QUESTIONS OF PRINCIPLE 47 



sales go merely to increase the profit (or to reduce the loss) 

 on the primary product, i. e. corn and mutton. 1 



The Cost of Horse Labour. Where the farm horses are 

 regarded solely as a source of motive power no difficulties of 

 principle are involved. The animals are valued at their 

 cost price, whether they are home-bred or bought, and the 

 depreciation, calculated on their probable length of life 

 added to the expense of feeding or otherwise maintaining 

 the horses, represents the cost of their work for the year. 

 Where the farmer is a breeder of horses for sale, or a dealer, 

 these are businesses quite distinct from the performance of 

 horse labour, and special provision is necessary to prevent 

 the partial obscuration of the actual costs of his horse labour. 

 This is made by having two accounts for horses, a ' Stock ' 

 account and a ' Working ' account. The stock account is 

 simply a debtor and creditor account of horses on hand, 

 bred, bought and sold, together with the cost of feeding 

 and maintaining brood mares and young stock not at work 

 on the farm. The balance represents the farmer's profit 

 or loss on his year's breeding or dealing. The working 

 account is composed solely of the cost of maintaining those 

 horses which are worked on the farm. Maintenance includes 

 food, shoeing, &c., and also a charge for depreciation debited 

 to this account, and credited to the ' stock ' account for the 

 use, so to speak, of the working horses. Even though 

 the horses be all of them young ones, appreciating in value 

 instead of depreciating, this charge must be made, otherwise 

 the profit due to the farmer for his skill in the management 

 of his horse stock, as evinced by his keeping only young 

 horses increasing year by year in market value, will not 

 appear as such, but will go fictitiously to reduce the cost 

 of the horse-work. Obviously the cost of ploughing an acre 

 should be the same whether performed by young horses or 

 old ones, other things being equal. The actual amount to be 

 charged for depreciation depends upon the cost of the horse 

 stock and its effective life duration. For example, the 

 depreciation of horses costing 75 at the date of coming 



1 See also p. 39, ante. 



