474 young’s TRAVELS IN FRANCE .

U/arch .—Fatten their oxen with raves, as above, and then with rye-flour, made intoa parte with leaven, and given four, as before deferibed. They alfo fatten fome withpotatoes, mixed with chefnuts, and alfo alone ; but in either cafe boiled thoroughly, andgiven frefli as boiled every day. They have a great opinion of their fattening quality rthey feed their cows alfo with this root, and find that it gives a great increafe of milk.Calves reared, either for oxen or cows, fuck ten or twelve months, which is the univer-fal practice.

Quercy. — Brive to Creffenfac. —A practical farmer, that has the largefl oxen I hadmet with, gave me the following account:—they fatten with maize, but, in order to ren-der it tender, pour boiling water on it, cover it up clofe, and give it to the cattle the fameday ; and in this method it is a mod excellent fattener, both of oxen and poultry. Butin order to make them fatten fooner and better, this farmer gives them, every night,and fometimes of a morning, a ball of pork-greafe, as large as an apple; he fays this isboth phyfic and food, and makes them thrive the better.

To SouiUac. —Fat their oxen here alfo with raves, and give them alfo to lean hearts ;the mafter of the port town where we flopped fays, that he fent lalt year to Paris , fourraves that weighed i oolb. They foil their oxen with crops of the vicia la t bar aides, andof the latbyrus fetifolius ; of thefe plants he fpoke fo highly, when given in the foilingway, in the {table, that he faid the oxen became fo fat that they could not get out of theliable if they were not worked. Fie fhewed me fome oxen that did not allow a doubtof the truth of what he faid, for they were as fat as bears. The fact of hog’s greafe be-ing given, was here confirmed ; it is given to increafe the appetite, and anfwers fo well,that the hearts perfectly devour their food after it, and their coats become fmooth andfhining. The moll fattening food they know for a bullock, is walnut oil-cake. All heregive fait plentifully, to both cattle and flieep, being but i f. a pound. But this practiceis, more or lefs, univerfal through the whole kingdom.

Cahors. — Nearly all the draft cattle are mules, and yoked as oxen in England, onlycollars to the yoke inftead of bows. Cows and oxen all cream coloured ; very good, andin fine order.

Languedoc. — Touloufe. —Very fine cream-coloured horned oxen; a pair goodworking ones fell at 25 louis.

St. Gaudents. —Price i2olivres, (5I. 5s.); in the winter kept in ftabies, and fedupon hay.

Bagnere de Luchon .—Every parifh in thefe mountains has common partures for theircattle and fheep, and each inhabitant has a right to fend as many as they can feed inwinter. They are on the mountain three or four months, under the care of people whomilk the cows, goats, and ewes, and give the proprietor, at the end of the period, twocheefes of eighteen pounds for each cow; or four goats ; or ten ewes; the price of thecheefe is the pound ; but io/i at a year old, and the overplus, if any, is their reward.A cow is reckoned to pay above 2 louis a year, valuing the calf, as they do, at a louis.A pair of cows, flout enough to be worked, fell at to to 12 louis; and a pair of oxen12 to 15 louis.

Basque. —Informed by a gentleman, at Bagnere de Luchon , that the mountains inthis province afford a very great fupply of food, in fummer, for cattle, which are fent towinter on the landes of Bourdeaux, where they juft get a living on weeds, rough grafs,branches of trees, &c.; and that they pay only 5/I a head for wintering thefe cattle,which is perfectly incredible; but I note it as reported. He alfo informs me, that thofe

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