Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1872-03-16
Oxen on the EARN.

There is one thing about modern
farming l don't comprehend; per-
haps you can enlighten me. Why
is 1t so few oxen are used nova
days to do much of the indispensa-
bic labor on the farm? am an old
man, nearly seventy years OF age,
aud have been a farmer the greater
part of my life, and have never
known 50 few working-cattle used
as seems to be the case now,
In the large, populous, and fertile
township Of Buckingham, Bucks
County, Pa, which is blessed with
at least nine grist-mills and six saw
mills, and with inexhaustible quar-.
ries of the best limestone, which are
p~roftably worked, there was but one
yoke of oxen two years ago! The
gentleman owning these has got the
premium for them several years at
Doylestown fairs. He well knows
the worth OF the oxen, Tor they nave
largely contributed to his ability to
pay for two farms he now owns, and
which he has earned by hard labor
and judicious management.
Forty years ago l bought a farm,
wel-wooded and well-watered; but
one which had been neglected for
many years, and which required an
immense amount oflabor to be met
amorphosed into fertility and good
looks. l went on to the farm in the
spring with a young yoke OF oxen
and q pair of horses. There were
about ninety acres Of cleared land.
With the horses we did tho plow-
ing mainly, butithe oxen, with aboy
to drive, did most Of the narrowing,
and with them we hauled lime,
limestone, wood, hay, grain and ma
nure. In after years two yokes
were usued to advantage, particu-
larly when preparing to build, as
logs, lumber, lime, sand and stones
had to be hauled in large quaint
ties.
Some of the advantages in using
oxen are these: They can be bought
for half the price horses can, and at
most Of the work on a farm will do
as much as horses; they are less La
bic to disease; they are more quick
ly geared and ungeared than horses,
and their fixtures cost nothing,
comparatively speaking, and with
care will last as long ~ the farmer!
Yokes and chains are enduring arti-
cles. Oxen will keep well on good
hay and good pasture, and these are
all they need, except when worked
very hard.
A thrifty pair Of "three-year-olds"
will do a great deal Of work and
grow better and more valuable till
they are six or seven, and will do
the work until they are nine or ten.
If fattened they can be disposed Of
so as to pay more than tho original
cost, in addition to the cost of hay
and grain consumed, thus making a
clear profit to the farmer of several
dollars, besides furnishing him with
several loads of the best manure.
l have owned since | commenced
farmingat least twenty yoke Of OK
en-, several of which we're "three-
year-old" steers, broken on the farm,
and have never lost one, nor never
lost a dollar in dealing in them.
During the same period, by acct
dent, mismanagement, and disease,
l have lost five valuable horses,
worth from one to two hundred dol
lars each.
Now, there are many men who
rent farms, work them to the shares,
and own farms partly paid for, who
can scarcely make both ends meet,
even when they work hard and econ
omise to the utmost. Taxes, rents,
and labor are high; interest, mochan-
les and store bills must be paid.
Having travelled this road myself, l
can, with the certainty that expert
ence may presumed to give, point
out to such a method by which they
will be enabled to escape from the
unpleasant dilemma of working
hard and making nothing. Use OK
en- more and horses less.
Ex-FARMER.
Bucks CorryTY. Pa. February 10.