950 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. 



of no more than from six to eight hours' work, they are very generally fed with different 

 kinds of straw, according to the circumstances of the farm ; in the month of March they 

 are again put to hay till the grass is ready for being cut. Throughout all the year they 

 are allowed more or less corn, when constantly worked ; and during the time they are 

 on dry fodder, particularly when on straw, they have potatoes, yams, or Swedish turnips, 

 once a day, sometimes boiled barley, and, in a few instances, carrots. A portion of 

 some of these roots is of great importance to the health of horses, when succulent 

 herbage is first exchanged for hay at the end of autumn ; and it is no less so towards the 

 latter end of spring, when hay has become sapless, and the labor is usually severe. At 

 these two periods, therefore, it is the practice of all careful managers, to give an ample 

 allowance of some of these roots, even though they should be withheld for a few weeks 

 during the intermediate period. 



6084. The quantity of these different articles of food must depend on the size of the 

 horses, and the labor they perform ; and the value upon the prices of different seasons, 

 and, in every season, on the situation of the farm with respect to markets, particularly 

 for hay and roots, which bring a very different price near large towns, and at a few miles 

 distant. It is for these reasons, that the yearly expense of a horse's maintenance has been 

 estimated at almost every sum, from 15/. to 40/. But it is only necessary to attend to the 

 expense of feeding horses that are capable of performing the labor required of them, 

 under the most correct and spirited management. Such horses are fed with oats, some- 

 times with beans, three times a day, for about eight months ; and twice a day for the 

 other four, when at grass; and, at the rate of eight feeds per bushel, each horse will eat 

 fifteen quarters of oats, or twenty bolls Linlithgow measure in the year. When on hay, 

 he will require about one stone of twenty-two pounds avoirdupois daily, and five pounds 

 more if he does not get roots. One English acre of clover and rye-grass, and tares, 

 may be necessary for four months' soiling ; and a quarter of an acre of potatoes, yams, or 

 Swedish turnips, during the eight months he is fed with hay or straw. The use of these 

 roots may admit of a small diminution of the quantity of corn in the winter months, or 

 a part of it may be, as it almost always is, of an inferior quality. 



6085. The expense of feeding a horse throughout the year^ may therefore be estimated, 

 in regard to quantities, as follows : 



Oats, fifteen quarters. Straw for other four months, half the price oS hay. 



Soiling, one acre of clover and rye-grass, and tares. Potatoes, yams, or Swedish turnips, J acre. 

 Hay part of October and November, March, April, and (Sup., iSfc. art. Agr.) 



May, IJ ton. 



6086. The extent of land required for a horse's maintenance ^ supposing the soil to be of 

 a medium quality, may be about five acres ; that is, for oats three acres, soiling one, and 

 one more for hay and roots. On rich soils four acres will be sufficient, but on poor 

 soils, and wherever horses are kept at pasture, the produce of six acres and a half, or 

 seven acres, will be consumed by one of them, when worked in the manner already men- 

 tioned. The straw of about two acres must be allowed for fodder and litter, the last of 

 which has not been stated above, because, at a distance from towns, what is allowed 

 for litter must at any rate be converted into dung. If sixty acres, therefore, should be 

 assumed as the average extent of land that may be kept in cultivation by two horses, 

 according to the best courses of modern husbandry, the produce of ten acres of this will 

 be required for their maintenance ; or, a horse consumes the produce of one acre out of 

 evei7 six which he cultivates, according to a four or six years' course, and sometimes 

 more than one acre out of every five which he ploughs annually. {General Rqmrt of 

 Scotland, vol. iii. p. 192.) 



Chap. II. 



The Ass. Equus Asinus, L. Ane, Fr.; Esel, Ger,; Asno, Span, and Asino, Ital. 



6087. The ass is a native of the mountainous deserts of Tartary, of Arabia, Persia, 

 and other parts of the Asiatic continent ; and at present is very generally domesticated 

 throughout most civilized countries. The wild ass feeds chiefly on the most saline or 

 bitter plants of the desert, as the kalis, atriplices, chenopodium, &c.; and also prefers the 

 saltest and most brackish water to that which is fresh. Of this the hunters are aware, and 

 usually station themselves near the ponds to which they resort to drink. Their manners 

 greatly resemble those of the wild horse. They assemble in troops under the conduct of 

 a leader, or centinel ; and are extremely shy and vigilant. They will, however, stop in the 

 midst of their course, and even suffer the approach of man, and then dart off with 

 the utmost rapidity. They have been at all times celebrated for their swiftness. Their 

 voice resembles that of the common ass, but is shriller. 



