824 CATTLE-BREEDING. 



period that they have grown up stunted and 

 half -starved beasts. Two full feeds a day of 

 the most nutritious food should be given both 

 male and female, and every provision for good, 

 healthy growth should be supplied. Among 

 the provisions which I esteem as essential are 

 an abundance of clean and wholesome water. 

 There is jio more important condition of health- 

 ful life than a suitable water supply, and there 

 is probably no condition more generally neg- 

 lected. Cattle often show strange preferences, 

 speaking from a human standpoint, as to their 

 water. Thus they will frequently cross a run- 

 ning stream, a creek, or a spring branch to 

 drink out of a pond of standing water. This is 

 doubtless due to their preferring the higher 

 temperature of the pond water to the cold wa- 

 ter of the stream. This naturally leads to the 

 conclusion that very cold water is not desirable 

 for stock. This conclusion is further supported 

 by the well-settled physiological fact that cold 

 water in any large quantity is injurious to the 

 digestive processes, retarding, and if the chill 

 occasioned by it is great, temporarily stopping 

 them. Hence as far as possible the water given 

 the stock should not be very cold. 



Another provision which needs to be insisted 

 on is abundance of out-of-door life. This is im- 

 portant for two reasons: First, because exercise 

 is a positive condition of health in all higher 



