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Cattle.

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they ruminate their food. The consequence is, first, that one, two, or more, are very seldom missing out of a drove ; and, secondly, that they pick up what they require, in a much shorter time than horses, mules, &c., who have to chew as they eat. Oxen require less tending than any other beasts of burden.


To train a Paclc-ox.-An ox of any age, however wild he may be, can be broken in, in three or four days, so as to carry a pack of about 70 lbs. ; though it is true that he will frequently kick it off during the journey, and give excessive trouble. It would be scarcely possible to drive more than three of these newly-taught oxen at a time, on account of the frequent delays caused by the unruliness of one or other of them. Much depends on the natural aptitude of the animal in estimating the time required for making a steady pack-ox ; some will carry a good weight and go steadily after only a fortnight's travel ; some will never learn. But in all cases they prove unruly at the beginning of a journey.

To break-in an ox, take a long thong or cord, make a noose at one end of it, and let two or three men lay hold of the other; then, driving all the herd together in a clump, go in among them, and, aided by a long stick, push or slip the noose round the hind leg of the ox that you want, and draw tight. He will pull and struggle with all his might, and the other oxen will disperse, leaving him alone dragging the men about after him. Next, let another man throw a noose round his horns, and the beast is, comparatively speaking, secured. It is now convenient to throw the animal down on his side, which is easily done by judicious tugging at his tail and at the thongs. To keep him on the ground, let one man take the tail, and, _passing it round one thigh, hold him down by that, while one or two men force the horns do\r u against the ground. His nose has next to be pierced. A stick, shaped like a Y, eight inches long, is cut of some tough wood ; and the foot of it, being first sharpened, is forcibly poked through the wall that divides the nostrils, and a thin thong is tied firmly to either end of this nosestick. The thong is gathered together, and wound in a figure of 8 round the two horns, where it henceforward remains