72 THE GOSPEL AND THE PLOW 



of some domestic event, that as a thank offering, one of 

 the villagers takes a bull calf to the priest and has the 

 sacred brand stamped upon it and henceforth it is 

 sacred. It is then turned loose. No one may tie it up 

 and it goes into the fields or into the village eating at its 

 own sweet will and is usually in very good condition. 

 The trouble with this method of breeding cattle is that 

 there is no control. I have investigated a good many 

 cases where cows of a fair dairy breed were brought into 

 a district. The daughters of these cows sired by a local 

 sacred bull give from one-half to one-fourth of the milk 

 that the mother gave, proving that these sacred bulls are 

 often very inferior dairy-breeding animals. Often- 

 times the bull calf thus sacrificed is deformed or very 

 small in size or unsuitable for some other reason for 

 making into a work ox, thus with inferior sires the 

 breeding of the cattle seems to be progressively worse. 

 In certain parts of India there are certain castes whose 

 business it is to breed cattle and they are very careful 

 not to allow a sacred bull into their herds and also to 

 choose good sires. They keep up the standard of their 

 own particular breed. 



The cattle of India are in general much more docile 

 and easily handled than western cattle. This may be 

 from the fact that they are often regarded as members 

 of the family from birth, in and out of the house at 

 will. The placid, contemplative cow is the type that 

 appeals very strongly to the Hindu religious mystic 

 whose idea is to spend his time out in the forest away 

 from man, contemplating, as the cow appears to be do- 

 ing as she placidly chews her cud. 



In Europe the man who formerly wished to perpetuate 

 his name built a cathedral ; in modern America he builds 



