SECRETARY'S REPORT. 295 



them wliolcsomc and palatable feed. The sun is less scorching 

 than down in the valleys, and there are no gad-flies to disturb 

 the young in their midday drowse. Instead of the ill-ventilated 

 stalls, they breathe the pure fresh air, while constant motion 

 and natural diet keep them in sound health. Stall-feeding, 

 notwithstanding its many advantages, lays the foundation of 

 many diseases, to which Alpine cattle are not subject naturally. 



Cows on the mountains are thought to be more active and 

 intelligent than those raised in the valleys. Their life is more 

 natural and their instincts more fully developed. An animal 

 left very much to itself is more on the watch and shows more 

 memory than one which is always tended. The Alpine cow 

 knows every shrub and puddle, knows where to find the besfe 

 patches of grass, the time of milking, the call of her keeper, 

 whom she approaches with confidence, and knows when to 

 return to the hut. She scents the approach of a storm, watches 

 and protects her young, and is careful to avoid dangerous 

 places. In this last, however, she does not always show judg- 

 ment, as hunger will sometimes lead her too near a dangerous 

 patch of rich grass, and walking on loose soil, the ground some- 

 times gives away, and down she goes. If escape is hopeless, 

 she drops to the ground, shuts her eyes, and gives herself up to 

 her fate, sliding down over the precipice, or if stopped by some 

 overhanging root, waits the cowherd's help. 



One of the singular traits of the Alpine cattle is their ambi- 

 tion, and the strictness with which they maintain the right of 

 precedence. The bell-cow is the strongest as well as the pret- 

 tiest of the herd, and never fails to take the first place in the 

 march, and no other ventures to step in before her. The ani- 

 mals next in strength, the aristocracy of the herd, follow. The 

 bell-cow, fully conscious of her power, leads off to the slied and 

 has often been seen when she has lost her rank, and been 

 deprived of her bell, to pine away with melancholy. If a new 

 cow is added to the herd, she has a duel of horns with each of 

 her new companions, and takes her rank according to the 

 result of the fight. If two animals are of equal strength the 

 struggle is obstinate. 



The cows on the mountains display great courage in defend- 

 ing themselves from the attacks of beasts of prey, and espe- 

 cially bears, which are plenty in the Southern Alps.' In calm, 



