20'i
at four years old, which is the most common age over all thearable districts of Scotland . Now, four oxen at three and ahalf years old, are supposed to have consumed the produce of18 acres; to which add, as before, three acres for fattening,and the extent of land necessary for rearing and fatteningfour oxen of 60 stones each, is 21 acres, and the beef pro-duced 240 stones, or 11.428 stones per acre. At this rate28 acres would be required for producing 320 stones, which,when beef and labour are combined, demand for their pro-duction 61.5 acres, of which, therefore, 38.5 acres must beplaced to the account of labour.
3 i Labour performed by horses.
This mode of calculation is certainly extremely favourableto oxen: for at the age of three years and a half, allowing nomore land for horses than for oxen, (as they may be workedbefore that age, and will pay for their food at least, at threeyears old), every two of the former will have then consumedthe produce of nine acres, and, during their three years la-bour, that of 30 acres, or ten acres yearly, according to apreceding calculation. Hence there is a balance of five anda half acres on the side of the oxen. But the comparisonmust not stop here. The oxen are gone to the shambles,and their whole value has been accounted for. The horsesare still in their prime, and ready, without an hour’s training,to be matched against a succession of oxen for twelve vcarslonger. Accordingly, against the labour of each of thesefour sets of oxen, must be placed the same number of acres,that is, in all, 334- X 4 = - - - 134
For a pair of horses twelve years at 10 acres, * 120
14
Deduct the loss on horses on a comparison with thefirst set of oxen, ... - 5«,
Balance in favour of horses, - gi
Besides the value of the old horse after 15 years’ labour.VOL. III. 0