540 TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



Mr. Bruce.— -There was one in Jersey which was a perfect suc- 

 cess. 



Mr. Dibben. — I have left the estimate of the wear and tear at 

 a low figure, but have made up for it in the attendance. A good 

 horse of 1,400 lbs. weight will lift 22,000 lbs. a foot high per 

 minute, and continue it for eight hours per day. The useful 

 work is about twenty per cent. less. 



Mr. Stetson. — Is not this an unusual horse, and can such a one 

 be bought for $100? 



Mr. Dibben. — You could not get such a horse for $100. I have 

 set down the cost per day of a one horse power steam engine at 

 fifty-seven cents per day, of an air engine at forty-four cents, and 

 of the horse power at forty cents. In doing so, I think I have 

 made a fair estimate. The investment of capital on a farm in 

 England for apparatus is about XIO ($50) per acre, more than it 

 would cost to buy out the land here. Labor is also cheaper in 

 England. An air or steam engine has to be fixed up before using 

 it, but the horse is always at hand, and when the work is done 

 you can put him in the stable or turn him out into the field. 



Mr. Babcock. — The air engine used in Pawtucket does not use 

 more than 50 cents worth of coal per day. It cost $500, and I 

 think that 45 cents per day will cover all the expense for Avear 

 and tear, &c. This refers to a two horse power. I think the 

 cost of a one horse power engine will be about 30 cents a day. 

 The cheapest power which we have anywhere is water. 



The Chairman. — Cheaper than wind ? 



Mr. Babcock. — Yes. 



Chairman. — It cannot always be made available. 



Mr. Babcock. — That is so, and for that reason it cannot be' 

 used generally by farmers. For farm use wind power is out of 

 the question. 



Mr. Bruce. — I think it could be used on prairies. 



Mr. Babcock. — Steam engines from two to ten-horse power can 

 be used with great advantage for farm purposes, and the only 

 objection to their use is the danger which is attached to them 

 and the attendance they require. The air engine is better fitted 

 for farm purposes. 



Mr. Seely. — There are many considerations which outweigh 

 the cost of a machine. I think no farmer can use any engine 

 that would cost $600, or even $300. Interest is an objection also. 

 Farmers must have horses, and I think that neither a steam or 



