The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1884-05-16
shows them to be Faran, Of Ohio, Dibble
Of South Carolina, Waite, Of Connecticut,
Shaw, Of Illinois, and Arnot, Of New York.
now TO HREAK OXEN,
A New York Farmer Diac10ses the Mys.
| g.a teries OF His Art. I

NV Nv hhhh IA V-A bENs
A New York Farmer Discloses the Mys
,eries OF His Art. n
Esv York TINES. s' aaN
Raising yoke Of oren," said a West
ern county farmer the other day, lisa goot
deal like raising children. You cal
never tell how they are going 10 turn on
III they get too big for you to control
Now, there'a that yoxe-gentle,. peacoablt
cattle az you ever saw. When frat put {
yoke on them aaid to myself: We'll, II
can make anything out Of those steers II
give up farming and make business o.
breaking cattle How did l DO II? We'll
I'll be hanged II I know. A little physica
susslon and a good deal Of coaxing. Brush
The dirt oil that stump and alt down and
III tell you something about oxen.
THE first thing is your breed. Now, Il
you would keep Durham down YOU get
a good OK, but Durhams grow too stocky
Fifteen or sixteen hundred pounds is about
as heavy as an OK ought to run, but a Dur.
ham will 80 up into 1000 pounds without
an effort. Holsteins are open to the same
objection. Attorneys, Ayrshires, and Jer.
seys are too light, even II they were not toe
valuable. Common natives make tho bes!
oxen. The animal Is called steer till It
gets 70 be 2 or years old. Then It's m
OK. The breaking In Of spring steer be.
gins the following fall. I tell you q calf
or S months old Is Il irisky thing as rule,
and don't you forget It. But they soon
come to time. The first thing 10 do Is to
learn the animal to mind the CAD. Get
him quieted down, aud then strike him
lightly on the flank, and he'll 90
ahead. Strike him on the nose, and he'll
ut first turn to one side; but II you work at
him little while he'll learn that tap on
the nose means 10 back up. When you've
taught him TO back you must teach him to
'haw' or 'gee'-that is, turn TO the left or
right This training usually includes two
animals which you propose 10 yoke to.
Rether, and they are as near the same size
and disposition as you can get them. Dis.
position aud sizs have to be taken into
consideration in deciding which animal
you will place on the oil or right side aad
which on the nigh. The driver walks on
the nigh or left aide, and II there is any
difference in the size OF the animals he
wants the one furthest from him 10 BIO the
highest, 30 he can reach him with the cad
over the back Of the nigh animal. Then
he wants the iriskiess one next 10 him, go
he can look after him. h
I'm trying to find out the disposition OF
the cattle the yoke comes into play. The
yoke, you see, is in three pieces, The bar
which runs across the neck is the yoke
proper, suppose, but the whole thing is
called the yoke. The bows run around
under the threats Of the cattle, and are
made Of oak or hickory, and the bar Of
Eastwood. A good yoke costs about So
Farmers used TO white them out in slack
times during the winter, but machinery
does the work now.
when you first put a yoke on q pair Of
steers 1t scares them, but they soon got
used to it. Then you train them around
the barnyard or up down the road,
Touch the OF animal on the of side and
he'll come around toward you-that il
swing around TO the left or haw. The nigh
animal may leel the of one coming around
and come with him, or you may have to
tap him on the nose. He backs and that
brings him around. To gee yoke, Or
SWING them od to the right, you 70 through
the same mar 1ayre. starting of Of course,
with the nigh animal. Simple enough It
seems, doesn't it? But it takes weeks and
months 10 break yoke OF oxen.
"You can begin breaking steers when
they are Q or s months old, but they are
not 1T to use much till they are 9 to 3 years
old. While you are breaking them YOU
can use them for light work around tbs
yard or for bringing up a snag OF wood,
but heavy work IL liable 10 injure them"
I'm what way are oxen superior to
horses?"
well, they cost less to keep and for
some kinds OF work they are altogether
better, On rough ground, where horse
would be in danger Of breaking its legs, an
Ok is all right; and for logging they can't be
beat. A good yoke Of o1sn-that is, a yoke
we'll broken and neither too large OF too
small-is worth $3.50"