ON DRAUGHT OXEN. I23 



their fuperior aftivity confidering their weight, 

 as the fitted for labour of any at this day upon 

 the ifland. 



An ox-team ploughs an acre in eight hours, 

 performing the day's work with full as much 

 eafef and difpatch as a team of horfes. The 

 oxen are exceedingly handy, and may be dri- 

 ven with a heavy load to a hair's breadth. My 

 informant is in the habit of carting lime from 

 the diftance of feventeen miles, both with ox 

 and horfe teams, and the former ufually beat 

 the horfes by about an hour in the journey, 

 taking the carts fader up the hills. Oxen, by 

 trial, have walked more miles in a given time 

 than cart-horfes. They are fed (the oxen I 

 mean) with hay and chaff, and but little corn. 



The neat cattle, both of Hereforddiire and 

 ShropQiire, are a fuperior fpecies in refpeft to 

 form as well as fize ; the latter have the pre- 

 ference for the dairy ; the former are reared to 

 great fize and beauty, by the judicious and fpi- 

 rited breeders of that county, and annually 

 command extraordinary prices, as grazing dock, 

 in Buckingham and Oxfordfiiire. In Here- 

 for-dfliire they put their bullocks to work at 

 two years old, continuing them until five or 

 fix ; but as during the late exceffive prices of 

 dock, occafioned by the ruinous war, in which 

 we were hopelefsly engaged, every refource 

 had been anticipated, working oxen have been 



commonly 



