smith Patents
—the Hanlon is the only one the claims of which appear
to affect us, and under which there is any justice in the
demands made upon the manufacturers, and that it is the
only one we acknowledge and pay a royalty to.
Resolved—That it is expedient to raise a fund to which
we will contribute ; said fund to be held by the Treasurer
of the Association and devoted to the purposes of defray-
ing the expenses of any and all litigation which may be
instituted against members of this Association, under the
Witty or Smith patents, or both of them, with the object
of enforcing any royalty to either of said patents.
Resolved—That all manufacturers be invited to enter
this Association and pay in to the Treasurer the sum of
fifty cents on each and every machine made after March
1st, 1869, when the number made is in excess of twenty,
where the number made is less than twenty the sum of
ten dollars; that the fund so formed, shall be paid out
upon an order of the Committee hereinafter named for
the purpose of litigation as before resolved and a true
account kept by the Treasurer of all disbursements; that
in the event of there being a surplus on hand after the
matter of ligitation shall have been consummated it shall
be returned to the contributors of said fand pro rala.
Resolved— That the Committee hereafter named be
instructed to engage eminent Counsel to conduct the de-
fense of such suits as have been or may be instituted by
Messrs. Witty or Smith under their patents, and a effort
made to expeditiously bring such suits to trial and a final
decision.
Resolved—That Cornelius Van Horn, Esq. be the
Ireasurer of this Association.
Resolved-That T. R. Pickering, G. H. Mercer and C.
Van Horn be a Committee to invite membership, engage
counsel and conduct the litigation.
You will perceive that by a vigorous and able defence
in the matter of the suits first commenced, you will
probably be relieved from the trouble and demands of the
I860.
THE   NEW   YORK   COACH-MAKER'S   MAGAZINE.
29
owners or representatives of these patents, and avoid the
expense of ligitation, as the whole question of the right
to claim royalty under either of these two patents will
be settled by the result of the first suits, while on the
other hand, should the parties upon whom proceedings are
first commenced settle, you would be called upon for the
same unjust demand, and should you rely wholly on your
own resources and evidence, you would probably at some
time have legal proceedings commenced against you and
be forced, in order to avoid the whole expense of a suit,
to pay a royalty to one or both of these patents.
Trusting that you will .see the importance of raising
this fund, and that you will cheerfully unite, by communi-
cating with our Treasurer, C. Van Horn, Esq., 31 Cham-
bers Street, New York.    We are
Very Respectfully Yours,
T. R. Pickering, of firm of Pickering & Davis, ) G
C. H. Mercer,         "    G. H. Mercer & Monod, [ mttue.
C. Van Horn, of the Tomlinson, Demarest Co.,
DEATH OF PETER DUBOIS.
This gentleman, who, after a long illness, died of the
heart disease on the first day of June, at the age of fifty-
four, was for many years engaged in the carriage business,
at 202 Green street, New York city. Mr. Dubois was
born in Greensburg, Westchester County, New York, and
learned the blacksmith's trade in this city with Cornelius
Barcalow. Among sporting men Mr. Dubois was a great
favorite, his buggies finding a ready sale for racing and
other amusements. A great feature in his manufactures
was nicety in detail after a pattern of his own, which im-
parted to them the greatest strength compatible with ex-
treme lightness. Our deceased fellow craftsman was the
lessee of the Harlem Lane Race Track, and took a great
interest in everything connected with the turf. He leaves
behind, to mourn his loss, a widow and one child. His
remains were interred in the grounds of the Dutch Re-
formed Church, in Tarrytown, on the banks of the Hud-
son.
REVIEW OF TRADE.
Carriage-making during the months of May and June
has been unusually dull for this season of the year, gener-
ally considered our harvest time. The great reduction in
freights, westward, so beneficial to the dry-goods, and
some other branches of trade, appears to have had very
little effect in stimulating to activity the carriage business.
The high prices now ruling for almost every article of
consumption, or manufacture, renders it extremely hazard-
ous to undertake anything in the line of speculation, and
the stringency in the money market hinders the placing
of orders and almost entirely stops the sale of luxuries,
such as carriages manifestly are. Nor has the making of
velocipedes, in every city of note in the Union, done much
for the trade generally. Early in the season some few
carriage-builders found a little relief from this source, but
so many other branches of trade went into the business—
" on the cheap plan"—that they have already glutted the
market and nearly killed the business with their clap-trap
machines, so that now there are mŁ>re sellers than buyers.
