162 BRISTOL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



generally in good condition, and well trained, and some of them 

 worked admirably, demonstrating that a gentle but decided ?^-orc^ 

 from the teamster, as effectually controls their movements, as 

 does usually the ponderous thong, or the boisterous /iaii^ and ^ee. 

 In the appearance, size and number of cattle, there was a great 

 falling off from former years. When this society was first es- 

 tablished, they were the lions of the show. Then they were 

 considered indispensable, with the good farmer, on a well or- 

 dered farm; but now they have fallen with us into neglect, and 

 we rarely enjoy the luxury of seeing, either upon the farm or 

 the highway, a sleek, well-formed yoke of oxen, as in the olden 

 time, patiently and proudly bearing along their heavy burdens. 

 Why is it ? The question has often been asked, and we put it 

 to our agricultural friends, why is it, that these noble animals, 

 which, thirty years ago, were the pride and boast of New Eng- 

 land farmers, are so generally disused, and their places supplied 

 by the no less noble animal, the horse? 



From our own inquiries, we are well satisfied, that little is 

 known by those who ought to know, of the comparative value, 

 for farming purposes, of the ox and the horse ; and we are in- 

 clined to believe, that, in most cases, substituting one for the 

 other is a matter of fashion or fancy, rather than the more 

 weighty and substantial consideration, economy. 



It is a general complaint amongst those of us who are en- 

 gaged in agricultural pursuits, that our labor at best, yields but 

 small returns ; farmers, nevertheless, some of us must be ; the 

 land, poor as it is, must be cultivated; and we, whose lot it is 

 to labor in this primitive, healthful, and most respectable employ- 

 ment, must see to it, that so important a part of farming opera- 

 tions, as the moving power, is judiciously and economically 

 cared for. 



The first cost of a yoke of oxen is much less than that of a 

 pair of ordinary horses ; they can be kept on the farm at less than 

 half the expense ; can do as much work at the plough, on the 

 average, and do it as well ; can do more on the hill-side, in 

 stony land, and in the woods ; are less hable to disease and ac- 

 cident ; have fewer bad tricks ; and, at last, when worn out, 

 become a valuable appendage to the shambles, and command a 

 price, equal to their first cost, from the butcher. 



