150 WHY CATTLE SHOULD BE KEPT IN HERDS 



It did not require profound or prolonged reflection 

 to show where the blame really lay. It was not with 

 Nature's animal designer after all. Beasts that cannot 

 lick, scratch, or switch their own forequarters are in- 

 tended to go in herds, and to get their companions to 

 perform these services for them. It follows, therefore, 

 that it is an act of cruel thoughtlessness to turn out a 

 solitary cow to endure persecution by flies. 



Since this little incident happened, I have paid more 

 attention to the habits of gregarious animals, and the 

 degree in which they are dependent on each other for 

 their comfort. While eating my sandwich one day 

 beside the Tweed at Sprouston, I watched the behaviour 

 of a small herd of heifers and bullocks. One of these 

 seemed to be in special request as coiffeur] one after 

 another its companions came to it, made it desist from 

 feeding in order to lick their necks and faces. It really 

 was very remarkable how good-natured this creature 

 was, and how freely it placed its rough tongue at the 

 disposal of its fellows. For fully half an hour it was 

 occupied in this way, snatching not more than a dozen 

 mouthfuls the while, and I left it so engaged in order 

 to resume my fishing. 



Mr. Cornish mentions in his charming little book, 

 Animals at Work and Play, how the unhappy solitary 

 giraffe at the Zoo makes all its coat bright and clean 

 except its neck, which, as the beast has no companion 

 to wash it, is several shades darker than the rest of its 

 body, and is a source of manifest discomfort. 



