No. 4.] COW AND THE MAN. 97 



Is there not here sufiicient data to found a romance of the 

 dairy cow ? If we were a novelist or had powers of descrip- 

 tion like a Winston Churchill (American) we should try to 

 show that the modern cow has doubtless developed in depth 

 and width since the days of the Egyptians, 1500 B. C. ; that 

 the spots resembling four-leaved clovers which adorned the 

 skin of the cow were intended to represent the close connection 

 there is between cows and clover. (We are surprised that an 

 ear of corn or a corn stalk was not found in the cave, but 

 possibly they did not grow Indian corn in Egypt. In fact, 

 we are almost sure it is an American product. ) The gold leaf 

 on the horns doubtless symbolized the fact that the cow was a 

 great wealth producer, — the Egyptians having so much that 

 they put it on the horns of cows. In these modern times we 

 spend it on automobiles and airships, etc. Again, is not that a 

 truthful and beautiful representation of the modern cow in 

 her relation to man, — suckling the boy, protecting the man! 

 Is that not her position to-day ? But we must call a halt on 

 these fancies, else we shall stray too far from our subject, 

 which is practical not poetical. 



Man, then, has developed the cow by a system of selection, 

 feeding and training for a special purpose. Owing to the 

 tendency of all animals to revert to their original type and 

 characteristics, and the cow being subject to the same law, we 

 can keep the cow up to standard and improving only by con- 

 tinuing the processes of selection, feeding and training for' a 

 special purpose. Especially ought we to keep a sharp lookout 

 for the mutants, sports or variations in our special direction. 

 These are the gifts of nature to a wise man. How many are 

 so blind that they do not see them ! 



If the foregoing reasoning be correct, it excludes the idea 

 of dual-purpose, triple-purpose and all other purpose cows, 

 except the one purpose of milk production. While it is true 

 that dual-purpose cows are found among some breeds and in 

 some districts, when the question is carefully looked into these 

 animals are usually kept for one purpose, and the others are 

 merely incidentals. 



