ECONOMY OF Fx\RMI:;G. 47 



"In the summor it should be: in the forenoon, from G — 11 ; afternoon, from 11 — 6. 

 ill the winter from 7 or 7~l to 11 A. M. ; and from 1 to 4| or 5 P. M." 



The exception is in the time of pressing work. He also says that in plou-rhing in 

 very dilficult circumstances a one-horse-span can plough in a day ^ to ^ of amorgen 

 (= -^^r to ^ acre), and a one-ox-span t" ^o i (="'r to ,^- acre), and in circum- 

 stances w^hich lighten or accelerate the labor of ploughing, a one-horse-span can 

 plough in a diy 1| to 1} of a morgen (= 1 J-^ to about li acres), and an ox-span | 

 to 1| of a morgen (== 4 to l-\ acres). '"Where the field, as is the case in most 

 parts of Bavaria, is ploughed in 4-furrowed beds other things being equal, the labor 

 of ploughing is more assisted than in broader beds ; of this portion, the first two fur- 

 row-slices are laid together by the so-called bordering of the furrows upon each 

 other, whereby these furrows are left unploughed. With a one-horse span, therefore, 

 a man can plough 1|- to 2 morgen (= 1^^ to Ij acre) and by employing the double 

 plough tor divi ling the ridge, one of the usual 4 furrows will be saved." 



Thaer says: 'Opinions are very difterent as to how much a plough can perform 

 daily. Some say only f of a yoke, (flf of an acre) others 1 and even 1^ (1.422 to 

 nearly 2 acres), according to their experience. Each one is grounded on experience, 

 but a man must weigh the circumstances whereby he comes to his conclusion. The 

 breadth of the furrow-slices makes an important ditference. If on a bout of 60 klafters 

 rSGO feet) broa.l I cut olf 6 inch furrows, I have to make 720 furrows : but if 10 inch 

 furrows, only 432 furrows. I will suppose such a bout of 60 klafters (360 feet) long, 

 then a span in ploughing the same, in the first case, goes over 10 - geographical 

 miles, but in the second case only 6_| miles without the turnings. The labor which 

 a plouorh can perform in a day, then must stand in an inverse ratio wnth the breadth 

 of the furrows, which a man must closely examine. In the usual mode of ploughing 

 on soil of average kind, 9-inch furrows are used ; and the plough in 21 yokes ( 3.2 acres) 

 goes over 2?,800 klafters (172,800 feet = 30 miles), or 7^ geographical miles. Ac- 

 cording to the breadth of the piece compared with the length, the turns are more or 

 less frequent and stronger or weaker ; yet they must for the most part be so per- 

 formsil that we must suppose 71 miles. When therefore a plough with tliis breadth 

 of furrows, ploughs daily 1}^ yoke (1.6 acres), the team and the man go 3| miles (about 

 17 English miles) ; and one could not desire more in labor, enduring the wdiole day. 

 But if a man make smaller furrows, he must expect less, and can only demand more 

 where the furrows are broader." 



In forming the estimate, he mentions as nece.?sary to be regarded, also, the quality 

 of the soil, the depth of the furrow, the situation on a level or on hilly ground, 

 the kind of plough, the time of the year on account of the length of the days, 

 &c. The result of many experiments shows that a plough with a share of 5 inches 

 broad, is a half-hundred weight harder for draught than 7 inches broad. Loudon 

 says : " With respect to ploughing relatively to time, in the strongest lands, a pair ol 

 good horses ought to ploug:h f of an acre in 9 hours ; but upon the same land, after 

 the first ploughing, on friable soils, one acre, or an acre and a quarter is a common 

 day's worlc. Throughout the year an acre a day may be considered as a full average 

 on soils of a medium consistency. The whole series of furrows on an English statute 

 acre, supposing each to be 9 inches broad, would extend to 19,360 yards, and adding 

 12 yards to every 220 for the ground travelled over in turning, the Avhole work of an 

 acre, may be estimated at 20,416 yards, or 11 miles and nearly 5 furlongs." 



In the Supplement to the Encyclopedia Britannica, it is stated that a two-horse 

 plough may on an average Avork an English acre a day throughout the year, and 

 in general according to the nature of the soil and the labor previously bestov/ed upon 

 it. a pair of horses in ploughing may travel daily 10 to 15 miles, overcoming a degree 

 of resistance equal to from 4 to 600 weight. 



Sir John Sinclair, in his Code of Ag;riculture, also furnishes some interesting 

 statements on this subject. He says: "A gentleman who has paid much successful 

 attention to several branches of husbandry, calculates that the number of yards 

 travelled in ploughing an acre and a half 



with a farrow-slice of 9 inches, is 29.040 yards 

 " 8 " 32,640 " 



The fouovrino- Tables arc given from the same authority, founded on the above 

 principle of calculation. 



