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give place to the horse, the editor evidently sharing the preva- 

 lent notion that the near ox cannot be tauglit to walk in the 

 furrow as well as the off one. This idea is, however, an erro- 

 neous one, for cattle that will plow without a driver with a 

 landside plow can be taught in less than a half hour to go 

 equally well with a swivel plow, and when the near ox has 

 once learned that it is his place to keep in the furrow in going 

 one way of the field, he is usually surer to keep in his place 

 than the off one would be, as it is more natural for the 

 off ox to go where the near one leads. When the mowing 

 machines were first used upon our farms they were clumsy 

 affairs compared with the improved machines of the present 

 day, and it often required the full strength of two horses to 

 operate them, and many small farmers, who before kept but 

 one horse, found that they were obliged to procure an extra 

 horse in order to do their mowing by machinery ; and as the 

 farm was not large enough to keep the extra horse and the 

 oxen, the latter had to give place to the former. Unquestion- 

 ably on many farms the work can be more economically done 

 with a team of horses than by oxen. But if the farm is large 

 enough to need more team than a pair of horses, we should 

 advise the keeping of oxen, for there are many kinds of work 

 on most farms that can be done cheaper and better with oxen 

 than with horses. And is it not a fact that since we have 

 kept less oxen many of us have got in the habit of shunning 

 the rough places upon the farm. There is no animal whose 

 strength has done so much to improve the aspect of the farms 

 of this county as the patient ox. He has helped to make 

 smooth many rough and stony fields, and there are yet many 

 more places where his labor is needed, and we think it is well 

 for this society to encourage the raising and training of this 

 useful animal as well as to encourage the raising of horses ; 

 for the steers that are raised upon the farm generally remain 

 there for a time to do their part towards improving that farm, 

 and thus improve the agriculture of the county, thereby pro- 

 moting the cause of this society, while in the majority of 



