Book VII. 



WORKING HORNED CATTLE. 



971 



ms^ 



6216. The trai?iing of the calf intended for labor, according to some, should com- 

 mence at an early period, and after being accustomed to be handled, he should be taught 

 to present his foot to the shoeing smith, as readily as the horse, which is partially the 

 practice in some places. No animal, however, is so easily broke as the ox at any age ; 

 and in most countries, where they are used in labor, they are never handled till harnessed 

 and put in the })lough, or to drag a tree. This is the case both in Devonshire and 

 Herefordshire, and as they are only worked a few years it does not seem desirable to 

 be at any great expense in their training. The Roman practice, in this particular, may 

 deserve imitation. (99.) 



6217. Working oxen when kept in a house are generally confined to their places by the 

 same sort of fastening used for cows, (Jig. 650.), in which their neck has free play 

 between two upright spars ; Init in some establish- 



650 ments a ring of a parti- 



ql ^^4-^r^ cular description (Jig. 



- 651.) is used, to which 

 they are tied by a halter 

 attached to a head strap 

 or bridle. The ring is 

 generally screwed into 

 the front of the man- 

 li 11 il II ger or eating trough. 



The cattle fastening used in Devonshire is a wooden 

 bow put on their necks and fastened to a round post. The bow consists of two 

 pieces the yoke, which has two slits terminating in round holes, and the bow, which 

 is made of split ash, and has a knob at each end. These knobs being put through 

 the round holes, the elasticity of the bow forces it along the slit and prevents it 

 returning. 



6218. The most approved kind of harness ior the o^ 652 

 is little different from that of the horse, excepting in 

 the shape of the collar. In many places, however, 

 and especially on the continent, the ox draws solely 

 by tlie withers, by means of what is called a yoke and 

 bow. {Jig. 652.) 



6219. The shoeing of oxen is a practice which is 

 yet far from being performed in a perfect manner. 

 Clark says, that in many parts of France, where the 

 ox is used for draught, it is sometimes necessary to 

 employ eight shoes, one under each nail ; or four, one under each external nail; and 

 sometimes only two, one under the external nail of each fore foot. In this country 

 two pieces or shoes to each foot are generally made use of, being mostly fixed on, espe- 

 cially in the northern districts, with three or four large headed nails to each shoe. They 

 are fitted on in a similar manner to those of the horse. But, from the shoes of tliese 

 animals being from the smallness of the pieces so liable to break, it has been suggested 

 to have them shod with whole shoes in the manner of the horse; but how far this 

 practice would answer, must depend upon future trials. As there is much trouble 



653 



in the shoeing of these animals, from it being ne- 

 cessary to cast them each time, it has been found 

 requisite to have recourse to contrivances for shoe- 

 ing them standing [fig. 653.) 



654 6220. An ox shoe {fig. 654.) consists 



of a flat piece of iron, with five or six 

 stamp holes on the outward edge to re- 

 ceive the nails; at the toe is a projection of some inches, which passing 

 in the cleft of the foot, is bent over the hoof, so as to keep the shoe in its 

 proper place. This projection is not, however, employed in the general 

 practice of making these shoes. 



6221. The age at which an ox may be worked is from two and a half to 

 three and a half years. Some begin at two, but it ought to be for very light 

 operations, and such as are not of long duration. The period to which the 

 ox is worked varies from his fifth to the tenth year. 



6222. ParkinsoiVs father used to make up occasionally an ox team for the plough of four oxen and one 

 horse as a leader, which he found did about two-thirds of the labor of two horses. There are, he says, 

 great objections to ox-teams in the plough. He has, however, found them useful in some sorts of farm- 

 work, from their slow, steady pace ; as in scarifying, leading dung, &c., as the work suits them from its 

 being easy, and having a great deal of standing : they are, says he, much cheaper kept than horses, and 

 cat straw in the winter, and are valuable for making dung. He never saw this practice injure their 

 growth. They may be worked from two till five years old, without any loss of time, as they grow to that 

 age, and arc then both larger and better beef than three year old steers. He, therefore, recommends ox- 

 teams for leading dung and the other odd jobs, but not to plough and harrow. If they ape worked to 



