No. 151.] 355 



So that you perceive the true test to discover an animal's age 

 is by the teeth, instead of the horn; dealers in stock frequently file off 

 the rings on an animal's horn, consequently it never can be considered 

 a certain test of age; the teeth however will never deceive you. You 

 must not consider the manure derived from the ox half as valuable 

 as the excrement of the horse, principally for the reason that the food 

 of the ox undergoes a double process of mastication, extracting near- 

 ly all the nutriment it contains; whereas the horse extracts but a very- 

 small portion. This fact is plainly manifest to any person who ex- 

 amines th2 foeces of the two animals; in that of the ox will be found 

 no vegetable fibres, whereas that of the horse will be chiefly made up 

 of such substances. If a large ox wall eat in a year 7000 lbs. of 

 straw and other substances, he will yield 16,000 lbs. of manure; a 

 horse fed upon 7000 lbs. of provender will only yield 11,000 lbs. of 

 manure; still the 11,000 lbs. will be intrinsically worth twice as much 

 as the 16,000 lbs. voided by the ox. 



My oxen are never permitted to run at large in the fields, but are 

 kept in stalls summer and winter. During the summer they are con- 

 stantly employed, and will work throughout the week, during the 

 warmest day in August, without lolling; to enable them thus to labor 

 I find it necessary to treat them with the same care and attention 

 usually bestowed upon the horse; like the horse they cannot work 

 upon green food; it is indispensable that they should have at least 

 one feed of dry hay each da/, together with one meal of Indian meal 

 or ship stuff; their stall must be spacious, w^ell lighted and airy, and 

 the temperature kept at about 60"; they will consume one-third less 

 food in winter in that temperature, than they would exposed to 

 the inclemencies of the weather; damp walls and exposure to 

 cold rains is extremely detrimental to them; they should be re- 

 gularly groomed, watered four times each day, salted twice a 

 week, and fed at regular hours, but never fed more at a meal 

 than they can consume; and vary their food as often as possi- 

 ble. They should always be driven and taken care of by the same 

 man. I have a yoke of oxen that will invariably run away wuth any 

 other than their regular attendant; but with him they never attempt 

 such a step; they will permit him to ride upon their backs, but if any 

 other person has the temerity to mount them, he will be immediately 

 thrown off. There are seasons in the year when your oxen are little 

 used, and as it is indispensable to the well being of the animal that 

 his nmscles ihould be employed in order that the process of absorp- 

 tion may be accelerated, he should not be deprived of exercise, as 

 he may lose the power of contracting and expanding the foot, ren- 

 dering him unserviceable when required for duty; to avoid this your 



