22 THE DISEASES AND DISORDERS OF THE OX. 



chief use of the ox was in agricultural labour. Ploughing 

 was and is always performed by oxeo, and allusions to this fact 

 are plentifully scattered through the Old and New Testaments. 



Each "yoke" comprised two oxen. The yoke itself, the chief 

 part of the harness, is of very simple construction. A tolerably 

 stout beam of wood is cut of a sufficient length to rest upon the 

 necks of the oxen standing side by side, and a couple of hollows 

 are scooped out to receive the crests "'f the two necks. In order 

 to hold this in its place, two flexible sticks are bent under their 

 necks, and the ends fixed into the beam of the yoke. In the 

 middle of this yoke the pole of the plough or cart is fastened, 

 and this comprises all the harness used, even "traces" not being 

 requisite. The yoke is very frequently mentioned in Holy 

 Scripture, as in the verse, " Take my yoke upon you ; for my yoke 

 is easy and my burden light." The instrument used for driving 

 the cattle was a goad, a long and stout stick, armed at one end 

 with a spike, and having a kind of spud at the other, by means 

 of which the earth could be scraped off the share when it became 

 clogged. 



After the land had been ploughed, the seed sown, and the 

 harvest had ripened, the labours of the oxen were again called into 

 requisition, firstly for threshing out the corn, and secondly for 

 taking the grain to the storehouses. The process of threshing 

 was a very simple one in the early times. A circular piece of 

 ground, the average diameter of which would be about 75 feet, was 

 levelled and beaten so as to be very hard and flat, and then on 

 this ground the corn was thrown, and a number of oxen were driven 

 about on it, so that the constant trampling of tlieir feet shook 

 the ripe grain out of the ears. The corn was gathered together 

 in the middle of the floor, and as fast as it was scattered by 

 the feet of the oxen, it was thrown back again towards tlie 

 centre. Afterwards a rough sledge or " moreg " was introduced. 

 To this the oxen were harnessed by a yoke, on which the driver 

 stood as he guided his team round the threshing-floor. The 

 work of treading out the corn was a hard and trying one to the 

 oxen, and it was probably for this reason that the kindly edict 

 was made, that the oxen who trod out the corn should not be 

 muzzled. Our readers will, perhaps, remember the verse, " Thou 

 shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn " (Deut. 

 xxv. 4). 



