The Coachbuilders of the future will look to steam and hand machinery as their great assistant in cheapening the cost of first-rate carriages, in multiplying them for the probably increased demand, and in building carriages more speedily. It now takes from two to three months in building a brougham, of which at least five weeks are consumed simply in preparing the wood and iron work, a period which might easily be shortened by machinery. With regard to the American waggons, they are so completely a carriage of themselves, there is so little to work upon, that we do not look for great beauty; that each of its parts should be gracefully shaped must be sufficient. The shape is conventional, affording no great opportunity for style. The larger carriages of North America in which there is plenty of room for style and grace are, to an European eye, deficient in both. The extremely ugly straight and abrupt lines of the upper parts of the bodies, the wriggling, uncomfortable sweeps of the lower parts, the want of proportion, the scanty room for the legs of the passengers, must astonish all who have seen the carriages of other countries. American wheeled carriages seem to say, “We are made for lightness, and nothing else.” On the sledges grace, comfort, and elegance seem to have been lavished, and, to use an American term, “pleasing lines” and sweeps abound in the sleigh. In all carriages the proportions of the different parts, to please permanently, must harmonise. If at one time the fashion of the day is for deep quarters, deep rockers, and very shallow panels, it is certain that the eye of the man of taste will sooner or later correct this, and return to the proper depths of each. If at one time the wheels are too high, a Hobson will arise and cut them lower. If the curves grow too rampant, and the scrolls and foliage too abundant, a more cultivated taste will modify all this sooner or later. It is certain that our American cousins will alter the shapes of their larger carriages, and continue to improve them. In Australia--where the admiration for American and English carriages is nearly equal--there are native carriages built which, we are told, combine the lightness and durability of American vehicles with the grace and comfort of English carriages. It may not be so yet, but it is cheering, at any rate, to hear of the attempt, and all true lovers of the craft must rejoice if it succeeds. In America the principles of draught have been carefully considered and discussed in a magazine specially published for Coachmakers, and which magazine does the greatest credit to its able editor, Mr Ezra N. Stratton, of New York; it is beautifully illustrated, and is full of information for all branches of the craft. There is another magazine in the same city called the “Hub,” edited by Mr George Houghton, who visited Europe to see the recent display of carriages at the Exhibitions at Vienna and London in 1873.