THE COW. 205 



so pre-eminently by the horse and mule of delivering a 

 good, fair, square kick backwards ; and even in running, 

 what may be called the side action predominates over the 

 fore and aft. Doubtless the cow knew her own business, 

 and deliberately sacrificed gracefulness of action to the joy 

 of being able to kick over a milkmaid. The lover of grace 

 may regret that it should be so, but has no right to com- 

 plain of the cow pleasing herself. The original mole pro- 

 bably foresaw that her far-off descendant would be a creature 

 of few active enjoyments, and of a steady and tranquil 

 nature, and considered that she was perfectly justified in 

 making some sacrifice in order to enable the cow of the 

 future to enjoy at least one piece of lively fun. 



On the whole, however, the cow may fairly claim to be 

 an eminently worthy and respectable animal, and to be of 

 great importance to man. Some may feel inclined to say, 

 of vital importance ; but this may be disputed. It is due 

 in a great degree to the attention that man has bestowed 

 upon her that she has developed her capacity for putting 

 on flesh, and her abnormal secretion of milk. Had man 

 not found her ready to his hand, and foreseen her capacity 

 in this direction, he might have turned his attention to the 

 mastodon, which in that case would now be grazing in vast 

 numbers among the woods planted for his sustenance, and 

 would be affording mountains of flesh and tuns of milk, 

 while mastodon butter might have been able to hold its 

 own against margarine and other fatty compounds. The 

 cow deserves great credit for developing herself into her 

 wild type from some wandering germ or other, but for her 

 progression to her present status she has to thank the care 

 and attention she has received from man, 



