524 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. 



3230. The general manual operations common to British agriculture being now de- 

 scribed, a variety of operations peculiar to particular departments, such as boring for water, 

 puddling to retain water, building drains, &c. which belong to draining ; and barking 

 timber, burning charcoal, distilling pyrolignous acid, which belong to planting ; will be 

 found under these departments. 



Chap. II. 

 Agricultural Operations requiring the Aid of Labouring Cattle. 



3231. Operations requiring the aid of labouring cattle are in a peculiar manner entitled 

 to the appellation of agricultural. Almost all the operations described in the former 

 chapter, may be performed by common country labourers ; but those we are now to 

 enter on, are exclusively performed by farm servants. They may be classed as operations 

 for the use and management of live stock, labours on the soil, and compound operations. 



Sect. I. Operations for the Care of Live Stock. 



3232. Herding, or tending of cattle, as an operation, is the simplest which is connected 

 with domestic animals. It consists in conducting them to a certain pasturage ; keeping 

 them within the prescribed limits ; preventing them from injuring one another ; observing 

 if any are diseased, and the like. It is commonly performed with the aid of the dog, 

 and by boys or girls for a small herd or flock, and aged or elderly men for larger herds. 

 In modern times, the place of the cow and cattle herd is generally supplied by fences ; 

 but where large flocks of sheep are kept, it is still necessary to have a shepherd ; not, in 

 many cases, so much to keep the flock together and in its proper place, as to watch the 

 progress of their growth, the approaches of disease, parturition, &c. In almost all cases, 

 mild and gentle treatment ought to be made the sine qua non of the herdsman's conduct. 

 The duties of the shepherd, who has the general care of either a flock or herd, are various 

 and important, and, to be duly executed, imply no inconsiderable degree of physiological 

 and veterinary knowledge. See Part III. Book VII. The Economy of Live Stock. 



3233. Cleaning cattle is the operation of rubbing, brushing, combing, and washing 

 their bodies, and picking their feet. The legs of cattle, when soiled by labour, are com- 

 monly washed by walking them two or three times through a pond, formed on purpose 

 in or near to farmeries. As soon as they are put in the stable and unharnessed, the legs, 

 and such parts as are wetted, should be powerfully rubbed with dry straw, so as to diy 

 the hair ; and the same process should be applied to the rest of the body, if they have been 

 in a state of copious perspiration. At the same time their feet should be picked, and their 

 hoofs freed from any earth or small stones which may have lodged under the shoe, or in 

 the case of labouring oxen between the hoofs. Combing and brushing can only be per- 

 formed when the hair and skin are perfectly dry, and in farmeries is generally done in 

 the morning when they are first fed, and in the evening when last fed. In general, it 

 may be considered as experimentally decided, that cleaning cattle of every description, 

 cows and oxen as well as horses, contributes much to their health as well as to their beauty. 

 If swine were cleaned as regularly as horses, there can be no doubt they would be equally 

 benefited by it. Some amateurs have their feeding swine regularly cleaned ; but the 

 greater part of professional agriculturists content themselves with fixing one or more rub- 

 bing posts in each sty, with frequent renewing of the litter. 



3234. Feedi7ig, or supplying food to cattle, is an operation which, like every other, 

 however simple or humble, requires attention and a principle of action. Food ought to 

 be given at stated times, in such quantities as to satisfy but not to glut the animals, and 

 varied in quality so as to keep appetite alive. Water ought to be regularly supplied 

 according to the kind of food, the state of the animal, and the season of the year. Cattle, 

 that are fed in part on green food or roots, will require less water than those fed on dry 

 hay, straw, or corn ; and cattle that have been at work and perspiring, will require more 

 water than such as have been idle or at pasture. In summer, cattle fed on dry food 

 obviously require more water than in winter, owing to the increased perspiration. The 

 case of sick animals must be regulated by the nature of their disease, or directed by the 

 veterinary surgeon. In treating of agricultural animals (Part III.), we shall give the 

 diseases, and treatment of each. 



3235. The harnessing of cattle requires attention, first, that the harness be in complete 

 order ; and, secondly, that it fit the parts of the animal to which it is applied. Collars 

 and saddles are the leading articles, and when they gall or in any way incommode the 

 animal, they are ruinous to his comfort, and soon render him unfit for labour. Even 

 when they fit properly, an improper mode of fixing the collar-blades (hames), and tying 

 the girth of the saddle, may greatly annoy the animal, and render him restive during the 

 whole period he is in yoke. 



