St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1872-09-20
Orleans VS.. Horses.

In this go-ahead age it Is IL dismal
Si"ht to sec an able bodied man tuiling
along the road at the slow pace of il pair
of oxen. and we have probably had aS
much To say a. any one III favor OF the
substitution of the faster horse or mule
team.
We are bound to confess. however.
that the picture has another side which
j. worthy of careful considerations On
teams are slow. it is true, but they are
effective. cheap and convenient. Horses
are II necessity for regular road-worh
and for many operations on the farm.
hut it j. almost Indispensable ia have
for "cca>i"r> considerably more team
force than i needed regularly. If the
extra work OF blowing. harvesting. and
hauling manure is to he done 10y horses.
We may make up our minds to have
them more than half the wear eating oil
their heads in idlemc>S. and to he in
constant danger of loss from the thuu>-
and ills that horse flesh l. heir to. /"
state the east. IN Il nut shell. an idle
horse is IDLE capital. invested IN an extra
hazardous risk. without insurance, and
consuming itself month after month.
oxen. on the other hand. if property
treated. are Il tOltr:IhlN safe >tOrchou~,'
of working power. When not at work.
they ar, l;IN imy on flesh which i worth
:" much per pound in Il ready market il
We choose to sell. or which may he
taken out again in the form of hard
work whenever We may call upon it. In
east, of accident We may realize the full
amount of uuI Investment 1T the hands
of the nearest butcher. An idle ON is
active capital. the investment i safe
and we'll insured. and his fodder is
pretty certain to get paid for. either III
flesh OF work.
The difference III returns III the two
ca>c> l. Il very Important one. and the
extra cost of tcIm>tcr in the use of the
slower animals is pr"hahlN well com
pru>atrd for 10y the saving in >addlcry
bills. And after all the question of
speed Is of less importance than We
often imagine il to lac. We have lately
had an "pp"rtunitl to watch two teams
in tI>,. in our ucighhoIhood. one of hur
So and one of oxen. both engaged IN
similar work (mEiimlN on the rnad.) and
Ne have cpmc To the conclusions. against
ON prccnLcciNcd n"ti',n>. thar ''>loW
and ~tcLdN Wins the race. The oxen
seem to 'to more work in Il week than
the horses. They are three pairs of
Young cattle. grow ing tlnittill. and :"
pay ing Il profit on their keep when not
oVcrwnrkcd costing less To buy and
less t" feed than the single pair of
horses. When thcN are needed tor
work. they are taken up and fed
enough grain I" keep them hearty
" hen their work is finished. they are
turned out to eat. sleep. and grow fat =
When each pair have got their growth.
they are sold to tine butcher. and Il pant
OF thril price replaces them with Young
cr ones.
Starting orr farming lif, with Il
prejudice against the iI>c of "N-t"HnI>.
We have been induced gradually la sui
>titutc them f"r HORSES. WmtiI now We
have only enough of the latter for our
regular r"ad-W"rk. and depend on oxen
ton all emergencies. In work and in
flesh We get Il full equivalent for all the
food they consume. and we save the
heavy cost "t keeping idle horses. the
risk uf Il total loss of value 10y accident
~ death. and the certainty of drprccia
ton lay reason of old age. imcicdn
lJrjcHItHriSt