SHELTER. 303 



I have spoken of this matter first because T 

 think that the injury done to breeding cattle 

 by too much pampering, especially in over- 

 stabling, is both very great and very rarely 

 commented on. I cannot too strongly accen- 

 tuate the great importance of keeping stock in 

 as nearly a state of nature as possible. If this 

 were done there would be fewer weak, consump- 

 tive animals in the country. True, if this 

 method of treatment were suddenly adopted 

 many of the now enfeebled stock would prob- 

 ably succumb to the exposure; but would it be 

 any great loss? In our manufactories of steam 

 boilers, for instance, all the boilers are tested 

 to see whether they will stand the strain which 

 they must be subjected to; and, in the testing, 

 not a few are found wanting. Is the world any 

 worse off for the loss of the defective boilers? 

 So I doubt if the world would be any worse off 

 for the loss of some of the breeding stock which 

 must be kept alive by a system of preservation 

 in pink cotton packing. 



But shelter is not only largely desirable but 

 to a great extent absolutely necessary. For all 

 young animals, except in midsummer, it is 

 indispensable; for milking cows and for feeding 

 stock equally so. It needs no more than the 

 mere mention of the fact as to young stock to 

 enforce the truth of it. As to milk cattle it is 

 not so generally understood that cold, damp 



