210 



FARMERS' REGISTER— OF THE COW. 



training him to labor; for, we doubt not but if he 

 were moderately worked, and allowed to indulge 

 his desires during the breeding season, he would 

 become gradually tame, and harmless ns the horse 

 or any other often naturally vicious animal. Seve- 

 ral experiments, indeed, have been made for this 

 purpose; and, from their successful result, we thinl-: 

 the practice of working bulls may be advantage- 

 ously adopted; especially as these animals are not 

 only broken in with little difficulty, and work well: 



but also because they recover from fatigue much 

 sooner than the ox. 



For the prevention of accidents from mischievous 

 bulls, an ingenious and simple contrivance has 

 been suggested by Mr. Nicholls, of Woodhall, near 

 Wisbeach, on whom the Society for the Encour- 

 agement of Arts, in 1815, conferred a premium of 

 ten guineas, for the invention. Of its form and 

 application the following engravings will convey a 

 correct idea. 



Fig. 1. Represents a /roni view of the appara- 

 tus, as affixed to the head of the animal. It con- 

 sists of a straight piece of wood or irosi (the latter 

 is the prelcrable material) stretching from horn to 

 horn, perforated at each end. so as to pass over the 

 tips, and fastened on them by the usual metal nuts. 

 On the centre of this is riveted a curved bar (^f iro7i. 

 bending upwards, which moves easily on the rivet, 

 and has holes at each end containing the upper 

 round link of a chain. These chains again unite 

 in a strong iron ring, which ojoeiis by a hinge and 

 screw, and passes through the bull's nose. The 

 effect of this contrivance is as follows: — any person 

 seeing a vicious animal ap])roach may easily avoid 

 him; but if the beast should make a push forward, 

 the curved iron bar v/ill prevent any bad conse- 

 quences; and if he move in the smallest degree to 

 the right or to the left, the bar comniunicaf ing by 

 the chain with the ring upon his nose, will bring 

 him inmiedialely to check. This lateral o])eration 

 is delineated in Fig. 2. An additional advantage 

 resulting from the use of this invention is, that a 

 beast may, with the smallest poAver, be led in any 

 direction. 



Of the CoiLK 



A perfect breeding cow ought to have a fine 

 head, with a broad, smooth forehead; black eyes; 

 clean horns; a smooth, elasfic skin; a large deep 

 body; strong, muscular thighs; a large, white ud- 

 der, with long and tapering teats, together with 

 every other token requisite in a bull, allowing for 

 the difference of sex, to which we may add, as a 

 general remai'k, in the words of a skilful dairyman 

 (although his observation was only ap];lied to a 

 particular breed) that, the symptoms of a good 

 milker are "a large thin-skinned udder; large milk- 

 veins; shallow and light fore-quarters; wide loins; 

 a thin thigh; a white horn; a long thin head; a 

 brisk and lively eye; fine and clean about the chaps 

 and throat."* Further, such animal ouffht par- 

 ticularly to be young; for milch kine are not good 



Wedge's Account of the Cheshire dairy breed. 



for breeding after they are twelve years old, thougfi 

 [hey will often live a much longer time if their pas- 

 ture be good, and they be kept from diseases. 



Cows are purcijased either with a \ievv' of being 

 fattened for sale, for breeding, or for the j)urposes 

 of the dairy. In the former case, it will be advisa- 

 ble to attend to the kimlliness of their .skins, and 

 disposition to fiittcn; with regard to those which 

 are intended for breeding, care should be taken to 

 select the best of that particular stock intended to 

 he raised; and for the dairy, those which jield the 

 most, and the richest milk: a subject which will be 

 treated more at large under that head.* The de- 

 sirable qualities of adairy cow are, that she should 

 give an abundant supply of milk; fatten readilj'; 

 and turn to good account in the shambles; but, in 

 tact, those beasts which yield great quantities of 

 milk, seldom fatten quickly, and repeated unsuc- 

 cessful efforts to unite these two irreconcileable 

 properties, have proved that the different breeds of" 

 neat cattle have not hitherto been brought to entire 

 perfection. There is, it is true, a middling kind of 

 cows, which give a tolerable quantity of milk, and 

 also keep in pretty good condition; but, though 

 many of this sort will become very fat when they 

 are dried, or their milk is taken fi-om them, yet 

 they will not fatten so speedily or so well as those 

 which yield a less portion of milk, and which are 

 more kindly disposed to fiitten while they are in a 

 milking state. 



As, however, the dairy constitutes, in many 

 parts of the kingdom, an object of great impor- 

 tance, it is a point worthy of the most deliberate 

 discussion, whether a particular breed ought to be 

 kept for that purpose only, or whether it be prefer- 

 able to have stock calculated partly for the butcher, 

 and par'Jy for the dair\^ "It is probable," observes 

 Sir John Siuclair,t "that, by great attention, a 

 breed might be reared, the males of which might 



* Book II. 



t Hints regarding Cattle, inserted in the Farmers'* 

 Magazine, vol. iii, p. 156. 



