True American. [volume] (Steubenville [Ohio]) 1855-1861, 1855-12-12
stlisfdIangs
Oxen for Farm Teams VS.. Horses.

Oxen for Farm Teams vs.. Horses.
The relative economy ofoxen or horses
for the work Of farm has frequently been
discussed but, as we believe without
presenting many facts which should be
considered in deciding the question. Per
haps it may be assured that on an average,
a span ofhorses costing two hundred dol
lars will last ten years and then be worth.
less. The interest on this sum ten years,
at six per cent, will be one hundred and
twenty dollars. And the keeping and
shoeing span Of horses cannot be less
than one hundred and fifty dollars pei
annum, or fifteen hundred dollars in The
ten years. The whole will be TO the far.
mer a cost Of eighteen hundred and
twenty dollars for the entire period, or one
hundred and eighty dollars annually.
A prime yoke of oxen will cos! one
hundred dollars the interest on this sum
ten years, will be sixty dollars, and the
feed seventy dollars a year, or seven
hundred dollars for the whole time, ma
king in all eight hundred and sixty dol
lars. But the oxen at the end Of the time
will be worth sixty dollars for beef, so
that the cost when The latter sum is de-
Quoted, will be eight hundred dollars !;
less by one thousand and twenty dollars
than the cost of span ofhorses. 1t may
be remarked that the oxen should not be
kept at work len years. Five or six years
is long enough but the wear will aver
age, especially in their prime more than
four per cent. Forty dollars in the time,
though changed once more in the period.
The above estimate cannot be far from
the reality. Ifso the labor Of a span Of
horses on flrm must be worth a hun
dred dollars more than that of prime
yoke Of oxen annually, or there is gain
in favor Of the latter, the amount of which
is to be regulated by the difference in the
annual value of the two. True, there is
some work 10 be done on a farm which
cannot be done by oxen. A horse is also
needed for family. 1t is necessary
therefore, to keep at least one good horse
on u farm, if the main dependence for la
Dor is on oxen, And as farm is sufi,
ciently large, or If there can be other uses
for them, it is perhaps advisable that a
span of horses be kept in addition to the
oxen.
A common, and perhaps prominent
objection urged against the use Of oxen,
lie that they are constitutionally slow of
motion, and not to be depended upon in
the oltentimes hurrying operations on the
farm. As oxen are usually handled,
there is something in the objection it is
believed however, the fault is consttu-
iional one but the effect of injudicious
training.
The common method ofbreaking steers
tend to make their movemement slow.
They are usually put into the yoke when
tive or three years old, and fastened at
once to an old yoke Of cattle, rendered
slolhful by labor or habit, where they are
worked until broken and forced TO ac-
commodatc their movements to the tardy
motion of the team that controls them.
After having been tanned, rendered and
obedient in this way, they are usually
put to labor quite too severe for their age
and strength, and soon become broken in
spirit. 1t is not strange that under such
treatment oxen, as we'll as horses. can be
taught TO travel in any gait desirable for
farm labor and any one acquitted with
the effort of careful training, with refer
ence 10 rapidily Of moven ents, will be
astonished 10 see the difference produc-
cd.
The Devon breed of cattle has ever
been esteemed for its working quail
ties; in their native country it is said
they are not unlrequcnty trolted, with all
empty wagon, al the rate of six miles
per hour. From this valuable stock many
Of the working oxen of New England are
believed to have sprung, their color, form
and action beiraying their origin. AL
though the bulls Of this breed are gener-
ally light, and the cows rather small; the
oxen are large, furnishing all the size
necessary and profitable for the yoke,
and falling little, if any behind there more
lreten led rivals for the shamber.
NO Girl BUT THAT GIkL.'--A letter
passed through the Hereford (England)