FEANCE. 275 



short; ribs round; stands remarkably plumb on his legs; tail well 

 attached; skin rather thick, of a light tissue, ^ith somewhat rough 

 hair. Being energetic and having a quick pace, these animals are emi- 

 nently fit for work. Yoked to enormous two-wheeled carts, they carry 

 prodigious loads under a scorching sun, and sometimes with a sandy 

 dust which renders their work very painful. 



With all the qualities of a beast of burden, the Bazadais is also good 

 for the butchery, and, though weighing less than the Garonuais, is 

 frequently rewarded at the fat-cattle shows. It is preferred for the 

 butchery, being in general fatter than the Garonnais ; its flesh is better, 

 gives more of the choice cuts, and yields a greater average of meat 

 more than 60 per cent, of the live weight. 



The ox takes flesh much more easily than that of the Garonnais breed. 



The cow hardly has enough milk to feed her calf. 



Basadais calves. If the calf is intended to make a beast of burden he 

 is treated exactly as the Garonnais ; sometimes sent grazing, but gener- 

 ally kept in the stable. He is castrated when twelve months old, and 

 begins to be broken in three months after ; he is then used for light 

 plowing and' harrowings. When three years old he is yoked with a 

 companion to a two-wheeled cart, and carries 2,500 pounds, but for 

 short distances only. When four and a half years old he is used for 

 hard work till the age of six or seven, without showing any sign of great 

 fatigue. 



Weight and value of Bazadais oxen. A pair of Bazadais oxen can pull 

 10,000 pounds weight for 12J to 13 miles in one day, but can work at 

 that rate only three times in a week. The working pace is about 2 miles 

 per hour. The working animal is fed on bran, dry hay, and sometimes a 

 small ration of oats. A pair of working Bazadais oxen from four and a 

 half to five years old are sold from $220 to $260. 



One-third of the Bazadais working oxen are used for carting heavy 

 loads, one-fifth are sold for the vineyards of Medoc and Sauterne, the 

 rest are employed for agricultural purposes in the Bazadais region. 

 This latter portion is fattened when from four and a half to six years old, 

 whilst those belonging to heavy works are fattened only from the sixth 

 or seventh year of their age. The fattening begins in May and termi- 

 nates at the end of February. From May to October the animal is fed 

 on green forage, corn fodder, vetch, and purple clover. From October 

 he is fed on hay, bran, corn meal, rape, and linseed cake. 



A Bazadais ox at the age of maturity (five or six years) weighs from 

 900 to 1,000 pounds ; after being fattened as above he weighs from 1,100 

 to 1,200 pounds, and is then sold to the butcher at the rate of 12 cents 

 per pound live weight. 



The cows work like oxen. The calves are bought for the butchery from 

 $18 to $30 a head ; their flesh is very white and greatly praised. When 

 raised expressly to be fattened, on reaching its full growth, the animal 

 weighs about 2,000 pounds. 



In the southwest of France the Bazadais represents about one-third 

 of the bovine species and the Garonnais two-thirds. 



The Bazadais as a lone-malting animal. A reliable author mentions as 

 a known fact that p the country where the Bazadais is raised the horses 

 become small and slender, with small carcasses, whilst the oxen become 

 compact, thick, and long ; in other terms, in the same country, under 

 the same influences, and with the food produced by the same soil, the 

 bony system of the horse is reduced to the smallest proportions, whereas 

 that of the oxen takes a great development. This would tend to prove 

 that the Bazadais oxen have a particular tendency and aptness to as- 



