THE PRINCIPLES OF ENGLISH AGRICULTURE. 217 



object of adjusting claims between out-going and in-coming 

 tenants. But the theory upon which these figures rest is 

 that the out-going tenant is allowed a profit upon every 

 tillage operation ; whereas in absolutely calculating the cost 

 of a wheat crop, or of any other crop, the proper method of 

 approaching the subject is to really inquire the cost that the 

 various tillages entail upon the cultivator directly. If valuers' 

 prices are taken, the cultivator is credited with a separate 

 profit on each tillage operation, and can hardly expect a 

 further profit upon the crop. The question is What does 

 it cost the farmer to plough an acre of land ? not what will 

 the valuer give the out-going tenant for having ploughed 

 an acre of land for his successor? The difference between 

 the two estimates is very considerable, and the amount 

 which is usually charged in such cases appears to require 

 revision. 



Those estimates are based upon a higher scale of prices 

 than now prevails, and they have been reduced very little, 

 if at all. The amount which is charged for tillages by land - 

 valuers at the present day is very much the same as was 

 allowed for tillages in days of high prices which scarcely 

 appears reasonable. The method which I would suggest 

 for arriving at the cost of tillages, would be in the first 

 place to come to a sound conclusion as to the cost of horse 

 labour. That is the key to the situation, because manual 

 labour is an amount which can be very readily assessed ; 

 whereas the cost of horse labour is in itself a matter which 

 can only be approximately arrived at. The cost of keeping 

 a farm-horse lies at the very foundation of all costs of tillage ; 

 and without going too minutely into the subject, allowing 

 market value for oats and hay, the cost of maintaining the 

 farm-horse ought certainly not to be more than 9s. per week. 

 Our estimate may be brought down to a definite statement 

 as follows 



