cow 



cow 



COTTON, WILD. The silk weed 



{Asclcpias Si/riaca). 



COTTON WOOD. The Populus 

 Catiadoisis. See Poplar. 



COTYLEDON. The seed lobes. 

 Jussieu's followers divide the vegeta- 

 ble kingdom according to the number 

 of parts or cotyledons in any seed. 

 Thus dicotyledons, or plants with two 

 seed lobes, are the ordinary inhabi- 

 tants of the temperate zone. Mono- 

 cotyledons are the palms, grasses, &c., j 

 which are most luxuriant in tropical 

 regions, and possess but one seed 

 lobe. Acotylcdons are the same with 

 cryptogamie plants, and contain no 

 apparent colvledons. 



COUCH GRASS. Several varie- 

 ties of repent grasses, with perennial 

 stems, are so called, as Triticum rc- 

 pcns, Agrostis rcpcns, &c. There is 

 but one way to destroy them : hoed 

 crops, thorough ploughing, withahar- 

 row to collect the fragments, and 

 hea\'y liming or salting. 



COUGH. Horses and cattle troub- 

 led with cough should be sheltered, 

 bran and linseed oil administered, or 

 the bowels moved : bleeding is occa- 

 sionallv necessary. 



COULTER. The knife of a plough. 

 It is also a corruption of cultivator, 

 and used to designate a one-pronged 

 cultivator used in the South. 



COUNTER. The breast of a 

 horse. 



COUPLES. Ewes and lambs are 

 counted bv couples. 



COUPLINGS. Thongs of leather 

 to fasten two bodies together. 



COURT PLASTER. Silk, usual- 

 ly of a black colour, rendered adhe- 

 sive by the following mixture : one 

 ounce of isinglass dissolved in the 

 smallest quantity of water, and half 

 an ounce of benzoin dissolved in al- 

 cohol. This is brushed over ten or 

 twelve times until a sufficient coat is 

 left. 



COVER. Any sheltered place in 

 which game can lie hid. 



COVEY. A gang of partridges or 

 other game. 



COW. "Oneof the most useful of 

 the domestic animals : her milk is , 

 peculiarly adapted to nourish infants j 



S 2 



and invalids, and requires no prepar- 

 ation to make it palatable or whole- 

 some. In the article Cattle we have 

 given an enumeration of the various 

 breeds of cows, and under Butter and 

 Cheese an account of their principal 

 produce. We shall here confine our- 

 selves to the proper management of 

 a cow, so as to make her most pro- 

 ductive, and to tlie most common dis- 

 eases to which this animal is subject. 

 " Where only one or two cows are 

 kept, especially where they are to be 

 maintained on a limited portion of 

 pasture, it is of great importance that 

 a good choice be made when they are 

 purchased or reared. Some breeds, 

 no doubt, are much superior to oth- 

 ers ; but, as a general rule, there is a 

 better chance of having a profitable 

 cow, if she be reared on the land on 

 which she is to be kept. When the 

 common breed of the country is de- 

 cidedly inferior, it may be profitable 

 to bring a cow from a distance, in 

 which case it should be from some 

 district of which the pasture is rath- 

 er inferior to that to which she is 

 brought, or, at least, not better. The 

 best breeds are found in the richest 

 pastures, but they do not thrive on 

 worse. On poor land a small active 

 cow will pick her food and keep in 

 condition, where a fine large cow- 

 would starve, or, at least, fall off rap- 

 idly. This is particularly the case in 

 the mountains, near the tops of which 

 no domestic animal will live but the 

 goat, and next to it the smallest breed 

 of cows. Where the pastures are poor 

 but extensive, cows give little milk, 

 and the number which can be kept 

 must make up for the produce of 

 each. Where, on the other hand, 

 cows are stalled, and fed on artificial 

 food brought to them in sufficient 

 quantity, large bulky cows give the 

 best return for the food ; at least, this 

 seems to be the opinion of the Flem- 

 ish farmers in general. Where cows 

 pick up the herbage growing by the 

 road-side, in forests, or are teth- 

 ered on a small portion of clover or 

 lucern, a small lean cow is preferred ; 

 and in general the cows commonly 

 met with, and which are bred in each 



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