354 THE OX. 



poses of labour, indeed, the Suffolk Breed is equal, if not 

 superior, to any in the kingdom. It has more action than 

 the Hereford, and more physical strength than the Devon ; 

 and is superior to the Long-horned varieties for a combina- 

 tion of activity and strength. The employment of oxen for 

 labour prevails all over Sussex, but chiefly in the stiff soil 

 of the Wealden. The animals are usually worked four, and 

 sometimes six and even eight together ; and heifers as well 

 as oxen are employed. They are broken to the yoke at 

 three years old, worked usually until the age of five or six, 

 and then they are fattened for the butcher. The employment 

 of oxen in the labours of the farm is recommended by certain 

 apparent advantages, which has led to some erroneous con- 

 clusions with respect to the extent to which these animals 

 may be profitably employed in the ordinary business of the 

 farms of this country. The Ox is reared to the age of labour 

 at less expense than the Horse, his subsequent charge of 

 maintenance is smaller, he requires less care and attend- 

 ance, and at a certain age, when unfitted for labour, he can 

 be fattened ; whereas the Horse declines in value soon after 

 his prime, and ultimately becomes useless. On the other 

 hand, the Ox, although well suited for a slow and steady 

 draught, such as the plough demands, is not so well adapted 

 as the Horse for active motion, for distant journeying, or 

 for those sudden and unequal exertions which the varied 

 labours of a modern farm require. When oxen, too, are 

 employed largely on the farm, and disposed of after two or 

 three years' labour, there is a continued recurrence to the 

 training of young oxen for the yoke, by which means time, 

 so necessary to be economised on a well-ordered farm, is 

 lost in a degree which does not occur when horses are the 

 beasts of labour. Even in those parts of the country where 

 the working of oxen is the most largely practised, and where 

 the breeds of the country are the best adapted for the pur- 

 pose, few farmers attempt to cultivate their farms by oxen 

 alone : they employ horse-teams in at least equal numbers ; 



