CHAPTER XVI. 

 BULLS 



THERE are three kinds of bulls : (i) ill bred and ill 

 fed ; (2) middling, both ways ; and (3) well bred 

 and well fed. Out of the total, only a minority 

 can " arrive " satisfactorily. No. I ought to be 

 put to death, at the expense of the owner, for he 

 (the bull) is worse than foot and mouth disease, if 

 not as bad as those who cultivate it for a ranching 

 profit. No. 2 is, like life itself, a compromise 

 between good and evil ; therefore, to be 

 " tolerated," but kept under observation, his 

 result being as uncertain as his origin. No. 3 can 

 make sure, other things being equal, and nothing 

 else can. Then, why not make sure ? I would 

 exclude the factor of uncertainty, even at the 

 expense of liquidating what the insurance men 

 call " risks " that is, I would pay to be rid of the 

 " risks " and a better investment the farmer can 

 hardjy make. I have sent cows long distances, and 

 cannot remember my money better spent. One 

 shilling in the bull is at least twenty in the calf 

 a year old, and I am prepared to invest at 2,000 

 per cent. Yet there is no need to pay for the 

 " risks." It is done for us with " Saxon gold " 

 through the Department. The official who first 

 thought to save Ireland by bulls must have been a 



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