Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1872-10-18
Orleans vs.. Horses.

In this go-ahead age, it is dis
NAL sight to see an ablc-bodied man
toiling along the road at the slow
pace of a pair of oxen, and we have
probably had as much to say as any
one in favor Of the substitution of
the faster horse or mule team.
We arc bound to confess, howev-
err, that the picture has another side
which is worthy Of careful consid-
Grafton. OK teams are slow, it Is
true, but they are effective, cheap
and convenient. Horses are a ne
cessity for regular road-work, and
for many operations on the farm,
but it is almost indispensable to
have for occasions considerably
more team-torce than is needed reg
ulaIly. If the extra work of plow-
ing, harvesting and hauling manure
is to be done by horses, we may
make up our minds to have them
more than half the year eating off
their heads in idleness, and to be in
constant danger Of loss from the
thousand ills that horse-hesh is heir
to. To state the case in Il nutshell,
an idle horse is idle capital, invest
ed in All extra hazardous risk, with
out insurance, and consuming itself
month after month.
Oxen, on the other hand, if prop
erly treated, are u tolcrably safe
store-house OF working power
When not at work they are laying
on flesh which is worth so much
per pound in ready market, if we
choose to sell, or which may be ia
ken out again in the form of hard
work whenever we may call upon
it. In caseof accident we may re-
alize the full amount of our invest
ment at the hands Of the nearest
butcher. An idle OK is active capi-
tal, the investment is safe and well
insured, and his fodder is pretty
certain to get paid for either in
flesh or in work.
The difference in returns in the
two eases is very important one,
and the extra cost Of teamster in
the use of the slower animals is
probably well compensated for by
the saving in saddlery bills. And,
after all the question of speed is OF
less consequence than we often i'm.
agine it to be. We have lately had
an opportunity to watch two teams
in use in our neighborhood, one OF
horses and one of oxen, both en-
gagged in similar work (mainly on
the road), and we have come to the
conclusion, against our preconceiv-
ed notions, that "slow and steady
wins the race" The oxen seem to
do more work in week than the
horses. There are three pairs OF
young cattle, growing thrifty, and
so paying profit OH their keeping
when not misunderstanding less
to buy and less to feed than the sin
gle pair of horses. When they are
needed for work they are taken up
and fed enough grain to keep them
hearty. When their work is finish
ed, they are turned out to seat,
sleep and grow fat" When each
pair have got their growth, they are
sold to the butcher, and 4 part OF
their price replaces them with
younger ones.
Starting our farming life with a
prejudice against the use of OK
teams, we have been induced grad
ually to substitute them for horses,
till now we have only enough of the
latter for our regular road-work,
and depend on oxen for all emerg-
cncies. In work and in flesh we
get full equivalent for all the food
they consume, and we save the
heavy cost Of keeping idle horses,
the risk of total loss Of value by
accident or death, and the certainty
of depreciation by reason of old age.
american -1griculturist.