48 A FARMER'S YEAR 



which, as he alleges, always grow up weak and puny. In vain 

 have I pointed out that this is not the case with the offspring 

 of other mammals, beginning with man. His opinion remains 

 unshaken, but I should much like to learn whether it is based 

 upon any ascertained fact. Once I made the experiment here 

 under the following circumstances. When I began to farm I 

 determined to start a small herd of pedigree red polls, and with 

 this view bought a couple of in-calf heifers at the sale of a Suffolk 

 herd. They were beautiful animals, but rather smally made and 

 remarkable for their fine mottled hides. One of them turned out 

 to be barren and was fatted, but the other in due course produced 

 a cow-calf, which Hood was most anxious to fat and sell to the 

 butcher. Indeed, he would have done so had not Mr. Simpson dis- 

 covered his purpose and told him that the creature was too valu- 

 able. In time this calf grew up, and is now a middle-aged cow, and 

 a very good one. It cannot be denied, however, that she is some- 

 what small-boned and finely built, but then so is her mother, 

 and so, I expect, were all the herd. Indeed, I believe that this 

 story about heifers' calves is more of a superstition than a 

 reality. 



January 6. There has been little to chronicle this week. 

 Yesterday, Wednesday, it rained without ceasing at night from a 

 singularly clear sky, but to-day is very fine and mild. I walked 

 down to the farm called Baker's, which I took over last November, 

 and found two ploughs going in the eight-acre cottage field, 

 No. 43 on the plan, which is being made ready for spring beans 

 and pease. Thence I went down the lane to the brook pasture, 

 No. 46, to see the man who was engaged in clearing out the 

 dykes ; a task, by the way, that cannot often be undertaken at this 

 time of the year. 



Of all the forms of manual labour, I think that this dyke-draw- 

 ing must be about the hardest, since the strain upon the muscles 

 of the arms and back, continuously endured for a long day's work 

 of lifting heavy forkfuls of mud and weeds, cannot but be great. 



