^\]t JTarmcv's illirat!)!n Visiter. 



187 



tomparative value oi Oxen and Horses for 

 I'loK^liing. 



Willi liie riesile Ihnl llio f'nllovvins coii'cs(ioii- 

 clence iii;iy luiiiif mit iiioro fnnn lioiii tiiTuniti? 

 oliserveis rcs|iijcliiiy; llif ifhu'ue viillie to tlie 

 fnrfnPi' iliroiigli CiiUire iiuiiilnTS of tliis piippr, we 

 r^uboiil i[ tor |jiililirnlioii : 



Post Office Department, } 

 Inspector's Office, I lilt JYov. 1843. I 



Mr Df.ak Sir: — 1 uiii |ii(|i:iiiii!L' lui ps>iiy on 

 llie viiliif of oxen Jis coni/;iiip(l to !loi>es for the 

 ploiijfh Hnd for heavy (hiiiiyht on tlie road ji] the 

 liopo of pertunfliiiL' the Soot hern Fanner to es- 

 teem them av*; the Xew-Englaiid riiiin does for 

 these nsn.-'. 



I want to '^ct some lUilhentie inliinnation from 

 sudie timber gcitin^r riiuion, as to their oapai-iiy in 

 respei't of sirenylli and speed— wliat «eij,'lils lliey 

 wilMinnl, and how far travel in h day; — where 

 cnti 1 hest apply for il ? Is the information to be 

 iiad in Maine or New Hampshire, or where and 

 of whom ? What is voiirown ohservalion or ex- 

 perienee as to their capacily in lUaplough 7 How 

 nmeh land will a span of oxen plough day in and 

 (lay ont?— will they Iiaek to it through the day, 

 or do you rest them for some liniu's in the middle 

 of the day ; or do \ou plouj,'li one yoke of them 

 in the inorninjr and another in the evening! ? — Do 

 yon use oxen singly in the <;ciieral way, — if, so in 

 what (inrposes, and he,w fjeared ? Hinv are your 

 oxen, when at or not at work treated, different ly 

 from other cattle? 1 believe tlia! they might be 

 economically substituted for horses niuch further 

 (and more generally, )soiith than they are now, 

 and with n saving of millions to the country. 



Washinglon, Dec. 7, 1843. 



Dear Sir: — Yours of the 11th idtimo was re- 

 ceived at so late a period unterim' to my depart- 

 ure from the north, and not being possessed of 

 that aeemale inliiriiialion which 1 might wish in 

 relation to the siibjeet on vvhieb it treats, that 1 

 have liesitated and delayed to answi*-, in the ((.'at 

 that any thing 1 might olTer might tend to mis- 

 lead the [lublic. 



If you should have lime m address my friend, 

 the Hon. James Bates of Norridgevvock, Maine, 

 I bpli''ve be would give you interesting and ae- 

 cinate infonnalion of the value of oxen in the 

 timber getting legion of IMaiiie. In no part of 

 the e.onntry have 1 seen sni-li oxen as 1 have seen 

 Ht three difirrent agricullural exhibitioiis in the 

 connlies of Kennebeek, Franklin and Somerset, 

 in the Slate of Maine. To the eff;>r[s and piiii- 

 lic spirit of Messrs. Vaughaii (a relative of the 

 late British minister at Washington,) Gardiner 

 und others, has ihe iine country on the Keiine- 

 l)eck and its tributaries been indebted for great 

 improvement in their breeds of cattle. More 

 than in any other regiui; of the United Slates is 

 the mixture of llie Diurham, Holderness and Ayr- 

 shire breeds seen in the common cattle of the 

 fields. At the fair in October, 1842, in the beau- 

 tiful town of Farniington, which you will [ler- 

 ceive by the map is very neai' if Tiol (piite be- 

 yond the 4.')ih tlegree of north latilndc, 1 saw 

 the heavies! team of more than one hundred 

 yoke of oxan that I had erer witnessed ; and in 

 ^hat team a be.-uuifHl yoke of five year old steers 

 which had not yet attained their growth, a mix- 

 ture of the Holderness, entirely red, with hair as 

 fine as silk, anrl glossy skin about the hips and 

 iie>slriks of the same color: these steers were of 

 tlie larg'e.-t size of full grown eallle. 



II is a common thing at the Keansbeck cattle 

 shows to make trial of the strength of cattle by 

 Kingle yokes attached to the drag loadeil heavily 

 with stones, or to the loaded cart with a single 

 pair of w heels. Docile and teacliable, I have 

 sometimes se«'n these oxen move bodies which 

 would seem to be almo'^t incredible. Not dis- 

 coui'aged by repeated nnavaihible altempls, the 

 faithful animals would ■•<Ai\ nevv ctloris in altered 

 positions; and when once a start was given lo 

 the burden, the movement was kept up until the 

 object of retpiisite distance was gained. 



