Horse Labour in France. 493 



more prevalent, and is thought to effect a saving of one-fifth in the 

 quantity of fodder ; but my informant thinks that the expenses 

 attendant upon the increased labour of preparing the food must 

 nearly absorb the whole of that economy. 



The yearly expense of a horse can thus be reckoned as follows : — 



£. s. d. 



Food 25 13 9 



Groom's attendance 16 



Farrier and harness-maker 14 



Veterinary and physic 02 6 



Interest on average vahie of 18?., and decrease 



in value at 15 per cent, 2 14 



Losses, accidents, (tc, at 3 per cent 10 9 



Stabhng 12 



£31 13 



The manure from a horse is calculated at double the weight 

 of his food, which amounts to about 160 cwt. ; and its value at 

 v50 centimes a cwt. is about 3/. 4^., which being deducted from 

 oil. los. leaves a net cost of 28/. 95. for each horse. 



In France there are about 60 holidays in the year, to which 

 must be added about 35 days of compulsory rest from bad weather, 

 such as rain, snow, &c., and 25 days of indispensable rest during 

 the full tide of employment ; these would leave about 245 work- 

 ing days, at an average cost of 2^. 6^. per day. 



Drivers are paid at the rate of 10s. 6f/. per week. 



In hilly districts, such as Limousin for instance, horses are 

 very little used for agricultural labour, oxen being the prevail- 

 ing power. The department of Haute Vienne, which comprises 

 about 250,000 acres under cereal cultivation, does not possess 

 more than 20 teams of horses for agricultural purposes. Two 

 oxen can plough about one-third of an acre per day ; a pair of 

 horses a little more than one acre, say one acre and one-fifth, but 

 •of course the ploughing is very shallow. One pair of oxen costs 

 with the driver about 2^. 6rf. a day ; the pair of horses, driver in- 

 cluded, about six pence more. The number of working days in 

 the year is reckoned at 270. The cost of keep for a horse is 

 reckoned at about 16/. a year, which for 270 days would give 

 about Is. '2^d. per day. 



We add to this the substance of an interesting communication 

 from Mr. Van den Bosch, of Wilhelminadorp, near Goes, Hol- 

 land, descriptive of his experience in horse-labour on one of the 

 polders * of South Beveland. The extent cultivated amounts to 



* A " polder " is an enclosure embanked from the sea. 



