AGRICULTURE ON THE RHINE. 141 



chased to eke out the year's consumption. The humid cli- 

 mate and severe winters operating on so weak a soil, 

 make it necessary to cover the winter seed with dung- in 

 order to quicken and protect it. But the only dung in 

 this district is that of oxen, or at best horse-dung mixed 

 with that of horned cattle, and there is little warmth in 

 it to impart to the soil. 



The general use of oxen or of cows for draught cattle 

 upon the banks of the Rhine is recommended, as we have 

 seen, by the necessity for dung not likely to overheat the 

 ground under a scorching summer sun. In these colder 

 parts the ox is still an indispensable inmate of the stable, 

 but for another reason. 



Mining and forest work are fully as much the business 

 of the peasants as agriculture in the level land. They are, 

 however, carried on upon the hills, which are on all sides 

 pierced by countless mines. Many of these lie on heights 

 of considerable elevation, or in back valleys from the Sieg, 

 the access to which is steep and difficult. As the ascent 

 is commonly effected with an empty car on two wheels, 

 the draught is not oppressive for oxen. To descend the 

 worn-out roads towards the villages or the high road is 

 not so easy a task, and here the ox is invaluable as a ser- 

 vant. They may be seen guiding with their foreheads 

 under their yokes, the weight of ore intrusted to them, 

 and while the deep ruts in the road act as a drag to the 

 car, the animal's own weight adds resistance to its pres- 

 sure ; and loads varying from 12 cwt. to 20 cwt. are thus 

 secui'ely brought down with a speed, not equal to horse 

 draught on roads well laid down, but which is all that can 

 be accomplished with the present ones. 



