[ "5 1 



cattle into a young fir wood that was near his houfe, 

 in the beginning of winter, and allowed thenn to pick 

 up what little grafs they could there find, till he faw 

 it was all confumed.- He then fent a man into the 

 wood every morning to cut down from the trees as 

 many branches as would fubfift them for that day* 

 Thcfe were allowed to fall among the trees at ran- 

 dom. The cattle foon became accuftomed to this 

 food, and ran to the place where the man was, as 

 foon as they heard the noife. They ate not only 

 the leaves and fmallell twigs, but they even fome- 

 times gnawed down the (lumps till they came to be 

 nearly the bignefs of the thumb. In this way they 

 continued all winter, in perfed health. 



From thefe fa6ls, and others of a fimilar kind that 

 have fince then come to my knowledge, there can- 

 be no doubt but that the twigs of firs may, in timef 

 of fcarcity of fodder, be employed with fuccefs in 

 preferving cattle from the danger of perifhing from 

 want. It is not, at prefent, by any perfon fufpedled 

 that this feeding would fatten any of them j it is 

 only recommended as being fufficient to preferve 

 them alive, and in good health, when other food 

 fails. To perfons who live in a corn country, 

 where provender is always plenty, and the (lock of 

 cattle fmall, this will appear a matter of trivial im- 

 portance: but in hilly breeding countries, where 



grain 



