OF SCOTLAND.

207

foe, tlicse two interests are identified. An ox reared ongood arable land, will in his third year add 30 stones to hisiormer weight, and may reach his most profitable weight atthat age, and in every case before he is a year older. Hewill no doubt attain a greater weight at seven, especially ifhe has been poorly fed when young; but the food which heconsumes after the age of four years, will produce a muchgreater addition to the weight of a younger animal, and betherefore much more profitably employed. Though heshould both gain weight, and perform such labour as he iscapable of at the same time, there can scarcely be less thanthe yearly produce of five acres lost on every team of fouroxen. One half of this, which might be in wheat, barley oroats, one-fourth in turnips, which, by a calculation in aformer part of this chapter, may produce from 360 to 400 lbs.of beef per acre, and another fourth part in pasture, thatW'ould produce from 180 to 200 lbs. per acre, may be con-sidered as the yearly loss upon every four working oxen, un-less in the peculiar circumstances already mentioned^

If there is any truth in these statements, (for perfect accu-racy is unattainable, for the reasons that have been assign-ed), the consequences of substituting oxen for horses in thelabours of agriculture, must appear to be highly injurious,both to the interest of individuals and of the public.

There are evidently three points of view in which the ques-tion must be considered, before the advantages and disad-vantages of employing oxen to any extent can be duly esti-mated. The only principle upon which such a comparisoncan be founded, is not the present price of oxen and of theirfood, but the number of acres that must be employed inrearing them till they are fit for work, and in supportingthem afterwards. Let it be supposed for a moment that fouroxen are actually capable of performing every sort of labour,and in the same time, equally well with two horses, a sup-position, however, altogether inconsistent with experience.The/frsf branch of the comparison will relate to the number