42 ECONO^^IY OF FARMING. 



can, therefore, not only complete the work in the same time more promptly, but also 

 require a longer cl;iy'.s work of them. Thus the wagon will acconiph^h more with 

 an equal nunuer ot horses than with oxen ; although with the usual draught of a 

 load, tiiey exert not more power than oxen, yet they overcome by their rapidity of 

 motion and energy, many a short resistance before wnich oxen stand still. 



'• In favor oi'Duan. are the following: 



"Tuey perform the greater part of the works on a farm, as ploughing, and the near 

 carrying oi' loads, as well as horses do ; and one can in a usual day's work, if tiiey 

 are well fed, expect nearly as much from them. They perform the work of plough- 

 ing in a certain degree better than horses. 



'• Tiie cost of them is considerably less. Their purchase, on an average, is not near 

 so high ; their harness is much cheaper, their food costs much less, and consists in 

 such tilings, as on account of its transportation, are not so marketable as the grain, 

 on which horses are kept. 



'• VV^hat is an important particular is : that if they are weh taken care of, and not too 

 long kept at work, they lessen not as much in value, but improve for the most part; 

 so tnat they olten sell for more than they at first cost, and thereby soon pay the 

 interest on the standing capital ; whereas, on the other hand, the value of the horse 

 Boon sinks to nothing, and the capital is wholly exhausted. They are also subject 

 to fewer hazards and casualties. 



" Tney demand less attention, as one ox-herd can take care of 30 oxen, if others 

 work with them by change. 



'' Finally, they give a greater quantity of excrement, which in general affords a 

 more productive manure than that of horses. Such horses and oxen must be com- 

 pared, the relation of v/hich in respect to their condition and care, are not unlike, &c. 



'• There can, therefore, be no doubt, that those labors which can be proportionally 

 well performed by oxen, will be done cheaper with oxen than with horses. If a farm 

 had ordy such work to be done as is convenient for oxen, and it could be executed 

 with allowing time to rest, &,c., then oxen should be used. But if, according to recent 

 experiments, another fodder can be iatroduced for horses than corn, and thus the 

 expense be lessened, then the question between horses and oxen would probably 

 Btand ditlerendy." 



Veit. has also discussed this question with his usual philosophical accuracy and 

 practical skill ; and presents us with the following views in his 2d Vol. pp. 527. &c. 

 After alluding to various experiments by which the cost of a day's work of a horse 

 was found to be from 21.45 kr. to 2S.8 kr. (= 18'. to 21.6 cts.), while that of the ox 

 was 20 kr. (= 15 cts.) , he proceeds to compare the two. 



In furor oHior^ies compared with o.?-e;?, he says: 



'• 1. The horse performs about one-third more labor in a day than the ox ; (a horse 

 can, with good treatment, work 10 hours in a day, and in a year 250 to 290 days' work, 

 and his age endure to 16 or 20 years •, , and in the pressure of work and unfavorable 

 circumstances of the weather, may more certainly be strained without danger on 

 account of the unusual performance, than can the laboring ox; which is to be reck- 

 oned highly, because at the time of sowing the seed in the spring, and in harvesting, 

 a greater part of the results not rarely depend on the despatch of the team at 

 work. 



" 2. On account of their power and continuance, horses also can be used a greater 

 number of years and of days in the year, for labor, than working oxen. 



" 3. They can be employed in bad open, stony, uneven ways ; in more unfavor- 

 able, wet weather ; in greater heat ; in winter ; and for more remote and more rapid 

 carrying of loads, where o^;en cannot be used to advantage, because these go more 

 slow, have not so hard a hoof, and show themselves more affected by the influences 

 of the weather. 



"4. Horses may be used for many kinds of work in the cultivation of plants, for 

 drawing sowing-machines, shovel and hilling-plough : for treading out grain of differ- 

 ent fruits, &c.. for which oxen cannot be used. 



''5. If one has occasion to avail himself of horses, or provides himself, at the out- 

 set, with young strong animals, then they would hold out a long course of years in 

 work, whereby the danger of loss would be avoided, or very greatly diminished; 

 which the frequent change of the team occasions. 



"Oil the other hand, the following are the disudvcuilages of keeping horses, or in 

 favor o'i oxer, : 



" 1. The outlay of capital is important; greater by one-half than that of working- 

 oxen. 



