CAT 



CAT 



take shelter under woollen rags, 

 placed near their haunts, from which 

 they may be taken and destroyed. 



CATTLE, a name applied to all 

 quadrupeds, which are used for til- 

 ling of ground, and for the food of 

 man. But under this article we 

 shall confine ourselves to animals 

 of the ox kind, to which the word 

 is most usually applied. 



As soon as a calf is weaned, it 

 should either be permitted to run 

 in the best pasture, or confined in 

 the barn, and fed by hand, and be 

 carefully tended, kept warm, and 

 live upon the bestoffodder,through 

 the first winter. Afterwards it will 

 become so hardy as to require less 

 care. But cattle should be fre- 

 quently looked to and examined ; 

 that so, if they be overtaken with 

 any sickness, hurt, or lameness, 

 suitable remedies may be seasona- 

 bly applied. And in order to do 

 this, they should be accustomed to 

 come home, and be shut up in the 

 yard every night. By this meth- 

 od, a farmer will save a much larg- 

 er quantity of dung. And, in case 

 of an uncommonly cold storm, the 

 cattle may be housed with very lit- 

 tle trouble, as the yard is contigu- 

 ous to their house. 



Cattle, from one year old to 

 three, will usually get a living in 

 summer, and even thrive, upon the 

 commons, or in the meanest, and 

 most bushy pastures. And in win- 

 ter the poorest fodder will keep 

 them alive. And, as our farmers 

 know these things, they are very 

 apt to treat their young cattle in 

 this manner. Those which are so 

 treated, may oftentimes become as 

 hardy cattle as any ; but they will 



be small, and therefore not so pro- 

 fitable. Farmers in general are 

 too ambitious to keep a large stock 

 of cattle : A necessary consequence 

 of which is, that they are pinched 

 in their food, and never come to 

 their full growth. Another ill con- 

 sequence is, their growing unruly 

 and mischievous through hunger, 

 learning to leap over fences, or 

 break through them. 



It would certainly be more con- 

 ducive to the interest of farmers, to 

 keep smaller stocks of cattle than 

 they do : For then they would be 

 able to feed them to the full. — 

 Their oxen would be much larger 

 and stronger than they are, and 

 their cows would give plenty of 

 milk, and bring larger calves : Not 

 to say how much they would save 

 in taxes, by reducing their number 

 of rateable cattle. 



Farmers should allow their young 

 stock the best of pasture. This 

 would keep them out of mischief, 

 prevent their learning bad tricks, 

 and prevent many ill accidents 

 which befal them. And it would 

 be no small advantage always to 

 know where to find them. But, 

 in the common method of treating 

 them, it is too common a case for 

 them to straggle so far from home, 

 that the ownerentirely loses them ; 

 or else spends as much time as they 

 are worth in seeking after them. 



If a young stock were well fed 

 at all seasons, the heifers would 

 commonly have calves at two years 

 old, which is no small advantage, 

 and steers would be tit for labour 

 earlier in proportion. And when 

 they come to be killed off, the 

 quantity of beef would make 



