170 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
ty, whereby not only one hundred and fifty-three and a half roods of drains 
have been saved, but a perfect drainage of the field has been accomplish¬ 
ed at less expense than the lifting of the original drains. Many other ex¬ 
amples of the failures of drainages from the same cause might be adduced, 
but, from their similarity, I consider it unnecessary in this place; 1 have 
not, however, met with any case that has not been successful when the 
drains were carried across the slope and made of sufficient dimensions, 
and, amongst numerous others with which I have been engaged, I shall 
only mention one, which not only realized every expectation that could 
have been formed of it, but also was drained at one-third of the expense 
it would have cost if it had been done by the system of furrow draining. 
This case was at Cleland, in Lanarkshire, the property of North Dal- 
rymple, Esq. The field is of considerable extent, having a general slope 
to the south, and the soil is of a tenacious nature, intermixed wdth veins 
of fine sand. The drains are made across the slope, at the distance of 
twenty yards from each other, averaging three feet deep, and the breadth 
at the bottom is twelve inches: they are filled with stones, broken to the 
size of coarse road metal, to within ten inches of the surface, and the re¬ 
maining space with porous soil. The outlets are made winding through 
the lowest places, and intersecting the cross drains. These operations 
were finished in the spring of 1832, and have-not only given satisfaction, 
but may be recommended as a complete specimen of shallow draining. 
It is evident, from the above statements, that the practice of putting a 
drain in every furrow, without discrimination as to the circumstances of 
the ground, is often a misapplication of labor and loss of capital; indeed, 
in many instances, where it can with propriety be used, the end would 
be much better attained by proper formation of ridges and furrows, com¬ 
bined with deep ploughing, so that no water can remain dead. I have of¬ 
ten seen large tracts of clayey land intermixed with whitish travelled 
stones, lying in sub-soils perfectly impervious, effectually drained by means 
of trench ploughing, and keeping the furrows regularly deep from one end 
of the ridge to the other. If farmers occupying clayey soils would pay 
more attention to the formation of the ridges and furrows, and to keeping 
the open ditches and water gaas, or cross furrows, sufficiently deep to 
clear the surface of all stagnant water in the hollow parts of the fields, there 
would be much less necessity for making drains for removing surface wa¬ 
ter .—(To be continued.) 
[From the Practical Farmer.'] 
WORKING OF OXEN. 
Much difference of opinion, says the author of the Encyclopaedia of 
Agriculture, formerly prevailed as to which of the two animals, the horse 
or the ox, should be preferred for the purpose of farm labor; and the pre¬ 
ference has generally been given by speculative writers to the ox, and by 
practical farmers to the horse. The first objection to the oxen is, that 
they are unfit for the various labors of modern husbandry, for travelling on 
hard roads in particular, for all distant carriages, and generally for every 
kind of work which requires despatch. Another is, that an ox team capa¬ 
ble of performing the work of two horses, even such kind of work as they 
can perform, consumes the produce of considerable more land than the 
horses. And as to the money price of the horse and ox, this, it is evi¬ 
dent, is merely a temporary.and incidental circumstance, which depends 
upon the demand. 
Notwithstanding the judgment thus pronounced on this subject, w*e 
find in this country the practice and experience of many farmers to be di¬ 
rectly at variance w’ith it. In a communication of the Hon. Levi Lincoln, 
of Massachusetts, to the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Agricultural Soci¬ 
ety, he says: “ You inquire the mode of breaking, feeding, and working 
our oxen. 
“ The best broken oxen are those which are early trained, and accus¬ 
tomed to the yoke with occasional light work. They are often broken at 
as early as one or two years of age, with gentle and patient usage. At 
this period they are more docile and tractable, and it is thought become 
more powerful by becoming sooner accustomed to each other, and to the 
application of their strength to the draught. I believe they may be taught 
to travel in almost any gait; certain it is, the rate at which oxen different¬ 
ly broken will walk with their load, would seem incredible fo a person 
ignorant of the difference in the mode of their training. To accustom 
them to a quick pace, they should at first be driven to the yoke, w'hile 
The expense of the new drains which you lined out were— 
•"or cutting forty-four roods, five feetdeep and coupled, at is. 3Jd. 
per rood,.. £2 16 10 
or cutting one hunrded and fifty roods, four feet deep, at Is. 0£d. 
per rood,. 7 16 7 
or cutting forty-eight roods, four feet deep and built, at Is. Id. 
per rood,....v . 2 14 0 
or cutting level for said new drains,. 0 6 0 
£13 14 1 
The field is all ploughed and sown, with oats. I am, &c. 
To Mr. G. Stkphkns. PETER THOMSON, Factor .” 
“ Castle Strathallan, 2 Olh April, 1831. 
young, without any or with a very light weight, and never heavily loaded 
until they have arrived at full strength and maturity. 
