538 TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAK INSTITUTE. 



day would not be more than forty cents, air engine forty-four 

 cents, and the steam engine fifty-seven cents ; therefore the horse 

 power is the most economical. 



A Member. — You have to feed the horse whether you use him 

 or not. 



Mr. Dibben. — If you do not use him at the horse power, you 

 can use him at something else. 



Mr. Stetson.— "One of the great objections to. horse power is 

 its unsteadiness. A horse requires a self-whipping improvement 

 to keep him going. I have known steam power to be substituted 

 for horse power, and the great saving occasioned thereby was 

 the whip being dispensed with. 



Mr. Veeder. — It is evident that where farming is done on a 

 large scale, such as on t)ie prairies, other power than horse power 

 is required. The ordinary power used is the two horse endless 

 chain power. In threshing, a great deal of room is required, 

 any it is also necessary to do it quickly on account of the num- 

 ber of hands that have to be employed. One man is required to 

 feed the machine, and another to take the straw away, and other 

 hands besides. You may get a horse power to churn and do 

 such like work, but for heavy farm power, you require other 

 power than horse power. In the State of New York, very few 

 farmers have a threshing machine of their own, but depend on 

 those travelling v/ith them through the country. 



Mr. Babcock. — I think Mr. Dibben has underrated the expense 

 of a horse power. The wear and tear is more than he has stated. 

 A good horse, well cared, will not last on our city cars more than 

 six years. Mr. Dibben makes out a fair story for the air engine, 

 but not as good as he should have done. There is at present in 

 the village of Westerley, Rhode Island, a twelve inch air engine 

 working which is driving two printing presses. It uses about 

 fifty pounds of coal per day, at a cost of 12^ cents. Another 18- 

 inch caloric engine is driving a cracker bakery at Pawtucket. In 

 this cracker bakery, before they put in the caloric engine, the 

 most they could make was about ten barrels of biscuit per day. 

 I do not think the engine in use there is more than a two horse 

 power, and it costs about 15 cents a day. I refer to the Wilcox 

 engine ; it makes twelve barrels of biscuit per day. 



Mr. Fisher. — Tredgold states, that, in estimating the power of 

 heavy horses, they cannot do more than lift 22,000 lbs. weight a 

 foot high per minute, for ten hours a day. The proprietors of 