The country in the upper reaioii of ihe Ken- 

 nebeek river, as in thai oi' the Penobscot, (which 

 two magnificent rivers have their sources near 

 each other) is the laud of tall pines, the most f r- 

 tile and lieantiful both ibr exterior and interioi 

 finish in wooden bnilings. I was inforined that 

 twelve hundred yokes of oxen were annually 

 employed in the upper Kennebeek alone, in the 



pine woods about the Moosehead lake. That 

 country is comparalively new ; and abhough pro- 

 ductive in grass, does not yet produce enough for 

 Ihe consumpliou of lliese (•.■illle. A gemleman 

 I'esiding near the ^Moosehead lake, on ii fiirm of 

 his own recent clearing, informed me a le»v 

 weeks ago iha! ihe [nice of hay in his neighbor- 

 hood was fifteen dollars a ton, while in other 

 parts of New England, where there was no win- 

 ter lumbering, the price was not over six or eight 

 dollar?. 



On the Penobscot river there are engaged for 

 ibis winter about twenty-five hundred men, and 

 probably nearly a.s many upon the Kemiebeck. 

 About two men lo eacti yoite of oxen would be 

 the likely number. The mo.-t of these men are 

 employed in the woods b.;yoiid the setllemcnis, 

 anil live in tem|)orary huts or camps, doing their 

 own cooking without the society or assistance of 

 females. 



The oxen are treated with as much care ami 

 humaiiiiy as the men. Obliged olien to path the 

 deep snows, it might be supposed tliey would be 

 liable to injury ; but care and attention prevent 

 iliis. The largest and finest oxen are selected 

 t(jr this service ; and the highest ambition of the 

 keeper and driver is to improve his oxen so that 

 I hey may excel. 



It is said that the fisheries from Marbleliead 

 and oiher maraliuH! towns of New England were 

 the school for ipialif\ing iho mo^t eXjiei't seamen 

 lor our public ships: so I do not doubt that ihe 

 linibei and lumbering business, generally doiie 

 in till' winters in New England, has abundanlly 

 improved the size and value of Ihe ox. I have 

 always found in my own State of Ne'V Hamp- 

 shire those farmers to be himlierers who had the 

 largest oxen, which would perlbrm the most la- 

 bor and exert the greatest strength. 



My own experience in this matter is cpiile re- 

 cent, and of course limited. I have at this time 

 <-attle of my own raising which, having been 

 taught to step quick and having worked in the 

 same team with hoi.'cs, will, side by side, travel 

 as fast and plough as niucli in a day as the same 

 number of horses: a pair of these oxen will 

 turn over willi a plough that carries twelve indi- 

 es of the last year's corn or jiotato ground or 

 easy slubble land, fiinn one and a h.ilf to two 

 acres in a day, working eight hours, tour in the 

 forenoon and four in tlie :!liernoon, with ihi; rest- 

 ing of one and a half hour at noon. Oxen, well 

 led with hay and a poriion of Indian com or 

 meal, will in tin! heat of fUmtiier stand il to work 

 daily from eigkt to teni hours. The Nevv Eng- 

 land farmers do not, however, generally v\ork 

 them every day and all llie time. There are I7ia' 

 ny days in winter wlien it is not convenient lo 

 take tlieui (rom the barns or stables in which 

 they are slieltered ; and in seasons of leisure, 

 most fiiriners (urn out their oxen in mid-.=uniuier 

 to graze in the fii»lds and jiastures. 



Oxen sre exclusively ii!»h\ in ihe business of 

 heavy lumbering ; in which case they Rrc fiir the 

 most part atlached to large logging sleds. On 

 rough, hilly liunis, oxen are almost invariably 

 used Ibr dr.iwing manure to the fields, and pro- 

 duce li-om them — for collecting rocks to make 

 fences and tii^' other farm uses. In the plough, 

 likewise, where the share rs interrupted by 

 rocks, roots and hardpait, teams of oxen are 

 deemed almost indispciis-able : sometimes fiir the 

 want of a suflicirnt slrengih of oxen, a single 

 horse or a pair of horses used for the liimily car- 

 riage, are attached to and precede one or more 

 yokes of oxen. In this Kcrvice horses are easily 

 biokeii in to to the pace of the oxen, and fre- 

 quently lead the team quite as well as the oxen. 



Those who work their oxen only a poriion of 

 the time, treat ihem no belter than their common 

 milch cows: they stand generally in the same 

 stable wilh the i-ows, and are turned in the same 

 pastures, where it is convenient. 'J he best liiini- 

 ers frequently have handy pa.stnre lots of good 

 li*ed fijr the oxen alone. Where oxen are work- 

 ed couslanily, they are kept up at hay and led 

 with grain through the year. 



In former limes oxen were used extensively 

 for the transport of mercliandizR and products 

 on the long travel. They may be driven more 

 carefully over bad roads, such as existed fi)rtv 

 years ago. Since ihc great improvement of roads 

 uhicli has taken place in all the settled parts of 

 New England, heavy horse teams have bi-en em- 

 ploypil for th« long transport of merchandize. 



