104 EVERY MAN HIS OWN FARRIER 



of nourishing food, such as oatmeal gruel, warm, and 

 a little salted. Take care that there be an ample al- 

 lowance of litter, that the calf may not hurt itself in 

 faUing, for cows almost always calve standing. Calv- 

 ing often happens in winter ; it is then necessary to 

 cover the cows, and not let them go out for some 

 days, and especially not to expose them to cold and 

 rain. 



Cows being in a good condition during the period 

 they are with calf, may be considered as a presage of 

 a fortunate delivery ; it also indicates good manage- 

 ment on the part ' of the proprietor, and renders any 

 particular assistance seldom necessary. By good con- 

 dition, we do not mean full of flesh, by feeding to sa- 

 tiety ; on the contrary, we mean that healthful habit 

 which invariably results from giving them a proper 

 quantity of good food, such as is m«st easy of diges- 

 tion, and which contains a sufficiency of nutriment in 

 a small compass, and by allowing or gently urging 

 them to moderate exercise. 



Immediately after calving, the cow should have a 

 little warm wafer, in which a few handfuls of meal 

 have been stirred ; when the thirst is considerable, 

 which is often the case, a little more of this thin gruel 

 should be given in half an hoi»,r, and repeated from 

 time to time, taking care not to load the stomach. 



It is a common practice, as soon as cows are deliver- 

 ed, and the umbilical cord, or naval-string is broken, 

 to attach a small weight to it, to prevent its return into 

 the womb. Though this is, perhaps, seldom neces- 

 sary, it may, nevertheless, sometimes facihtate the ex- 

 pulsion of the after-birth, and prevent its being retained 

 too long. It may, therefore, be done, especially in 

 feeble cows, which, when exhausted by calving, make 



