Discovering S.
2 primary works • 8 total works
Book 230
Book 284
Outlines the development of horse-drawn vehicles from their inception to the present day. It is an evocation of state and civic dignity, recalling the efforts of magnificent Shire horses and humble but hard-working cobs or 'vanners'. Although mechanical transport has replaced stage-coach, hansom cab and family brougham, there has been a revival of interest in leisure and competitive driving, as a result of which old vehicles have been restored and new types introduced. This book will assist the identification of different vehicles and describes their purpose, history, working parts and the materials used.
Until the reign of Queen Anne oxen were widely used for ploughing, and most other jobs on the farm, such as harvesting, were done manually by farm labourers. But at the beginning of the eighteenth century the Agricultural Revolution began. Oxen were displaced by horses for ploughing and the famous heavy breeds of Shires, Clydesdales and Suffolks developed. Horses were more versatile than oxen and came to be used for many tasks other than ploughing. Following the Industrial Revolution the ingenuity of Victorian manufacturers produced an enormous range of horse-drawn agricultural machinery - not just ploughs, but grubbers, cultivators, harrows, rollers, drills, reapers, binders, root lifters, manure spreaders, rakes and many other types - which continued in use until the tractor replaced the horse from the 1930s. In this book the author describes these machines and includes drawings of many of them, as well as photographs.