Almo.-t every considerable town at ilie iiisianco 

 of more lli:in Lwcniy miles Iroiii the seaboard 

 has ill constant employment one or more of 

 these heavy teams of lloiii three to five pairs of 

 siout horses. 'I'liese horses are i'ed on hay and 

 grain, (Indian corn or o:its) ami travel daily iho 

 year round : iheir usual distance of iravel is fi'ruii 

 fifteen to twenty miles, at as slow if not slower 

 pace with n lieavy load than the ox. Reflecting 

 on this subject, I am led to give the opinion that 

 teams of oxen drawing large loads on the long 

 travel of New England roads the year round 

 would not be an improved substitule for hoises; 

 although I am fiee to declare the belief that ox- 

 en might flo the same service with as little ex- 

 pense and the same feeding. 



I am inclined to ihiuk that the horse may bet- 

 ter stand lalior in a warm suhiy climate than the 

 ox. The general seiiiimeut in New England 

 would be that oxen are belter Ibr farm wor!; on 

 uneven, hard lands; and lliat horses iiiay lie bet- 

 ter used by farmers on level, light lands. Tlie 

 p.ice of the horse wilh llie plough is more rapid 

 than that of the ox, and the general opinion is 

 that more land may be plougheil in the same time. 

 In transporting maiiuie and produce at a dis- 

 tance, soinething is gained by the quicker pace 

 of ihe horse in going or returning without a load. 



But there is one inducement which should 

 lead every farmer who can do his work equally 

 well with ihe boisp and the ox, to piel(--r the bet- 

 ter; and that is the greater value of ihe ox ulieii 

 worn ont in service. The old and faiihi'ol horse, 

 no longer able to do his masler service, is an ob- 

 ject of commissi ration : humanity revolts at 

 knocking him on the bead when you can have 

 no more of him than the value of his skin. On- 

 the conirary tlie worn out ox which has been 

 humanely treated, cenerous though he may i e, 

 yci unconscious that kindlier treatment is i^.iimg 

 him fiir a last and most usefiil piirpo-e, is never 

 more vahmlile than when prepaii-d lor the kiii.o 

 of the butcher. If the .«ole purpose of rci riii-/ 

 him had been to this end, it would seem as if 

 his owner had derived tiom him the full value of 

 the expendilure. 



There is nnotiier consideration which should 

 induce u.s to prefer the ox to ilic horse; il e for- 

 mer is much less liable to he ruined or die of 

 disease under llic common aUenlioii and keeping 

 of the tiirmer. 



It is my deliberate opinion that in all the hill 

 country of the I'liitcd .Slates, ihey may be ino.'-t 

 profitably used liir fiuir and planialioii purposes. 



Of the diirerent melluals of gearing the ox, I 

 am jiarti.il lo ihe system uhicli every where pre- 

 vails in New Eoglaiul. They work in jiairs con- 

 nected lo each oilier by a yoke, wilh the neck of 

 the ox fiistened by bows. The diauglit come.s 

 upon the breast like llie collar and hames of Iho 

 horse. A staple and ring in the yoke connects 

 eiilier to the longiie of a cart, wagon, Bled or 

 oiher vehicle, or wilh a cliain or rope upon a 

 plough, harrow or drag. 



The sleer or young o\ is soon taiiLhtwhcn 

 yoked with his fellow to turn so the right or left, 

 lo stop or move (inward by a word or molinii. 

 It is only out of Now England that 1 have srcii 

 small cattle guided and driven liy negroes wilh a 

 rojie attuched to the horns. 

 I am, with great respect, 



Your obedient servant, 



ISAAC HILL. 



Lime for pisfbeuvino Apples. — Some perijoii 

 has made an excellent application of the di.-covc- 

 ry which was iriade some years .since, of the 

 value of lime in preserving articles liable to dam- 

 age from moisture. One of its first applicalions 

 w;is in [ircserving [ilanis sent from distant parts 

 of the world, by .scientific explorers, to Franco 

 and I'^ngland. These s[iecimeiis, lieielofiue, in 

 spile of the grealest skill and rare, were apt in 

 long voyages to become mouldy and discolored, 

 but it was found when p.-icked in tight cases 

 wilh powdered quicklime, this substnni:e absorb- 

 ed all moisture, and kept the plants ppifeclly 

 dry and s:ifi'. Now it has been applied to the 

 preservation of ;ipplc.s. The jaocess we cou- 

 deiise fi'om the Genesee Farmer: — "Tliu appli'S 

 are to lie kept in casks, and in pntliiig theui U|.', 

 a layer of chaff is |tlaceil on the bottom, sprinkled 

 with quicklime; then a layer of afi)>les, to be fol- 

 loweil by successive layers of chaff and lime, 



