WORCESTER SOCIETY. 137 



With most of our farmers a good yoke of oxen can be more 

 easily raised than bought and paid fo7- : or, in other words, the 

 vahie of a good yoke of cattle being about one hundred dollars, 

 that sum is more easily produced by raising and training a yoke 

 of cattle upon the farm where they are wanted, than the same 

 vakie can be produced by any other ordinary farming opera- 

 tions ; and these remarks are equally applicable to other de- 

 scriptions of stock. 



It requires no very great discernment to see that those farm- 

 ers who raise stock for their own use, and of course to sell, are, 

 as a general rule, more thrifty and prosperous than those who 

 are constantly scouring the country to buy. If these remarks 

 are true, there is certainly a want of good management among 

 us, that we are obliged to send our money to neighboring 

 States to purchase inferior stock for our farms. 



In rearing steers for the yoke, the requisite qualities for good 

 working cattle, form, strength, size, temper, &.C., should be 

 looked to in the parentage on both sides. Experience has 

 shown that calves from young cows are preferable, and that 

 good care and attention should be bestowed upon them during 

 the earlier part of their growth, keeping them in good health 

 and thriving condition, that they may take on that fine form 

 and appearance which adds so much to their value in older 

 growth. More attention should be paid to matching steers in 

 regard to size, strength, and working qualities than to color and 

 other points, which are mere matters of fancy. 



In training steers, patience and good temper are very requisite 

 in the driver — and with all, good judgment — a knowledge of 

 what the team is capable of doing, and the best way to do it — 

 and with these qualities he should have language to express 

 himself to his team. A few words that can be understood by 

 human beings, will answer quite as well as the unmeaning lingo 

 that is often heard in the management of cattle. 



The committee having stated the foregoing as embracing 



their views of the subject, further report that there were thirty 



entries of steers, and five of calves, nearly all of which were 



presented for examination, and it was a source of great satisfac- 



18 