“ A S reat fault with many people is too much indifference to the con¬ 
struction of the yoke. Almost any shapeless piece of wood, with holes 
for the insertion of the bows, is made to answer; but to the ease of the 
draught, the adaptation of the yoke or bow to the neck of the bullock, 
and the position of the staple and ring in the yoke, are altogether mate¬ 
rial. For common use and for ploughing, I have found that yokes are ge¬ 
nerally too short. Cattle of the largest size require a yoke from four and 
a half to five feet in length. In short yokes they are apt to haul, as is 
termed, that is, draw from each other, and to such a degree, in some in¬ 
stances, as to cross their forelegs, and destroy their power, and greatly 
impede their progress. I once owned a pair, made totally useless by this 
habit, and afterwards entirely corrected it by the application of a yoke of 
eighteen inches more length. A short yoke is necessary only in snow 
paths, where cattle would otherwise crowd against each other, the oppo¬ 
site of hauling, but of the same mischievous effect. 
“ In respect (o what oxen may be made to do in a short time, or as an 
experiment on their strength, I mustreferyou to the results of our plough¬ 
ing matches and trials of strength. With us they are but little used on 
the road, except in the transportation of iieavy loads for short distances in 
the same town, or between neighboring towns. One reason why horses 
are preferred for wagoning on the road may be, that they can be made to 
travel quicker, and that from the construction of the hoof they are less 
liable to lameness than the cloven-footed ox, or by becoming foot sore. 
On the other hand, the patient and steady labor of the ox finds no substi¬ 
tute in the horse for the labor of the farm, and the latter is seldom seen 
there, except in occasional aid of the ox team, or with the light plough 
between the rows of corn. 
“ Tile value of a yoke of oxen or a pair of horses for use in all the work 
of a farm, admits of no comparison. So decided is the preference for the 
former that I do not believe a single farmer can be found in this extensive 
agricultural county, who performs his labor by horses without oxen; while 
there are hundreds, I had almost said thousands, who make no other use 
of horses in husbandry, than to furrow for planting, and plough amon°- 
their corn for hoeing. 
“ Our oxen, also, to answer part of your inquiries, are kept in a cheap¬ 
er and less expensive manner than horses. In the summer they are uni¬ 
formly grazed in the pastures In the cold and winter seasons they are 
put into the barns, and fed upon stock hay, as it is called, that which 
grows in meadows, and upon the fodder of corn stalks, husks, &c. unless, 
indeed, they are more severely worked than usual, when hay of better 
qualily is given them; and in all cases as the spring advances their keep¬ 
ing is improved, and with better hay some grain is added. I speak of the 
general practice of farmers. There are some who keep their oxen more 
generously, and others more hardly than I have mentioned. But with a 
clean and warm stable, the daily application of the curry-comb or card, 
and coarse food, without severe labor, the best farms will at times exhibit 
teams of most vigorous and powerful cattle, and their best hay and their 
grain will be saved in their beef and pork, and in the producaof their dai¬ 
ries for the market. 
“ Oxen yoked to a cart are generally superior to horses attached to a 
wagon. The greater weight which may be carried by the former, and 
the facility with which it is removed, by tipping up, are of most striking 
advantage in the ordinary business of a farm. It is said that a cord of 
gieen oak or hickory wood is not an unusual load for a yoke of oxen to 
carry on a cart, while it would certainly require the power of three horses 
on a wagon. The estimate of relative expenses of keeping a pair of horses 
and of oxen, is in the proportion of three for the former, and two for the 
latter, and to this is to be added the value of the ox for beef when their 
strength fails for labor. ” 
[From the Franklin Farmer.] 
THE BEE MOTH. 
Mr. Editor, —Having had some experience in the management of 
bees for several years past, during a part of which time my apiary has com¬ 
prised twenty hives; and having been a close observer of the bee moth 
ever since its first appearance in this vicinity, I am induced to present a 
few facts which I have obtained by close observation, and which may pro¬ 
bably assist some of your readers in checking the ravages of these destruc¬ 
tive insects. 
During the past summer I have kept a number of the maggots and the 
dies under glass tumblers and small boxes for the purpose of particular ob¬ 
servation, and now write with one of each before me. 
The moths are butter flies or candle flies, of a pale ashy color; and 
when full grown are about half an inch in length, with reddish backs, 
small sharp heads, short and delicate horns, and without a proboscis. 
Their wings are small and double, and when in a state of rest are kept 
close to the body. During the day they may be found sitting upon the re¬ 
tired part3 of the outside of the hives, and may be easily taken with the 
fingers. About the dusk of evening and morning the females may be seen 
sitting with their wings extended, inviting the embraces of the males, 
while others are flitting to and fro, and occasionally one may be seen to 
