The Portland daily press., 1881-10-31
Washing Nice Laces.
On Training Steers.

wish to say word about training steers.
1t has become too prevalent among farmers
in raising steers to let them grow up with
out having been broken to the yoke. The
more common use of horses on the farm of
late years, has SO lessened the use of oxen,
that it is not considered necessary to have
steers trained to the yoke; but the idea is
wrong one. | believe that every farmer who
grows up a pair of good, thrifty, intelligent
steers would be the gamer by training them
to the yoke and to work; it gives the farmer
two chances in selling, whereas if neglected
he has but one. / have in my mind now a
case where farmer lately had a very nice
pair of matched three-year-old steers. Had
they been trained they would have brought
one hundred and twenty-five dollars-they
were sold for one hundred. The farmer is
often taken advantage of if it is known that
his steers can only answer to the call OF beef.
recently sold my working oxen and start
ed out to buy pair of three-year-old steers
that were handy, to work some. I found
many pairs nicely mated and would have
carried the yoke with pride and done honor
to the farmers sons for the instructions Civ
en- them on the cart tongue, or chained to
the stone drag; but that had been neglected,
and was compelled to pay high figure TO
young farmer for pair, and all honor to
him for training them so well, and as he
said, they will walk as fast as any pair Of
horses can, and you can direct them by the
motion of the goard in any course where
YOU want them to go.
There has been more call for working OK
en- and steers for a few weeks past than for
long while at the same season. 1t appears
that farmers are about to return to the old
practice of having more OK labor on their
farms than of late years. L think that the
largest portion of the New England farms
can be more proftably carried on with tn at
kind Of animal labor, therefore farme rs
ought to have their steers trained when
calves or yearlings. Encourage the boys to
do IT, Prepare Jokes and sleds for them, fix
them up in good style, give them good new
yokes, well painted, as they cost but little,
and this encourages the boys. Teach them
how to manage them, as by so doing you &C
complish two objects; you give the boy a
taste for managing steers and oxen, and the
bows are teaching the steers the first rudl-
ments of OK labor and fixing them them for
two chances for selling. Offer good hber-
al premium to the boys at the agricultural
shows for the pest trained steers, and by so
| doing farmers will not have to say if inquir-
ed of for handy yoke of steers, My steers
are not handy; they ought to be, but have
never taken pains to train them. do my
work with horses and have not thought l
would ever want to work them.' The farm
| er is thereby confaing himself to but one
chance for sale.
And then again, steers left to grow up,
nearly, before being trained, can hardly ever
become handy oxen, if they are any way
willful or vicious, being strong and hard to
handle it is difficult to manage them, and
keep their flesh on; and again, they are apt
to acquire bad habits. | once knew val
liable pair to be badly, injured by running a
way with chain hitched to them; one was
so famed that he never got over it.
Now in all the agricultural papers there is
much written or said about the different
breeds of cows, their qualities as mixers:
also of the time this or that horse can trot
a mile and the money he has brought his
owner Cut the OK, the obedient patient OK,
which submits to have the yoke put to his
neck and kindly does the bidding of his mas
ter in tiIling the soil of our rugged New
England froms-his worth is not considered,
his praises are never spoken of.-Corr 'Diri-
go Rural.