On herds of cattle

BECAUSE of their rich pastures the northern kingdoms, especially Värmland and Dalecarlia, contain the choicest cattle, as do the provinces of Västergötland; and these oxen increase every year, not so much in size of body as in their great numbers. ¹ Norway, Central Sweden, and Finland, too, have the same sort of beasts for pulling their wagons or their sleighs. They are also very well suited for work in the fields, and are employed, just like horses, to draw ploughs. But only bulls, never cows, are set to hauling wagons or tilling the fields, for as there is the hope that the females will bear calves, they are certainly never laden with any burden. ² These offspring are separated from their mothers while they are still quite young, when the cold is still savage and frightening, and are generally reared in heated sheds specially provided for the purpose. ³ If the winter is prolonged and grows harsher, the draught-animals feed on shavings of oak bark in place of hay or straw. ⁴