Have the milking bails well under cover, so that when being milked 

 the cows may be protected from the weather, and if possible have 

 the milking sheds darkened, then in the summer the flies will not 

 be nearly so troublesome, and thus save much irritation to both man 

 and beast. See that the bails are securely erected, so that when 

 young cattle are being broken in they may not break away and 

 thus give more trouble afterwards. In fact, let everything about 

 your farm that cattle have anything to do with be substantial and 

 solid. 



Do not encourage your cattle in bad habits, they learn them 

 soon and easily enough. For instance, do not put a crop for fodder 

 in with only an apology for a fence round it. Some of the cows 

 will soon see that if the fence is not ornamental, neither is it useful, 

 and will find a weak spot and get through. If one gets in others 

 will soon follo\v, and when they are discovered there will be the 

 usual shouting and chasing and the cattle rushing through the fence 

 without looking for the place they came in. Much damage will 

 probably be done to the crop, the cattle be worried arid excited, 

 and worse still, they know the fence is weak and whenever they are 

 near there again they will break in. Nor is this the worst feature, 

 they have learned to break fences and they will break down or 

 through fairly good fences by keeping at it, pushing and pulling 

 with their horns until something gives way. Many cows, old in the 

 knowledge of fences, will walk round one ana pick the weakest 

 parts with as much certainty as a man would. If the fences are 

 good, so that stock cannot get through them, they will soon cease 

 to try, and much petty annoyance will be saved. I wish to speak 

 strongly on this subject of substantial fences, for only those w r ho 

 have kept quiet milch cows, or have lived among neighbours who 

 do, can have any idea of the amount of ill-feeling they continue to 

 create among neighbours who would otherwise be on most friendly 

 terms. An outlay of a tew pounds, or a few clays' extra work at 

 the beginning, would have saved the trouble. In a country like 

 this, one may think it does not matter much, as the feed outside is 

 not much better than the feed inside. Quite true at present, but it 

 will not be always so. The agricultural people have scarcely 

 awakened in many districts yet to the possibilities around them ; 

 but this will not long continue, and where only native grasses and 

 scrub are now growing, in a few years or less will be cultivated 

 land, and the good fences will be needed then, and remember 

 that once a fence is up, if it is not the right kind, there is but a 

 small likelihood of its ever being made right until a new one is 

 needed in its place through its days of usefulness having expired, 

 and this may only be expected about once in a lifetime. Do not use 

 slip-rails; lazy people coming into ;i paddock are apt to leave them 

 down or not put all of them up, or put them up carelessly, and 

 cattle soon learn how to take them down themselves. Of course 

 they can be made fast pegged or locked but as boys are often 



