Book V. CHOICE OF LABORING STOCK. 721 



SuBSECT. 1. Live Stock for the Purjioses of Labor. 



4463. The animals of labor used in British farming are exclusively the horse and the 

 ox. Much difference of opinion formerly prevailed, as to which of these twro animals 

 should be preferred, and the preference has generally been given by speculative writers 

 to the ox, and by practical farmers to the horse. Lord Kainres in the last century, and 

 Lord Somerville in the present, may be considered the principal advocates for the ox. 

 To their arguments, and to all others, the following objections have been stated by the 

 able author of the supplement to the 6th edition of The Gentleman Farmer i and they may 

 be considered as conveying the sentiments, and according with the practice of all the best 

 informed, and most extensive British farmers. 



4464. The first objection to oxen is, that they are unfit for the various labors of modern husbandry, 

 for travelling on hard roads in particular, p for all distant carriages, and generally for every kind of 

 work which requires dispatch : and what sort of work often does not in this variable climate? A great 

 part of a farmer's work is indeed carried on at home, and it may still be thought that this may be done by 

 oxen, while one or more horse-teams are employed in carrying the produce to market, and bringing home 

 manure and fuel. But it is unnecessary to appeal to the author of The Wealth of Nations, to prove the 

 impracticability of this division of labor, unless upon very large farms ; and even on these the advantages 

 of such an arrangement are at best extremely problematical. The different kinds of farm-work do not 

 proceed at the same time ; but every season, and even every change of weather, demands the farmer's at- 

 tention to some particular employment, rather than toothers. When his teams are capable of performing 

 every sort of work, he brings them all to bear for a time upon the most impqrtant labors of every season ; 

 and when that is dispatched, or interrupted by unfavorable weather, the less urgent branches are speedily 

 executed by the same means. This is one cause, more important perhaps than any other, why oxen have 

 ceased to be employed ; for even ploughing, which they can perform better than any other kind of work, is 

 scarcely ever going forward all the year j and for some months in winter, the weather often prevents it 

 altogether. 



4465. Another objection is, that an ox team capable of performing the work of two horses," even such kind 

 of work as they can perform, consumes the produce of considerably more land than the horses. If this be 

 the case, it is of no great importance, either to the farmer or the community, whether the land be under 

 oats, or under herbage and roots. The only circumstance to be attended to here, is, the carcase of the ox : 

 the value of this, in stating the consumption ot* produce, must be added to the value of his labor, He con- 

 sumes, from his birth, till he goes to the shambles, the produce of a certain number of acres of land ; the 

 return he makes for this is so much beef, and so'many years' labor. The consumption of produce mtist there- 

 fore be divided between these two articles. To find the share that should be allotted to each, the first thing 

 is to ascertain how many acres of grass and roots would produce the same weight of beef from an ox, bred 

 and reared for beef alone, and slaughtered at three or four years' old, "What remains has been consumed 

 in producing labor. The next thing is to compare this consumption with that of the horse, which produces 

 nothing but labor. By this simple test, the question, viewing it upon a broad national ground, must evi- 

 dently be determined. Everyone may easily make such a calculation suited to the circumstances of his 

 farm ; none that could be offered would apply to every situation. But it will be found, that if even three 

 oxen were able to do the work of two horses, the advantages in this point of view would still be on the side 

 of the horses ; and the first objection applies with undiminished force besides. 



4466. Themoney-priceof the horse and ox, it is evident, is merely a temporary and incidental circum- 

 stance, which depends upon the demand. A work ox may be got for less than half the price of a horse, be- 

 cause there is little or no demand for working oxen, while the demand for horses by manufactures, com- 

 merce, pleasure, and war, enhance the price of farm-horses, as well as of the food they consume. Those 

 who wish to see horses banished from all sorts of agricultural labor, would do well to consider where they 

 are to be reared for the numerous wants of the other classes of society. Besides, if two oxen must be kept 

 for doing the work of one horse, it ought to be foreseen, that though beef may be more abundant than at 

 present, there will be a corresponding deficiency in the production of mutton and wool. A greater [portion 

 of the arable land of the country must be withdrawn from yielding the food of man directly, and kept un- 

 der cattle crops, which, howevier necessary to a certain extent for preserving the fertility of the soil, do not 

 return human food, on a comparison with corn-crops, in so great a proportion as that of one to six from any 

 given extent of land of the same quality. 



4467. The demand for oxen is confined almost every where to the shambles ; and by the 

 improvements of modern husbandry, they are brought to a state of profitable maturity at 

 an early age. No difference in price at setting to work, no increase of weight while 

 working, no saving on the value of the food consumed, can ever make it the interest 

 of tillage farmers generally, tj keep oxen as formerly, till they are eight or ten years old. 

 They judiciously obtain the two products from different kinds of animals, each of them 

 from the kind which is best fitted by nature to afford it, the labor from the horse, and 

 the beef alone from the ox. And though the price of the horse is almost wholly sunk at 

 last, during the period of his labor he has been paying a part of it every year to a fund, 

 which, before his usual term expires, becomes sufficiently large to indemnify his owner. 

 The ox, on the other hand, is changed three or four times during the same period ; and 

 each of them gives nearly as large a carcase for the food of man, as if his days had been 

 unprofitably prolonged in executing labor, from which he has been gradually exempted 

 in Britain, in France, and in other countries, very nearly in proportion to the progress of 

 correct systems of husbandry. 



4468. The description of horse which a farmer ought to choose will depend chiefly on 

 the soil of the farm, and partly also on the quantity of road-work. Stiff lands require 

 obviously a heavier and more powerful breed than such as are light and hilly. In the 

 latter case, two of the best breeds are the Clevelands and Clydesdale, or some local cross 

 with these breeds. In general, it is not advisable to procure horses from a climate mate- 

 rially different from that where they are to remain ; and therefore, for various reasons, a 

 prudent farmer will look out for the best in his neighborhood. Often, however, he is 



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