On the Cost of Horse-poioer. 461 



for about two weeks, and then A'etches, or red clover mown, or lucerne, are 

 substituted, luit not always cut up, as before, into chaff. The horses are kept 

 in tlie yard so long as food can be procured, which is sometimes the case 

 until the second math of red clover is fit for mowing, which is combined with 

 hay and straw, and cut up daily for the teams ad lihitiim. If, however, the 

 math is abundant, it is given alone, i.e. with only the addition of late spring 

 tares, if the season is suitable ; but this depends entirely upon the season, as 

 in case of drought the late tares do not succeed in the eastern counties. 



." My horses I calculate eat 1 peck of 10 lbs. of good sound oats, or say 2 bushels 

 per week for eight months in the year ; and when eating green food in the 

 siunmer months, say 1 bushel each per week — rather less than more ; but 

 upon heavy land farms another bushel of oats, or beans and oats, is giveti 

 for six weeks in the autumn and spring seed-times per week. A horse will 

 require dry food at least seven months in the year, and, eating about 21 lbs. 

 per diem, will during that period consume 35 cwt. of hay per annum ; he 

 will eat in addition about 1 cwt. of green food per diem during the remainder 

 of the year, say 150 days, or from 7 to 7^ tons for that time. The best of 

 the straw, and pea and beau straw, from the crops, may be reckoned to supply 

 food for two months of the j'ear. 



" The cost of horse-keep in "Essex upon the above principle of management 

 will for each day be about the same as that of a farm-labourer, but for all 

 calculations a further sum must be added to meet the wear aud tear of the 

 horse and for shoeing, to which the farmer is not liable as regards manual labour. 

 The sum of 3,s. i»r horse per da}'^ during that jwrtion of the year comprised 

 from Lady-day to Michaelmas is assumed by valuers as the fair sum to lie paid 

 for each horse for each working day when at plough, and 2s. Gd. when at other 

 work, ]>er diem. An experiment was once made by myself, and the conclu- 

 sion arrived at as to the food consumed per annum by a horse was as 

 follows : — 



£. s. d. 



2 tons of hay at feeding value 6 



7 tons of green food at 20s. 7 



9 qrs. oats at 24s 10 1<3 



1 qr. of beans at 1 16 



Add straw and chaff 1 10 



For keep of one year .. 27 2 



Blacksmith .. .. 10s. 1 



Harness 5s./ 3 15 



Wear and tear .. .. 60s J 



30 17 



Working days 300, say at 2s. per day .. ..30 



So that, taking contingencies into calculation, 2s. 6<i. per horse per day would 

 be a fair estimate for the labour of a horse whilst at plough and cart work. 



" In Essex 4 horses are considered sufficient for tilling 100 acres of medium 

 quality of land, and from 5 to 5j per 100 acres of heavy land. 



" The value of the cart-horses usually employed varies from SOL to 45Z. 

 each, upon the tenacious clay soils about 5L to 11. more. It is the horse- 

 labour u];on the heavy soils that trenches so far ujxin the production as to 

 become the most serious item of exi^enditure that the farmer has to contend 

 against. The valuations for fallows vary from 2Z. 14s. to 3^. 12s. per statute 

 acre for ploughings and tillages only, and with the rent allowed upon fallowed 

 land rarely amount to less than 5L per acre. 



