cow 



cow 



district, seem tlie best adapted for 

 the mode in which thoy are fed. 

 "Whatever be tlie breed or quality of 

 a cow, slie should always have plen- 

 ty of food, without whicii no consid- 

 erable produce in milk can be expect- 

 ed. This food should be succulent 

 as well as nourishing, or else fat will 

 be produced instead of milk. A cow 

 well fed may be safely milked till 

 within a month of her calving. It is 

 better that she should be dry before 

 the new milk begins to spring in her 

 udder. A little attention will readi- j 

 ly prevent her becoming dry too soon, | 

 or being milked too long. Heifers I 

 with their first calf should be allow- 

 ed to go dry sooner than older cows, 

 because their grow-th would be impe- 

 ded by the double drain of the milk 

 and the calf It is best to let a heif- 

 er go to the bull when nature prompts 

 her to it, provided she be not less 

 than fifteen or eighteen months old ; 

 for if they are thwarted in their first 

 heat, they are apt to become irregu- 

 lar ever after ; and it is advanta- 

 geous for a cow to calve regularly at 

 the same season of the year. The 

 best time is May, when the grass be- 

 gins to be succulent. In populous 

 places, where veal is considered a lux- 

 ury, the calves are kept and fattened 

 by letting them suck the cows, or by 

 giving them warm milk to drink. 

 Near large towns this is a profitable 

 mode of employing the milk, when it 

 cannot be sold for immediate con- 

 sumption. 



" Her food must be raised in regu- 

 lar succession, and cut for her. The 

 earliest green food is rye, then clo- 

 ver, which may be made so to suc- 

 ceed each other as to give an ample 

 supply. Cabbages, beet root, pars- 

 nips, potatoes, and turnips will con- 

 tinue the supply during winter, and 

 the dung and urine of the cow, care- 

 fully collected, will be sufficient to 

 keep the land in condition. 



" Where cows are allowed to be in 

 the open air, with proper shelter in 

 case of stormy and wet weather, 

 they are subject to few diseases. 

 They must be carefully looked to at 

 the time of calving, but except in ur- 

 210 



gent cases nature must be allowed 

 to perform her own office. A little 

 common sense and experience will 

 soon teach the possessor of a cow to 

 assist nature, if absolutely necessa- 

 ry ; and in case of difficulties the 

 safest way is to call in an experien- 

 ced person. Drinks and medicine 

 should be avoided ; a little warm wa- 

 ter, with some barley or bean meal 

 mixed with it, is the most comforta- 

 ble drink for a cow after calving. 

 The calf, and not the cow, should 

 have the first milk, which nature has 

 intended to purge its intestines of a 

 glutinous substance which is always 

 found in the new-born calf A very 

 common disease with cows is a dis- 

 ordered function of the liver, pro- 

 ducing a yellowish tint in the eyes, 

 and sometimes in the skin. A gen- 

 tle purge, consisting of half a pound 

 of Glauber salts, an ounce of ginger, 

 and two ounces of treacle, with two 

 quarts of boiling water poured over 

 them, may be given when it is milk- 

 warm, and repeated every other day ; 

 keeping the cow warm, if it be in 

 winter, by a cloth over the loins, and 

 in a shed. This will in general re- 

 store her health. The symptoms of 

 a diseased liver or lungs in a cow are 

 leanness, with a staring coat, a husky 

 cough with loss of appetite, a difficul- 

 ty of breathing, and a great diminu- 

 tion in the secretion of the milk. In 

 accidents or acute diseases the at- 

 tendance of the clever veterinary 

 practitioner is indispensable. 



" Attention to food and exercise, 

 giving the first regularly and in mod- 

 erate quantities at a time, and allow- 

 ing the cow to use her own judgment 

 as to the latter, are the great secrets 

 of health ; and a healthy young cow 

 reared at home, or purchased of a 

 conscientious dealer, will probably 

 live to old age without ever having 

 had any disease. A cow is old and 

 unprofitable when she reaches twelve 

 or fourteen vears." 



CO WAGE. The Dolichos pruricns, 

 the pods of which are set with small 

 bristles, which produce great irrita- 

 tion on the skin. It is an exploded 

 { remedy for worms, and exotic. 