As the velocipede fever is manifestly on the decline, the
probability is that very little relief will be found for trade
in that direction, for very soon the thing will dwindle
down to the level of a mere toy, fit only for the amuse-
ment of boys.
With the exception of two or three establishments in
this city, trade is worse than it has been known for several
years, and is confined chiefty to repairing. Nothing is
more evident of this than the fact that some of the me-
tropolitan establishments have now resorted to advertising
as a means of increasing business under the pretext of
selling at a greatly reduced price. That some of these
advertise at all is quite significant of a derangement some-
where, and an indication of hard times. From the country
too we hear loud complaints of the lack of business and
need of money altogether discouraging. Unless trade
revives very soon, we fear the season will pass by unprofit-
ably, and a hard winter be entailed upon those engaged
in carriage-building, such as they have not felt for years.
The only remedy we can offer in the case is to advise our
friends to be careful and not go too deep into manufacture,
thereby increasing their obligations beyond control, at the
very time when pecuniary aid is the most difficulfltto be
obtained, and perhaps thereby ruin their credit forever.
TRADE NEWS OF THE MONTH PAST.
Over in Newark, New Jersey, the other day some
sixty masons belonging to a Union struck because their
employer, who had at the time only two apprentices,
choose to take on another which would then only give
him one to every twenty journeymen. This act was more
than labor would submit to from capital.    Where are we
drifting 1-----The Bricklayers Union in Washington have
ordered the eight-hour men in the Navy Yard to strike,
unless the two negroes employed there are discharged
forthwith.   This " bucking" against the darkey, shows the
kind of liberty labor dispenses to its victims!___The
waiters in the principal hotels struck for $35 per month—
they had been getting thirty—and the employers combined
too, printed the names of the strikers and refused to
employ them again on any terms—so that strike failed
of its object. [Note.—This strike, so pompously under-
taken, has ended in throwing the men out of employment
(the bosses agreeing never to hire them again), and expend-
ing $3,800 of their accumulated funds. At the last meet-
ing held by the waiters $700 of this money " disappeared
around the table," on which they transacted business, to
the utter disgust of the honest portion.    Alas! for poor
human nature.]-----The house framers too demanded fifty
cents more per day than they had been getting, but in-
30
THE   NEW   YORK    COACH-MAKER'S   MAGAZINE.
July,
stead of turning out in a body, only about four hundred
and fifty men left off work. These, employers refuse to
have in their shops again, and consequently that number
of Germans find nothing to do, except to reflect upon and
mourn over their folly....The clothing manufacturers
made an advance list of prices, which if they had secured
would have given them twenty-five per cent higher wages,
but resulted in half of their number accepting work at
the old rates, and the other half going about looking up
work (if they can only get it) on any terms.
VELOCIPEDIANA.
Michanx, a French maker of velocipedes, em-
ploys about five hundred workmen. The price of his
machines is 300 francs. The French machines are much
inferior to those manufactured in this city... .Michansc
& Co., of Paris employ one hundred and fifty men on
velocipedes constantly, turning out five per day. Their
machines sell for 350 francs, plain, or 500 francs " in pol-
ished iron, with the patented improvements.".... A late
number of Harper's Weekly treats its readers to a drawing
of a velocipede reversed, on the larger wheel of which a
scissors grinder is plying his occupation. This, it is face-
tiously said, will be the fate of all by-cycles in a few
years.... Velocipedes are so numerous on the side-walks
of P^w   Bedford, that they are a public  nuisance to its
citizens.    The  authorities  are appealed to  abate it.....
The Chicago Times is responsible for the invention of the
word " velocambipedextrianism," which is defined to mean
swiftly moving by a power skillfully applied with both
feet... .A journey from Liverpool to London, has lately
been performed by two " sports," which was completed in
three days.    The tourists carried their luggage in carpet
bags, strapped to their vehicles.....A man in Danbury,
Conn., stakes five hundred dollars, that he can construct a
velocipede which can outstrip a horse ... .The one mile
race for $150 velocipede, recently undertaken in Brooklyn,
N. Y., was won by Mr. Pickering, on a forty-inch ma-
chine, in 5:57___A match was lately made between two
donkeys in Hoboken, N. J., the one to run on a machine,
the other on four legs ; but, it was broken up by the " per-
lice," when about to be undertaken, to the great disap-
pointment  of some Jersey asses, present to see the fun.
EDITORIAL CHIPS AND SHAVINGS.
