On the Cost of Horse-power. 463 



10 miles in turning over one acre in furrow-slices 10 inches 

 wide. Tn this lies one great difference between animal and 

 steam-power, namely, the persistence of the latter, if only methods 

 of continuously employing it can be devised. The really effec- 

 tive work of a horse per diem thus does not much exceed one- 

 half of that calculated from its work per minute ; and its 

 annual performance must be often still further reduced below 

 the theoretical standard by the occurrence of days when it 

 remains idle in the stable. 



In some of the instances described above, I have received such 

 a detailed account of the work done upon the farms, as enables 

 me to estimate with some confidence the total annual draught 

 accomplished during its cultivation. The following, for instance, 

 were the details of cultivation on my father's farm, at Whitfiehl. 

 On 120 acres of it wheat was annually grown : the cultivation 

 of this consisted of 1 ploughing, 3 harrowings, 1 drilling, 1 

 rolling, the carting of the produce (2 tons per acre) f of a mile to 

 the homestead, and the carting of some 100 tons of grain perhaps 

 6 miles to market. On 60 acres of root-crops there were 1 deep 

 ploughing, and probably 2 shallower ploughings, 3 " culti- 

 vatings," probably 10 harrowings, 2 rollings, twice ribbing when 

 covering the manure, 1 drilling, 3 horse-hoeings, the carting of 

 J 5 tons of dung per acre to the land, and the carting of 25 tons 

 of produce from the land f of a mile. On 30 acres of clover 

 there was 1 rolling, and the carting of 15 tons of green food per 

 acre from 10 acres, and the carting of 20 tons of hay off 10 acres 

 1^ of a mile. On 30 acres of beans there were 2 ploughings, 2 

 " cultivatings," 4 harrowings, 1 drilling, 2 horse-hoeings, 10 tons 

 of dung per acre carried j of a mile, 2i tons per acre of pro- 

 duce carried home f of a mile. I have the number of miles 

 walked per acre in performing every operation, and I can from 

 experience and experiment pretty nearly estimate the draught 

 in every case. In the case of produce and manure carried I add 

 the weight of the cart going and returning, which just doubles 

 the quantity of cartage ; and 10 per cent, is charged upon the 

 weight for draught, this being what seems to me fair, on com- 

 paring Mr. Brunei's experiments on this subject with the ordi- 

 nary character of cartage on the farm.* It is plain that in all 

 these particulars I have the complete history of the labour of 

 cultivating and carrying the crops of the farm, which accordingly 

 is given in the following Table : — 



* He found that the draught on a dry good road was 3 per cent, of the weight ; 

 on a wet good road it was 4 per cent ; on hard, compact loam it was .5| per cent. ; 

 on ordinary byeroads it was 10| per cent. ; on a newly-gravelled turnpike-road it 

 was 14^ per cent. ; and on a loose sandy road it was more than one-fifth, or 20 per 

 cent of the weight. 



