FAUMERS' REGISTER— STEERS AND DRAUGHT OXEN. 



331 



Another circumstance of essential importance 

 in broakiiiij-in young oxen is, that, when first put 

 to work, whether at the plough or in teams tor 

 flraught, they be notfatigued, or overheated. Till 

 they are thoroughly trained, therelbre, it will be 

 necessary to employ them in labor only at short 

 intervals; to indulge them with rest during the 

 noon-day heats of summer, and to leed them with 

 good hay, which, in this ease, is preferable to grass. 

 In fact, while oxen are worked, they must be kept 

 in good condition and spirits, by moderate, but 

 wholesome sustenance. Further, on their return 

 home ti'om labor, it Avill greatly contribute to pre- 

 serve their health, if their feet be well washed jire- 

 viously to leading them into their stalls; otherwise 

 diseases nnght be generated by the filth adhering 

 totliem; Avhile their hooves becoming soft and ten- 

 der, Avould necessarily disable them from working 

 on hard or stony soils. The extremes of lieat and 

 cold ought also to be carefully guarded against, as 

 disorders not unfrequentiy arise from excess of 

 cither temperature; and they are peculiarly ex- 

 posed to fevers and the flux, if chased, Or hurried, 

 «>?j)ecially in hot weather. 



The following mode of training and Avorking 

 oxen, wdiich has been successfully adopted in 

 North Britain, we give in the words of the farmer 

 by whom it is practised. 



" Out of my stock of cattle," says he, " I select, 

 ■when tw^o years old, (that is, alter harvest, when 

 1 hey are rising three,) four of my stoutest, best 

 shaped slots from the field. These, to accustom 

 with harness, I bind up in my oxen byre every 

 night, for a w^eek or two; and they arc then taken 

 out in pairs, and put into the plough with a pair of 

 older trained oxen yoked before thern. This keeps 

 them steady, and prevents their running off. After 

 being j-oked in this manner two or three times, I 

 turn them again amongst the cattle in the straw- 

 yard, where they remain until spring. They are 

 then three years old. I yoke them all four, after 

 training them as above stated, in a plough by 

 themselves, which requires a little boy to drive; 

 and in that way they are used until four years old, 

 ■when they are worked in pairs as horses, by one 

 man only, and do the same work at ploughing; 

 lor at carting, &c., I never use them, having as 

 many horses as do that part of my work. When 

 used in pairs, one man works two yokings, and the 

 cattle only one each. If, however, I had occasion 

 for two cattle-ploughs, each pair might work ivell 

 two yokings, the same as horses." 



The same intelligent correspondent also remarks, 

 in addition to the above: "if, when three years 

 old, eight stots were worked, four and four alter- 

 nately, it Avould be a great relief; and I have uni- 

 formly found that cattle moderaicly worked thrive 

 better than those that are idle, or unemployed."* 



The following system of a succession of breed- 

 ing and working cattle has been recommended by 

 that eminent agriculturist Mr. EUman. of Glynde, 

 in Sussex: — the numbers depending, of course, on 

 the means or inclination of the breeder: — 



14 calves; of which, nine male; eight for oxen, 

 and one allowed lor accident, or not taking to 

 work. 



14 year-olds. 



14 two year olds; of which eight ■worked a little 

 at two years and a half. 



14 three year olds; jiart of which taken for coavs, 

 and others, if not good, fattened. 



14 lour year olds; eight worked. 



14 five year olds; do. 



14 six year olds; fattened. 

 Thus twenty-lour oxen are ■u'orked in common; 

 eight, three; eight, lour; and eight five years old; 

 and a reserve is kept for breeding cows, and acci- 

 dents.* 



The details of the Earl of Egremont's system, 

 as followed to a great extent at Petw^orth, are as 

 follows: — 



The calves are dropped fi-om December to iho 

 end of February; they are weaned immediately-, 

 never letting them suck at all, but the milk given 

 for a fijw dajs as it comes from the cow. But for 

 weaning on skim milk, they ought to fall in De- 

 cember, or a month befjre and atier, and should 

 then be kept Avarm by housing; and thus they Avill 

 be equally IbrAvard Avitli calves, drojit late in the 

 spring, that ran Avith the cow. With the skim 

 milk some oatmeal is given, but not tdltw^o months 

 old, and then only because the number of calves is 

 too great for the quantity of milk; Avater and oat- 

 meal are therefore mixed Avith it to make it go fixr- 

 ther. But to tfns, heifers Avith their first calAxs 

 are exceptions: for they do not become good milk- 

 ers if their calves are not allowed to suck for the 

 Avhole season; Avith the second they are treated 

 like the rest. In May the calves are turned to 

 grass; the first Avinter, from the beginning of No- 

 vember, they are fed upon roAven, or, as it is in 

 some places called, aftermath. The folloAving 

 summer they are at grass; the second Avintcr on 

 straAV, with a turn on short rough grass: they have 

 been tried on hay alone, but straAV and grass do 

 better. The fblloAving and every other summer on 

 grass, and are broke-in at Christmas, being then 

 three years old, but are only lightly Avorked until 

 the spring, when their real" labor "begins. From 

 this time tfieir Avinter food is straAv, A\-Ith a ton and 

 a half of clover hay from the beginning of Janua- 

 ry. They are previously ke|)t on straAV' alone, yet 

 are Avorked three days in each Aveek. 



The breed is Hereford, Sussex, Devon, and a 

 mixed breed betAveen Hereford and Sussex. The 

 Herefords are the best, Avhen pure, for the com- 

 bined objects of Avorking and fatting; but the mix- 

 ture of half Hereford and Sussex are nearly 

 equal.! 



The general character of the ox is, patience 

 and tractabihty, though young steers sometimes 

 prove refractory and vicious, Avhich, hoAvever, is 

 in most instances the resuh of defectiA'e manage- 

 ment, or of bad treatment Avhen first brokenlbr 

 the yoke. When, therefore, an ox is unruly or 

 stubborn, it Avill be advisable to keep him till he ia 

 hungry; and, Avhen he has fasted long enough, he 

 must be made to feed out of the hand. On his 

 returning to labor he should be tied AA^ith a rope; 

 and, if he at any time become refractory, gentle 

 measures should be adopted, as aboA-e described, 

 in order to bring him to Avork readily and quieth''. 



In working oxen to advantage*, much depends 

 on the mode of harnessing them, and the question, 

 "whether it is most advantageous to yoke oxen 

 by the head or by the collar]" has occasioned much 



* Farmer's Magazine vol. 3 p. 450. 



* See Agricultural Survey of Sussex, p. 261. 

 I t Ibid 263. 



