V 76 MINUTES OF EVIDENCE TAKEN BEFORE THE Mr. G. Gardiner, when we allow the oats to be reserved, unless the oats are reserved to keep for straw 30 March 1838. ^ 8139. Mr. Lefroy.] He would get for his straw and oats 16/. ?— No, he would make 121, of it, 6/. an acre after reserving the straw. _ 8140 Chairman.'] Then you would make this alteration in your original statement, that you would state that the expense of labour and seed, and so on, should be 10/., instead of 71, and interest upon the capital should be something between 1 /. 12 s. and 2/. ?— I would allow it to be 2/. 8141. And you would add to that something for manure, or supposing him to make his own manure by means of keeping his straw, you would deduct 4 /. from the 16/. ?— I would deduct from 3/. 10 s. to 4/. 8142. If you leave the produce at 34/. you would add 3/. to the expense under the head of manure ?— I would. 8143. Mr. Curry.] When a farmer reaps his own oats, is not the straw con- sidered equvialent to the value of all the labour employed in reaping and threshing and preparing them for the market ?— It is. 8144. More than equivalent to it?— Rather more. 8145. Suppose he had the oats reaped in his field, what would you estimate them worth an acre then ?— The labour of the reaping would not be much. 8146. Have not you stated 3/. for that?— I put that for the threshing and everything. 8147. Is not the value of the straw equal to the expense of reaping and threshing ?— Yes. 8148. Is not the increased value of the potatoes, given to them by his having dug or raised them himself, equal to the additional labour he expends in raising them, as compared with selling them in the ridge or on the foot ?— If the price is fair. 8149. Suppose he sold them 011 the foot in the ridge, would not the person that purchased them give so much less in consequence of having to pay the expense of raising them himself?— He would. If I went to buy potatoes on the foot, I would consider that I would deduct the expense of digging them. 81,50. So that in point of fact it makes no difference in the amount of this calculation ?— I conceive still that he would not make more than 12 /. of the oats. 8151. If you add 3 /. as the labour for reaping the crop and digging the potatoes, how much do you add to the value of the crop, after the oats have been reaped and the potatoes dug, in consequence of the man having expended his own labour upon them?—£. 8 an acre would be as much as the oats would realize and bring in, if sold by the barrel, allowing the straw against the labour. 8152. Supposing he kept the straw for his own use, you say the value of the oats would then be only 8 /. ?— It would not bring 8 /. per acre ; if he keeps the straw he lessens the value of the acre of oats by so much. 8153. By how much does he lessen the value of two acres of oats by keeping the straw ?— He lessens them at any rate 3 /. 8154. That would leave 13/. for the oats, and 3/. for the straw ?— Yes. 81,55. As to the eventual result, whether he charges 3/. for his labour in the reaping or not, makes no difference, because in the one case he has the straw, which is worth 3/., opposite the 3/. additional which he expends in labour? He has ; but if he keeps the straw as a remuneration for his labour, the value of the manure is then to be taken into account. 8156. Chairman.] If he does not keep the straw he must buy manure, and the price of that manure must be added to the tillage ?— Yes. 8157. Mr. Curry.] Are the items in that account correctly taken down from your evidence on Wednesday ?— I believe they are. 8158. Mr. Lefroy.] Must not those cows,' in order to make manure of the straw, be kept in during the winter upon hay ?— Yes. 8159. Have you charged in this account the price of the hay ?— No I have not. Si60. How much hay would it take to support the two cows in the stall during the winter ?— With hay at a fair moderate price it would take from 41. to 5 /. worth. 8161. Is that put down in the account ?— No. 8162 Would those two cows, kept in during the winter by means of the straw ot two acres of oats, make manure enough for three acres of tillage for the