Live Stock. 103 



strength, are of much use in war, as we experienced at the 

 battle of Waterloo, where the smaller breeds of the enemy 

 could not resist the attacks of the heavy British cavalry. 



2. Economical modes of feeding horses. It is certainly ne- 

 cessary that horses, which go through such severe labour as 

 those employed by the farmer, should be well fed, and on 

 articles of a substantial description. Thus a pair of horses 

 fed on potatoes solely, would never.be able to run two stages 

 daily, in a post chaise, nor plough an acre per day every day 

 in the year ; and all good farmers lay it down as a rule, that 

 horses should be above their labour; at the same time the 

 heavy expense at which they are usually maintained, is ex- 

 tremely injurious to the public interest. It augments the 

 charges attending all agricultural operations, and conse- 

 quently unnecessarily increases the prices of provisions. It 

 likewise adds to the expense of every description of convey- 

 ance by land, which, either directly or indirectly, must be 

 felt by so large a portion of the community ; and, thence it 

 becomes necessary to employ great tracts of fertile land, in 

 raising food for horses, which might be more beneficially 

 employed in the production of food for man. I was thence 

 led to make some extensive inquiries, regarding the various 

 means of maintaining horses at less expense, in the course of 

 which the following important particulars were communica- 

 ted to me : 



1. Mr Willan, who was interested in so many stage 

 coaches to and from London, that he used to consume every 

 year, about 10,000 quarters of oats, from the port of Lon- 

 don alone, and bought at country markets about 2500 quar- 

 ters more, for the horses he kept at two or three stages' dis- 

 tance from the metropolis, was accustomed to allow his horses 

 as much corn and hay as they would eat; and, on an ave- 

 rage, they consumed 2 pecks or 16 quarts of oats per day, and 

 every 20 horses had a load of 18 cwt. of hay per week. For 

 the last twenty years, with the exception of the two last, 

 the best hay, (which it is always necessary to purchase for 

 stage-coach horses), might, on an average, be about L.5/?er 

 load ; but last year it rose first to L.6, and then even L. 10 

 per load. The price of oats also rose from 30s. to L.4 and 

 upwards/?er quarter ; at which price it became impossible to 

 carry on the business of stage coaches without loss. It be- 

 came necessary, therefore, either to give up that concern, or 

 to devise some new mode of feeding horses. 



The plan he fixed upon was to erect a machine, to be 

 worked by two horses, for the purposes of crushing beans, 