The Triumph of Maximillian.—In one of the earlier
volumes of this Magazine, reference was made to a book
with the title heading this article. This work is said to
have been executed in the years 1516, 1517, and 1518,
where we are told the " curious readers will find plates of
various carriages or cars, some drawn by horses, some by
camels, some by stags, and others impelled forward by
means of different combinations of toothed wheels, worked
by men."    If any of our readers has a copy, we should
be happy to purchase it.
American Wheels in England.—We see it stated in
some of the newspapers that England is beginning to send
over orders for our wheels. We can assure these editors
that this is no new thing. Ever since the Great Exhib-
ition in London, when they were first introduced, there
have been large quantities of both turned hickory spokes
and hickory wheels exported to order from the leading
coach-builders, and met with great favor. We, ourselves,
have filled a great many orders of this kind.
The Power Consumed by Drills.—Captain Clarinoal,
of the Engineers' School, at Metz, has made some elabo-
rate experiments on the resistance of drills, from which
he concludes :—(1) That nearly the same power is required
to drill hard wrought iron and hard cast steel; (2) the
power required to bore soft steel is not much greater than
that required for hard wrought iron, but the former in-
creases rapidly with the depth of the hole. Thus, at a
depth of five or six millimetres, the power consumed in
drilling with soap-suds in soft steel, a hole fifteen milli-
metres in diameter, is equal to that consumed in boring
one of twenty-five millimetres in diameter in hard wrought
iron.—Engineering Eclectic Magazine.
Wheel Making Extraordinary.—At a meeting of the
Polytechnic Branch of the American Institute, lately held
in this city, Mr. J. W. Weston, among" other things, ex-
hibited a wheel and hub which he claims to have invented.
Although he did not claim originality for the principle, he
did for its application, and on this he has secured a pat-
ent. The hub and wheel are made up of a series of cross
grained veneers, which being placed in a cylinder of the
required thickness, are glued, pressed and rivited together,
by which means he claims that greater strength, lightness
and durability are given to the wheel. This m heel is said
to be capable of sustaining a great weight, and running
on ordinary roads, without tiring. The veneers may be
about one-eighth of an inch thick, and the more there may
be of them glued together, the stronger will be the com-
pleted article.
The Wonderful Steam Man.—We learn from the
Courier-Journal, that an old acquaintance, the steam-man,
so graphically discribed by us some time ago, is now there
in Louisville, where the natives are told that " he has
made his mile in 2:15; and will be shown in motion."
In the advertisement he is seen drawing a barouche with
four passengers. So far from being able to do this, we
venture to say he cannot draw himself. Wonderful hum-
bug !    " Big thing," but horses are still dear.
How to make "Hardware" Advertising Profit-
able.—Act as the agent of some firm, solicit advertise-
ments, take the money therefor, and put it into your own
wallet. When reminded that the thirty dollars paid you
has not been accounted for, say it was merely an omission,
or oversight on your part. This soon may be doubled if
you can find some labor Union, that will entrust money
to your hands, for certain purposes.
Schnitzerl's " Philosopede out-done.—The one-wheel
machine, (on paper,) which we gave our readers an ac-
count of some time ago has been beaten " out of sight,"
by one got up in New Orleans. The Picayune thus de-
scribes what it calls a wheelocipede :
cax/ui iOi- wood dxre Trees, and castor oil for iron. Ju._
grease enough should be applied to the spindle of a wagon
to give it a light coating; this is better than more, for the
surplus put on will work out at the ends, and be forced
by the shoulder bands and nut-washer into the hub around
the outside of the boxes. To oil an iron axle-tree first
wipe the spindle clean with a cloth wet with spirits of
turpentine, and then apply a few drops of castor oil near
the shoulder and end. One tea-spoonful is sufficient for
the whole.
We would add that for journals on which there is a
heavy pressure it is a good plan to mix with the oil some
lamp black or common soot. Powdered plumbago or
black lead is also employed for the same purpose.
HARDWARE.
