ii4 My Little Farm 



r ation of solids is averaged, but the individual 

 rations are varied, according to the size, weight, 

 appetite, progress and appearance of the calf. 

 This may seem too minutely tedious for practice, 

 but it is all the result of practice, and I have found 

 it far more interesting than party politics, though 

 my interest in real politics grows keener than ever 

 in the company of the calves ; so much so that I 

 cannot help dropping a hint here and there among 

 the milk, as if in the hope that some fortunate 

 agrarian may find it at the bottom of a bucket, 

 since all more suitable media are systematically 

 denied to him in Ireland. We all fancy that we 

 are shrewd politicians, and yet we remain as blind 

 among politics as among our calves. It is but 

 natural, since organised atrophy at the source must 

 produce its effect and find its expression in every 

 aspect of life. You cannot deprive people of the 

 free use of their brains and expect them to progress 

 in industry. 



During this second period, of two to three 

 weeks, the calf must be watched to ascertain how 

 soon his milk can be diminished ; that is, in pro- 

 portion as he can assimilate the necessary substi- 

 tutes. Stop any portion of the milk he requires 

 before that, and he is permanently injured ; con- 

 tinue the full supply much after that, and milk is 

 unnecessarily wasted. If you watch, the calf 

 himself will show you these things, by the signs 

 mentioned in the last paragraph. At this stage 

 especially, every individual calf ought to have a 

 distinctive place in the mind of the man in charge, 



