AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 571 



Wm. Lawton — I have no doubt that the turning point in the 

 success of many farmers in this vicinity is the cost of keeping a 

 horse — an unnecessary horse. I think the cost of keeping a horse 

 anywhere in Westchester county is $150 a year. 



In regard to hand labor and the remarks made here by Mr. 

 Robinson about thrashing by flail, and for which he has been at- 

 tacked in a newspaper, I would say that he did not advocate the 

 disuse of thrashing machines; he only recommended the adaptation 

 of labor to tlie end in view — remarks that were highly appre- 

 ciated. 



Mr. Pardee — I am reminded of a circumstance in relation to 

 the use of the spade or fork. I have found that by using a fork 

 with long prongs instead of a spade, a man would do more work 

 in one day than in three days with the spade. It is a sine qua 

 non in gardening. There is nothing like a spading fork to pul- 

 verize stiff clay land, and the secret of success is in the fine pul- 

 verization of the soil. 



Mr. Fuller — In pulverizing an orchard the plow tears the roots 

 and injures them. In a nursery we must plant four feet apart to 

 plow between the row^s, and for spading we need only to set the 

 row^s two feet apart, and thus we get 10,000 more trees to an acre. 

 I have no doubt of the economy of hand labor for all crops where 

 land is valuable. 



The President — In relation to the expense of keeping a horse, 

 I will remark that I kept my colts till five years old without 

 work, and I can break such a colt in three hours so that he can 

 be mounted, and in three days so that he can be safely harnessed. 

 The secret of breaking a colt is to conquer him, which can be 

 done by fastening up one fore leg, and when he is tired of walk- 

 ing on three legs, throw him by striking out the other fore leg, 

 and when down he gives up, fully conquered. We spoil our colts 

 by early breaking. It is cheaper to keep colts till they are ma- 

 tured before breaking them. The cavalry horses of Prussia are 

 not put to service till eight years old. 



NEW WAY TO FEED YOUNG LAMBS. 

 Solon Robinson — I hold in my hand a letter that details a new 

 way — that is, new to me— to feed young lambs, which, I think, 



