Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1839-10-31
From the a. Y. Cuiiiuotor.
ON THE GEARING FOR WORKING


came 10 hand but Yesterday, was great
ly pleased with communication. made
by Mr David Allison, on the subject of
'Yokes for Oxen"
Although, within The last twenty or
thirty years. some Improvements have
been made in the gear and harness of
working aaimals, especially in those for
horses, yet il is believed tha, some may
even yet he made, aud particularly in
those for oxen.
Humanity as well as self interest, would
indnce desire for every rational owner
Of laboring beasts, to make their working
gear in such fHm, and of s,fch materials
as would be mosl convenient to the ami
NAL, The most accommodating to The firm
Of his body, and natural motions, and al.
tached 10 him in such a manner as to ena-
bic him TO exert his strength 10 the hest
possiir1e advantage Of his master, and The
least irksome to himself.
As to the oxen. the author of nature
see.ns to have placed the seat of his
strength in his head and neck. To these
parts. therefore, reason dictates the pro-
priety of attaching his working gear
The question then ariSrs, Of what materi-
ais, and Of what form, shall this gear he
constructed, and in what manner attached
TO him?
In our conntrv, the uniform gear or har.
ness Of This Useful animal has been, and
We, is, the yoke and the bow. Ia remark
ing upon usage so long praclised by ou
fathers and grandlathers, | would speak
with diffidencc, while suggesting reasons
for my objection to this mode. Where.
| ask, can be found all experienced farmer.
| whose bel1er feelings had moi been rained,
by seeing The CALLED and swollrned neck of
! his patient OK, occasioned by the chafins
! and pressure of The yoke and how! And
how frequently bloaIed by The obstruction
of his breath, caused by the same pres
sure! If the feelings Of the master, on
such occasions, are pained, how greal
must he the suffering of the poor animal.
while compelled to press his neck, swol.
lep und sore with raw cracks in his skin
| and flesh agains, his wonden yoke? The
peculiar form Of the neck cf the oxen is
such that it is impossible TO construct d
gear Of wood, or any other rigid material.
which shall come ir contact with, and
hear equally upon, every part Of the neck.
| The perusal of the well written aud inter.
; es,ing communication of your correspnn.
dent. MIR Allison, has induced and cmbaI-
dened me. 10 offer you this article. He
closes by obServine-"f have heard that
there are modes Of bringing the drafts on
The head instead Of the shoulders, practis
ed in The Spanish Provinces, the particu-
lars Of which ! should gladly become ac
quainted with"
take much pleasure in stating wha,
learned on this subject while residing in
Spain, nearly TWO months in 1923. em.
hraced every opportunity afforded me to
become acquainted with whaevercam in
my way. relating % the agriculture of that
kingdom, AS the uniform nude Of their
Harvesting or gearing their working oxen,
was new 10 me, took more particular no.
tice OF 1t. and examined i, more critically.
had many opportunities Of seeing their
oxen work, as well with loaded carIs un
the roads, as Al the plough in the fields
Upon the whole could not resist the con-
,iction that the Spanish method Of har-
Messing their working oxen, is, in all re-
spects, preferable to that Which is praclis.
ed in our country. will endevnr to de-
scribe il. and suggest such reasons as OPP
erate with me in support Of my opinion.
The draughtis is wholly by the head. 10
which the gearing is attached. The yoke
for a puir Of oxen differs hut little in its
length, thickness and form, from that IN
use with us. Nobows, ring staple or ring
are connected with il. The curves Of the
yoke where il rests upon The necks Of the
oxen, are somewhat deeper perhaps, than
those of ours. On the front side of The
yoke, two square staples Of iron are plac
ell for each OK. eighl or ten inrlies apart
from each other. with The loratinn of our
bow-holes. tn the inner staples for each
OK, a band Of strong leather is made fast
by stitching. This band Is sufficiently
broad 10 ill the space between the swell
of the eyes and the but ends of The horns,
and ls brought round tho front part of the
head and fastened by buckle connected
with the outer staple. In some instances
this band is lined by anulher piece of flealh-
er, with thin padding. quilted In between
tho two pieces, in order to reuder il more
pleasant aud easy to the heatl-thoush |
never saw any appearance of chafng or
other injury done 10 the head by the baud.
The yoking and unyokiue are performed
with great facility and expediton--it is
only 10 buckle and uuhuckIe one end of Il
single strap for each OK.
By this mode of gearing it will be seen
that the application of the power Of the OK
exerted in the drauehr Of The load, is at The
head. As j, respects the advantage or
disadvantage Of holding hack OH descend
ing ground, ! am unable to perceive auv
essential difference between the two dif-
feren, modes Ne The holding hack in both
must be done by the yoke coming in con-
tact with The horns, and without any aid
from the hows.
In conversation with Spanish gentle.