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The price of oxen for labour, would then advance as much atleast, in proportion, as that of horses has done. This is a cir-cumstance not the less true and important, that it has nothitherto been duly attended to, in the course of the numerousdebates on this subject. It has been taken for granted, thatan ox fit for work, should always continue to be of no morevalue to the ploughman than to the grazier, and various cal-culations have been made to show how much lie advances invalue for three or four years. A greater number of cattlemight no doubt be reared to meet this double competitionfor beef and labour; but in the same proportion, a smallerquantity of grain, of mutton, and of wool would be produced,and a smaller number of horses would be reared for thenumerous purposes of society, for which oxen have neverbeen considered adapted. The consequence of all this willnot be doubted by those, who are disposed to view the ques-tion dispassionately in all its bearings. If two acres of ara-ble land be required, to produce that quantity of labour, forwhich at present one is sufficient—no matter whether theland be in grass or oats—the loss to the community at largeis demonstrable; and the ultimate addition to the stock ofbeef, by an increase of four or five stones yearly, on the weightof the worked oxen, would go a very short way in indemni-fying the public for the necessary deficiency, and consequenthigh price of other articles not less indispensable than beef,—or than oats, the consumption of which by horses has beenthe subject of so much idle declamation.
Oxen have accordingly beep so generally dismissed, thatthe reporter for Berwickshire, during fifteen years’ resi-dence there, never saw an ox employed on the road, andnot exceeding three ploughs drawn by oxen at differentplaces, either in Berwickshire, or in the neighbouring coun-ties of England and Scotland . “ In this county,” (says thereporter for East Lothian ), “ an ox has rarely been seen ina plough or a cart, for many years; and all that has beendone by reasoning or experiment in other quarters, to bring