No. 85.J 267 



pounds. On this subject they are uniform in their statements. This 

 amount of food is enough, and not more than will be consumed." 



But the comparison in point of expense will be extended in ano- 

 ther part of this essay. 



In answer to the argument against oxen now under consideration , 

 and the one which has had most influence in restricting the use of 

 them, we now offer the views urged by the illustrious Madison, 

 whose pen simplified and enlightened every subject it touched, as 

 could net but happen with a mind so pure and so bright. 



The objections generally made to the ox are — 1st, that he is less 

 tractable than the horse; 2d, that he does not bear heat as well ; 3d, 

 that he does not answer for the single plow used in our corn-fields ; 

 4th, that he is slower in his movements ; 5th, that he is less fit for 

 carrying the produce of the farm to market. 



The first objection is certainly founded in mistake. Of the iwo 

 animals the ox is the most docile. In all countries where the ox is 

 the ordinary draught animal, his docility is proverbial. His intracta- 

 bility, where it exists, has arisen from an occasional use of him only, 

 with long and irregular intervals ; during which, the habit of disci- 

 pline being broken, a new one is to be formed. 



The second objection has as little foundation. The constitution of 

 the ox accommodates itself as readily as that of the horse to diff'erent 

 climates. Not only in ancient Greece and Italy, but throughout Asia, 

 as presented to us in ancient history, the ox and the plow are asso- 

 ciated. At this day, in the warm parts of India and China, the ox, 

 not the horse, is in the draught service. In every part of India the ox 

 always appears, even in the train of her armies. And in the hottest 

 parts of the West Indies, the ox is employed in hauling the weighty 

 produce to the seaports. The mistake here, as in the former case, 

 has arisen from the effect of an occasional employment only, with no 

 other than green food. The fermentation of this in the animal, heated 

 by the weather, and fretted by the discipline, will readily account for 

 his sinking under his exertions ; when green food even, much less 

 dry, with a sober habit of labor, would have no such tendency. 



The third objection also is not a solid one. The ox can, by a pro- 

 per harness, be used singly as well as the horse, between the rows of 

 Indian corn ; and equally so used for other purposes. Experience 

 may be safely appealed to on this point. 



In the fourth place, it is alleged that he is slower in his move- 

 ments. This is true, but in a less degree than is often taken for 

 granted. Oxen that are well chosen for their form, are not worked 

 after the age of about eight years, (the age at which they are best 

 fitted for beef,) are not worked too many together, and are suitably 

 matched, may be kept at nearly as quick a step as that of the horse, 

 might I not say quicker, than that of many of the horses we see at 

 work, who, on account of their age, or the leanness occasioned by 

 the costliness of the food they require, lose the advantage where they 

 might have once had it 1 



The last objection has most weight. The ox is not as well adapted 

 as the horse to the road service, especially for long trips. In common 



