68 HAMPSHIRE, HAMPDEN AND 



The ox is not swift on foot, but on the contrary, " slow and 

 sure." It is this quality of his character which renders him 

 peculiarly valuable to the New England farmer. His slowness 

 of motion in comparison with the horse, has subjected him at 

 times to some prejudice, and by those who are anxious to see 

 every thing move by the force of steam, to a depreciation of his 

 value. But we believe, generally, that the farmers of Massa- 

 chusetts on this subject, have adopted the proverb illustrated in 

 iEsop's fable of the "Tortoise and the Hare," — "the greater 

 haste, the less speed ;" and indeed, it has been already laid down 

 as an axiom by a committee of farmers of Massachusetts, men 

 who best ought to know the value of this animal, that the in- 

 terests of the farmer, for most purposes, are best promoted by 

 substituting the ox for the horse, and this for the following rea- 

 sons ; he is fed with less expense, is more patient of labor, 

 and is more valuable when his services are ended. 



The objection to his speed deserves a little further notice. 

 His proverbial slowness is probably more the result of his edu- 

 cation and training, than of his nature. In New England, he 

 is slow and sure, because he is trained to be so. The character 

 of our soil will not admit of rapidity of motion in its cultiva- 

 tion, and this stern fact of nature the ox is taught, from the 

 first time his neck is submitted to the yoke, to regard. But in 

 other climates and other regions, he is made an animal of speed, 

 and capable of performing long journeys, in less time and with 

 far better endurance, than the horse, his rival. The long and 

 tedious Santa Fe expeditions across the great American deserts, 

 are performed almost exclusively by oxen. Over the ever ver- 

 dant pampas of Buenos Ayres, ox teams are seen travelling at 

 the rate of thirty miles a day, for a month together. On their 

 journey from this city to Mendosa, a distance of 900 miles, they 

 pass in caravans of thirty or forty together. They are unyoked 

 at night, and seek their sustenance from the herbage of the 

 plains. In India, the bullock is used both for the saddle and the 

 coach. He is curried, clothed and attended, with as much so- 

 licitude, and much greater kindness, than we bestow on our best 

 horses. His travelling pace is a trot, and he is reported, by 

 those who have ridden him, to perform journeys of sixty sue- 



