The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1879-10-03
Working oxen.

Working oxen formerly filed a mostf
i Important position in the agriculture o
New England; for the heavy work OF
clearing the forests and preparing the
land for the nice operations of field Gull
ture of the present day-a work, the
magnitude of which is hardly appre-
ciated by the present generation Of
farmers, who know nothing of this kind
of labor--could not have been per-
formed without the aid of the patient,
enduring oxen. In whatever place the
faithful yoke of oxen was placed, it
never failed of doing the work required
in the field, the logging swamp, at the
cart, and when through with work, it
was always sure to bring value upon
the butchers block. With the change
which has, however, come to our agri-
culture. the sturdy oxen have been dis
placed as farm team. There was
demand for more rapid work, and OH
the road with the loaded wagon for
quicker transportation; and SO horses
came TO be used for most of the pur-
poses for which oxen had been SO large
ly employed. For time they held their
supremacy III the logging swamps in
winter, for which large, heavy animals
were wanted, but finally their service
here was displaced by that of horses,
and now through all the lumber regions
of northern New England the work is
done by heavy but rather cheap class
of horses; it being the plan in many To-
calities to employ for this winter work
those that have become somewhat used
mp in city tcaming, and after season
III the logging swamps TO give them the
freedom of an entire summer at pasture.
With dis general Use of horses in
farm work there Aca,mc, as Il consc-
qucncc, neglect on the part of farmers
in rearing and keeping steers and oxen.
And there are many good reasons for
this, and many advantages of horses
over oxen as n farm team. They are
much more rapid in movement, are
adapted TO any and all kinds Of work
! (evcn TO many kinds for which oxen
are not fittedD, have great endurance.
are long lived, and although it costs
more to fit them for work Gin larncss)
| vet the greater amount of labor they
perform more than ovcrbalahces This
extra cost and expense. But notwitl,-
standing all This, we still believe the
working steer and OK has yet place ON
the farms of New England, aud il is II
question if that place might not be
somewhat enlarged TO the benefit of our
agriculture. Not that we would
suggest or recommend any back
ward steps or any plan which
would render our farm work any slow
err of performance, or be attended with
any more expense. Nor would we rec
omnend complete substitution ofoXcn
| a., laI i
steers and oxen are never out of place
on New England farm; there are
many kinds of work they can do better
than horses, and they are always a
source OF advantage aud profit. At all
our fairs, the well-matched, large. we'll
disciplined oxen and steers are always
an object of admiration and pride, and
we have seldom known New England
farmer who had a "likely" yoke of oxen
or steers for salofor which he could not
get good price, and always find pur-
chaser. They may not again assume
their former importance rs a farm team,
but oh the farm, as animals for work
part of the time, for sale as workers OF
for beef, they are sure of a coming high
rank. Crosses of Herefords with our
better class of grades make superior
working and an excellent beef animal,
while the grade Devons are also es-
teened as workers or beeves, and the
excellence of onr Shorthorns is well
known. 10 Al
The main question of farm labor
aside for the moment, we would much
like to see revival of the interest in
steers and oxen in New England. If
their number were greater we believe
our agriculture would rank higher, for
the more cattle we can keep the higher
will be the condition of our agriculture,
and the greater crops of grass aud the
cereals we may be enabled to grow.
Besides there is always quick market
at a good price for the wcll-grown and
well-fattened steer, and where the hay
is consumed and animals fed upon the
farm, there is "A profit to such husbandry
which cannot be argued ont of sight.
A pair of good steers on every farm in
New England this fall would not be a
bad sight, and every one which the
owner wished to part with could find a
good market at Watertown in prefer
encc to Western steers Am. Guilt
vatOr.