Connecticut western news., 1884-06-04
HOW TO BREAK OXEN.
A Westchester Farmer Discloses the AIys-
 teTies Of His Art.

A htstCuesteF Earmer Dtscloscs the Mys-
 teries Of His Art.
 Raising a yoke of oxen," said a Westchester county farmer the other day, lis good deal like raising children. You can never tell how they are going to turn out till they get too big for you to control. Now, there's that yoke gentle, peaceable cattle as you ever saw. When first put yoke on them ! said to myself: Well, if I can make any thing out of these steers I'll give up farming and make business of break ing cattle How did I do it? We'll, I'll be hanged if I know. A little physical suasion and a good deal of coaxing. Brush the dirt of that stump and sit down and I'll tell you something about oxen.
 "The first thing is your breed. Now, if you would keep Durham down you'd get good OK, but Durhams grow too stocky. Fifteen or sixteen hundred pounds Is about as heavy as an OK ought to run, but a Durham will go up into 2,OOO pounds without m effort. Hol- steiIs are open to the same objection. Alderneys, Ayrshires and Jerseys are too light, even if they were not too valuable. Common natives make the best oxen. The animal is called a steer till it gets to be two or three years old. Then it's an OK. The breaking ill of 3 spring steer begins the following fall. I tell you, a calf six or eight months old is a frisky thing as rule, and don't you forget it. But they soon come to time. The first thing to do Is to learn the animal to mind the gad. Get him quieted down. and then strike him lightly on the flank, and he'll go ahead. Strike him on the nose, and he'll at first turn to one side ; but If you work at him little while he'll learn that tap on the nose means to back up. When you've taught hira to back, you must teach him to 'haw' or gee that is, turn to the left or right. This training usually includes two ami. mals which you propose to yoke to. gether, and they are as near the same size and disposition as you can get them. Disposition and size have to be taken into consideration in deciding which animal you will place on the off or right side and which on the nigh. The driver walks on the nigh or left side, and if there is any difference in the size oi the animals he wants the one furthest from him to be the highest, so he car reach him with the gad over the back ol the nigh animal. Then be wants the friskiest one next to him, so he can looh after him.
 "In 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 il the yoke proper, I suppose, but tn, whole thing is called the yoke. Tn, bows run around under the throats O the cattle, and are made fast by pi1 in the bar. The bows are made of oal or hickory and the bar of basswood. good yoke costs about S5. Farmer used to whittle them out in slack timei during the winter, but machinery doe, the work new.
 "When you first put yoke on pail of steers it scares them, but they sooI get used to it {; then you train then around the barnyard or up and dow1 the road touch the of animal on tn, of side and he'll come around toward you--that Is, swing around to the left oi haw the nigh animal may feel 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 a yoke, or swing them of t, the right, you go through the sam man9uvre, starting of, of course, witl the nigh animal. Simple enough i seems, doesn't 1t But it takes week and months to break yoke of oxen.
 'You can begin breaking steers whel they are six or eight months old, bu they are not fit to use much till they ar, two or three years old. While you'r breaking them you can use them fo light work around the yard or for bring ing up a snag of wood, but heavy worl is liable to injure them"
 "In what way are oxen superior t horses ?"
 "Well, they cost less to keep and fo , some kinds of work they are altogethe
 better. On rough ground, where
 horse would be in danger of breaking it legs, an OK is all right, and for loggin they can't be beat A good yoke of oxe , that is, a yoke well broken an peither too large or too small--is wort |