284 



Inspections at Philadelphia. — Words to Children. Vol. XII. 



In every part of India the ox always appears, 

 even in the train of her armies. And in the 

 hottest parts of the West Indies, the ox is 

 employed in hauling the vi'eighty produce to 

 the seaports. The mistake here, as in the 

 former case, has arisen from the effect of an 

 occasional employment only, with no other 

 than green food. Tlie fermentation of this 

 in the animal, heated by the weather, and 

 fretted by the discipline, will readily account 

 for his sinking under his exertions; when 

 green food even, much less dry, with a sober 

 habit of labour, would have no such tend- 

 ency. 



The third objection also is not a solid one. 

 The ox can, by a proper harness, be used 

 singly, as well as the horse, between the 

 rows of Indian corn; and equally so used 

 for other purposes. Experience may be 

 safely appealed to on this point. 



In the fourth place, it is alleged that he is 

 slower in his movements. This is true, but 

 in a less degree than is often taken for 

 granted. Oxen that are well chosen for 

 their form are not worked after the age of 

 about eight years — the age at which they 

 are best fitted for beef; — are not worked too 

 n)any together, and are suitably matched, 

 may be kept at nearly as quick a step as 

 that of the horse, might I not say quicker 

 than thfit of many of the horses we see at 

 work, who, on account of their age, or the 

 leanness occasioned by the costliness of the 

 food they require, lose the advantage where 

 they might have once had it] 



The last objection has most weight. The 

 ox is not as well adapted as the horse to the 

 road service, especially for long trips. In 

 common roads, which are often soft, and 

 sometimes suddenly become so, the form of 

 his foot and the shortness of his leg are dis- 

 advantages; and, on roads frozen or turn- 

 piked, the roughness of the surface in the 

 former case, and its hardness in both cases, 

 are inconvenient to his cloven f(X)t. But 

 where the distance to market is not great, 

 where the varying state of the roads and of 

 the weather can be consulted, and where 

 the road service is less in proportion to the 

 farm service, the objection is almost deprived 

 of its weight. 



In cases where it most applies, its weight 

 is diminished by the consideration that a 

 much greater proportion of service on the 

 farm may be done by oxen than is now com- 

 monly done ; and that the expense of shoe- 

 ing them is little different from that of keep- 

 ing horses shod. It is observable that when 

 oxen are worked on the farm over rough 

 frozen ground, they suffer so much from the 

 want of shoes, however well fed they may 



be, that it is a proper subject for calculation 

 whether true economy does not require for 

 them that accommodation, even on the farm, 

 as well as for the horses. — Skinner's Cattle 

 Doctor. 



Inspections at Philadelphia. 



A CORRESPONDENT of the Bulletin gives 

 the following as the total inspection of cer- 

 tain articles in the District of Philadelphia, 

 during the year 1647. 



Flour. 



671,359 barrels superfine flour, 

 6,471 do. do. do. 



20,408 do. fine do. 



109 half barrels fine do. 

 11,320 barrels condemned flour. 



64 half barrels condemned flour. 

 2,612 barrels middlings flour. 

 26,971 do. rye do. 



937 do. condemned flour 

 292,347 do. kiln dried corn meal. 

 1,777 do. ' condenmed do. 



168 half barrels corn meal. 

 1,475 hogsheads do. 

 Estimated value of the above, $6,015,449 50 



Butter and Lard. 



29,052 pack. ex. butter, No. 1, 696,490 lbs. 

 130 do. do. do. 3,044 



1,024 do. ex. lard, do. 62,819 



30,206 



Valued at 



762,353 

 $97,175 66 



A Few Words for Children. 



You were made to be kind, says Horace 

 Mann, generous and magnanimous. If there 

 is a boy in the school who has a club foot, 

 don't let him know that you ever saw it. 

 If there is a poor boy with ragged clothes, 

 don't talk about rags when he is in hearing. 

 If there is a lame boy assign him some part 

 of the game which does not require running. 

 If there is a hungry one give him part of 

 your dinner. If there is a dull one help him 

 to get his lesson. If there is a bright one 

 be not envious of him; for if one boy is 

 proud of his talents, and another is envious 

 of them, there are two great wrongs and no 

 more talents than before. If a larger or 

 stronger boy has injured you, and is sorry 

 for it, forgive him, and request the teacher 

 not to punish him. All the school will 

 show by their countenance how much bet- 

 ter it is to have a great soul than a great 

 fist. 



