293 
OTHER BEASTS OF BURDEN. 
The failure of the Zoological Society to establish 
any new draught animal in this country seems to show 
that as long as an Englishman can get a horse, he tries 
to do without any other beast of burden. The use 
of dogs is no longer legal, and we have nearly dis- 
carded the sturdy ox, even for ploughing. A few are 
to be seen in Wiltshire and on the Cotswold Hills ; 
in Berkshire there are some half-dozen teams, among 
them a famous quartette of red steers belonging to 
Sir William Throckmorton ; and Mr. Beresford 
Hope’s team of “ sheeted ” Dutch oxen, black giants 
with white “ sheets” of identical shape, is one of the 
sights of the farm at Bedgebury in Sussex; but 
outside these counties we know of none in England. 
Were we right to legislate against the use of dogs 
for draught ? A careful inquiry has been made in 
Brussels, and the verdict is that dogs are more useful 
than horses for minor town traffic — quieter, cleaner, 
and cheaper. “The first distinctive institution that 
attracts the attention of a stranger in Belgium,” writes 
the Consul, “ is the working-dog. Liege is a city of 
great wealth and industry, employing as many horses 
