A SICK COW 



the farrier had come. Getting into my clothes as 

 quickly as possible I took the lantern and hurried 

 to the stable. The farrier examined her, confirmed 

 my neighbour's diagnosis and added that the attack 

 was complicated by a serious case of "impaction of 

 the rumen." I was glad that he didn't say that she 

 had appendicitis or adenoids, for I had made up my 

 mind that I was neither going to pay for a costly 

 operation nor to send her south for her health. 

 * * * * 



While the farrier was mixing another dose — he 

 had approved of the one I had given — I enquired 

 cautiously about her ailment. When the big words 

 had been simplified for me I found that what she 

 was suffering from chiefly was indigestion and pains 

 in her tripe. This gave me much relief, for I felt 

 that if there ever was a cow that deserved to have 

 indigestion it was old Fenceviewer. Some of you may 

 remember that a couple of years ago she gave me a 

 scare by eating a bushel or so of com. But she got 

 away with that without any bad results, so I was 

 puzzled as to what she could have eaten that had 

 disagreed with her. I knew that she had not had 

 too much of anything, for she is kept tied up most 

 of the time. Then I remembered that when feeding 



19 