Mr. Editor :—It is a little amusing to notice the re-
ticence of your cotemporary, who fails to answer the
proof of his deliberate and wilful falsehoods, contained in
the article issued in your April number, over the nom de
plume of " A Member of the Coach-makers' Union." Is he
callously indifferent to exposure, or did the article referred
to excite but a very small portion of honorable (?) shame in
him; or is he proof against all those higher feelings which
men usually carry into official positions; or are we to draw
the inference, that the proof is so conclusive, " that silence
gives consent" to the allegations'? Heretofore he has
catched up and commented upon the slightest allusions
made in your magazine, in regard to his official actions
and honesty, torturing and twisting them by his adopted
editorial  melange into a temporary shield  for his dis-
the I. U. I have heretofore held myself aloof, from
reasons of delicacy, knowing the person alluded to is ex-
tremely sensitive in regard to anything which touches his
honesty, and well he may be; but we do not wish to cast
a stone at the unhappy and suspended secretary, we will
leave him to grow pious and moralize amain, but while
he is doing so, we shall speak of some matters in which
he was connected, freely, and as we think justly, and for
the purpose that an understanding and publication of the
facts in our possession, which compromise the honesty of
that individual, should be laid before your readers. It is
also absolutely indispensable to the vindication of charges
made by the President of our organization against him,
and as the issue proves true in each and every particular.
At one time, this was a paradox, but time has given it
proof.
But as he has ignored the truth by means of the press
heretofore, and by his self-assertions, through circulars
and the columns of his (?) publication, it is my purpose,
not by reason of any false motives of delicacy, to with-
hold any information which should have been in the hands
of those whose interests he subsidized to his own pecu-
niary benefit, thereby depriving them of moneys appropri-
ated for the use of the I. U. in nurturing his pel scheme
of a publication of which he was successful in gaining
possession through a systematically deep laid scheme ;
and how, forsooth, he accuses us of " trying to injure his
chances for an honest (?) living." A murrain upon such
honesty; a fig for such twaddle. Is this the honesty we
have heard him prate so much of? Honesty may well
hide her head in shame. In connection with this article,
I think it apropos to mention one or two more neat little
honest (?) transactions of this worthy. He received sixty
dollars from the Labor Congress, assembled two years
since in Baltimore, for the purpose of paying for the
printing of an address to the workingmen of the United
States, failing from time to time to issue it. At last it
was issued by the officers of the N. L. C, and our then
secretary has been called upon many times since to refund
the money paid him for that purpose. He, however, has
failed to do so, and, as I am informed by a late letter, has
to this date; but, on the contrary, he puts in a counter-
claim of sixty dollars for services in drawing up the min-
utes of the N. L. C, in doing which he employs an as-
sistant in our office, at our expense, we paying him for the
work for which he asks sixty dollars ; but he is very care-
ful not to give us credit for loss of time of the sssistsnt
in drawing up those minutes, and is still more careful, in
giving himself credit regularly with his own salary, taking
pay, therefore, in many cases "in advance;" the result
being, when he reports at our Convention in Cincinnati,
Ohio, he has paid himself every dollar (the books say
overpaid), and has wronged the president out of some six
hundred dollars. Is this honesty 1 These charges may be
refuted by the domineering self assertions (his usual argu-
ment) of your cotemporary, but we have printed as well
as written proof that these are veritable facts.
I am informed by a letter which lies before me, that
he has not refunded this money as yet, but has promised
to do so soon. Now, it strikes me very forcibly, that by
this concession, he admits that the charge of sixty dollars
against the N. L. C. was a fraudulent one, or if not, that
he has received pay for the same from our I. U., thereby
defrauding them out of our money. There are two horns
to the dilemma; he can accept either, or both, if he thinks
he can ride on them. I can enumerate several transac-
tions of that worthy on a par with these, but think it un-
necessary at this time, as I have given enough to show
you the corrupt fountain from which all these base, bitter
waters flowed, which engulfs all honest thinking union
members.                                       John B. Peek,
1*/. V.-Pres. of C. M. I. U. of N. A.
ISAAC'S ENTERPRISE.
Mr. Editor :—I have not been an inattentive reader
of the exposures of th$ editor of your Cotemporary, and
the undeniable evidence as adduced by your correspond-
ent, " A Member of the Coach-maker's Union," in proof
of the base falsehoods contained in his periodical, for we
have most of this evidence in the hands of our Secretary.
By your indulgence I should like to propound one question
to this man, who claims to be the personification of hon-
esty and probity, and who was the Secretary of our I. U.
until suspended. To what purpose did you appropriate a
surplus of over one hundred dollars (this amount being
over our assessment for the New York strike), your liter-
ary scheme, or in refurnishing your house 1 We applied
by letter to him several times for a statement of our ac-
count, but have never been able to elicit a satisfactory
answer, or the much coveted statement, consequently, we
concluded to keep our money in the hands of our Treas-
urer, and not permit it to pass through his hands.
No. 21, Portland, Me.