Horse and Ox Teams. 
53 
and their hoofs not being so durable as those of oxen, the latter 
almost superseded them in field labour. Even up to the middle 
of last century, when there were few made roads, and when, con- 
sequently, all thoroughfares were nearly impassable for wheel car- 
riages, agricultural produce was carried on the backs of the ani- 
mals, oxen as well as horses. 
It may not be altogether out of place or uninteresting here to 
allude to the plough-team of former days. The manner of yoking 
oxen in earlv times seems to have been to fasten the draught gear 
to the horns. This barbarous practice extended even to a modern 
date. Lord Karnes says — " People differ in the manner of yoking 
oxen ; in some places they are yoked to the tip of the horn, and 
in some by the root : these modes are visibly inconvenient. When 
an ox draws by the shoulder like a horse, his head is free, and his 
motion natural ; — when yoked by the horns, he lowers his head to 
the line of the draught, his posture is constrained, and his step 
short ; his neck indeed is stronoj, but his shoulder is a better ful- 
crum for the draught." This is very cool reasoning certainly. It 
was well for the poor brutes that the policy and interest of the 
master chanced to be accordant with humanity. Until about the 
end of last century, the ordinary collars were not used ; a sort of 
stuffed bow was fastened round the neck, and the single tree lay 
on the shoulder, to which were fastened the chains for drawing by. 
The array of numbers and apparent strength employed in a plough- 
team would astonish our modern agriculturists. From the earliest 
times, I presume, up to about the year 1760, as many as from 12 to 
20 oxen, and 6 or 8 horses would have been engaged in drawing one 
plough ; this can be partly accounted for otherwise than by the rude 
and awkward manner of yoking. Before 1770 very little breadth 
indeed of artificial grasses was sown. The ground was cropped 
for a succession of years, until the natural grasses, what we now 
term weeds, got thickly and firmly rooted, the growth of which 
afforded food during the day in summer for the animals, and at 
mid-day the ploughmen pulled thistles from among the corn for 
night provender. In winter the horses were allowed about a feed 
of oats daily, with oat-straw ; the oxen got the latter only. While 
thus poorly fed, the animals had not strength in the draught, hence 
the numbers requisite. The farm which I occupy has been 
tenanted by my ancestors for many generations. At the time of 
the Revolution my great grandfather, and his son for many years 
after that, emplo)ed 12 working horses, and 28 working oxen, one 
half of each set being yoked to one plough : I now work the same 
land to better purpose, I presume, with 6 horses and 2 oxen. 
In further discussing this subject, I shall endeavour to treat it 
in the order pointed out in the conditions :- — 
