No. 9. Expenses of Farm Labour. — Experiments ivith Bone Manure. 283 



To the Editor of the Farmers" Cabinet. 

 Expenses of Farm Labour. 



Sir, — In the speech of the President of 

 the Philadelphia Agricultural Society at their 

 last general meeting, it is stated that Mr. 

 George Walker, an Englishman, who I find 

 resided in Holmesburg, m the vicinity of Phi- 

 ladelphia, always declared that his farm-work 

 was done twenty per cent, cheaper in Penn- 

 sylvania than in England ; and I find in an 

 English work, which I am now perusing, a 

 etatement of expenses which corroborates the 

 truth of the assertion, and will, or I am much 

 mistaken, satisfy any one of the correctness 

 of the view taken of the subject in that very 

 interesting address. Permit me to copy the 

 following from a late work on British Hus- 

 bandry ; it is the expenses of making hay in 

 the vicinity of London. 



" The expenses of making hay, consisting 

 chiefly of labour, vary, of course, in different 

 places. Those in the district around London 

 being the highest, we shall state according 

 to the last estimate, as they may be reduced 

 according to the rates in other parts, and are 

 as follows: The expense of mowing varies 

 from four to six shillings per acre, according 

 to the crop ; but the general price is five shil- 

 lings. It is generally calculated that an ex- 

 pert mower will cut ah acre a day if the crop 

 be heavy, if light, he will do more. The 

 crop might be estimated, on an average, at a 

 load and a quarter an acre. The making of 

 the hay after cutting, including the wages 

 of all the labourers employed in tedding, 

 carting, and stacking — but exclusive of any 

 charge for horse-labour, which being perform- 

 ed by the farm-teams is not included — is from 

 ten to iifleen shillings per load, as the wea- 

 ther proves wet or dry, and the crop light or 

 heavy; say, average twelve shillings. Men 

 and women will, upon an average, drink 

 about four quarts of beer each per day, at six- 

 pence per gallon — say about two shillings an 

 acre for beer — but when the days are hot the 

 men at the stacks and with the carts have a 

 more liberal supply ; these charges therefore 

 amount to, 



Mowing per acre 5 shillings. 



Making do 10 



Beer do 2 " 



On an average of soils and years, the crop 

 may be about one load and a quarter of mea- 

 dow hay per acre when cut from the stack ; 

 consequently the expense of a load will be 

 as follows : 



s. d. 

 6 

 f. 

 6 

 6 

 Salesman for selling at market 5 



Xl 5 



The actual outlay in money is, therefore, 

 25 shillings per load, to which must be added 

 the expense of the team, according to the 

 distance to which it must be carried, and 

 which may be safely estimated at about ten 

 shillings at the lowest; and as every farmer 

 is bound by his lease to carry hack a load of 

 dung, or other equally efficient manure in re- 

 turn, that will cost about four shillings more ; 

 so that the whole charge cannot be calculated 

 at less than two- pounds sterling per load. 

 This account difi'ers but little from that fur- 

 nished by Mr. Middleton in his survey of 

 Middlesex, but he estimates the entire ex- 

 pense of tithes, taxes, field-labour, and ma- 

 nuring once in three years, at live guineas 

 per acre, exclusive of rent." 



But will not our Pennsylvania farmers be 

 surprised to hear that an acre a day is work 

 enough for an expert mower to cut, and a 

 load and a quarter of hay per acre is a fair 

 average crop, the load weighing 18 cwt. only] 

 Subscriber. 



4-5ths nf the above sum 13 



Thatchinff stack 1 



Cut tins and binding hay for market 2 



Carter for taking to market and toll-gates. .. .2 



Experiments Avith Bone Manure. 



An acre of land was laid off and divided 

 into eighty-one equal parts, by cross furrows; 

 upon two-thirds thus laid off, a two-horse can 

 load of stable dung was laid in each square, 

 being at the rate of eighty-one loads per acre. 

 To other parts of the ground, crushed bones 

 were applied at the rate of 15, 20, 25, 30, 

 40, 50, 60, 70, and 81 bushels per acre; 

 while on the residue of the acre a compost 

 of the shovellings of the cow-yard, with eight 

 per cent, of bones was applied, at the rate of 

 12 loads, at 25 bushels per acre. The whole 

 land had been previously well worked, and 

 dressed with 60 bushels of lime per acre ; the 

 compost and bone manure were harrowed in 

 by a heavy drag, and the whole was sown 

 with turnips on the 8th day of August. 



Tiie growth of the crop on such parts of 

 the land as had received not less than sixty 

 bushels of crushed bone per acre, was quite 

 equal, in the end, to the best growth of that 

 which had received eighty-one cart-loads of 

 stable manure per acre ; whilst the growth 

 on all smaller allowances of bones was infe- 

 rior, and most so, where the least quantity 

 was used ; but on that portion of the ground 

 which had been dressed with the bone and 

 cow manure compost, the growth throughout 

 was decidedly superior to any other part ; the 

 product, at maturity, being at least one-third 

 more than was produced from the land ma- ^ 

 nured from the stables. With this same 

 compost, a poor piece of newly-mown mea- 

 dow (in 1838), was dressed at the rate of 100 

 bushels per acre ; the succeeding crop was 

 more than doubled by the operation ; the crop 

 of the present year (1840), was still better, 



