OCTOBER. 537 



There are two cases in which oxen are certainly 

 more beneficial than horses; first, when a farmer 

 lives in a district where there is a breed of cattle 

 well adapted to work ; and, secondly, when his 

 farm is so large that lie can buy in a considerable 

 lot of cattle annually, at a small expence per wad, 

 and feel no inconvenier.ee in turning out such 

 beasts from the teams to fattening, as do not work 

 .well. In both these cases I have little doubt of the 

 superiority of oxen to horses. But in countries that 

 do not possess a breed of cattle \vell adapted for 

 work in the state of oxen ; and on small farms 

 whence fairs must be attended perhaps at the dis- 

 tance of an hundred miles to purchase a few, and 

 consequently at a great expence per head, and pos- 

 sibly without land for fattening any, the benefit 

 will be very questionable. In such a case I should 

 prefer the bulls of the country, which are every 

 where to be procured probably much cheaper than 

 oxen; are broken in with but little difficulty; 

 which work well, and which will recover from fa- 

 tigue sooner than any o\. This, I believe, from 

 what I have experienced, and from all the informa- 

 tion I have procured, is stating the question of the 

 comparison of horses and oxen as nearly to the 

 truth as it can be done, in few words. There are, 

 however, some works in the business of a form, 

 *n which horses are better than either oxen or bulls, 

 and therefore it may be advantageous to keep a few 

 horses. 



< The ox teams should this month be kept on stratv 



and 



