GENERAL CARE OF CATTLE. 331 



heifers in a third, the two-year-olds in a fourth, 

 and so on through the dry and milking cows, 

 etc., each class speaks for itself. The impres- 

 sion is one of symmetry and congruity. If the 

 purchaser is in search of yearling heifers his 

 mind is not distracted by the superior impres- 

 sion made by the greater maturity of two-year- 

 olds ready to calve which stand alongside. All 

 who have dealt in market cattle know the su- 

 perior selling qualities of a very even bunch of 

 cattle. It is much the same principle here, ex- 

 cept that the element of beauty of form is of 

 far higher almost of the highest importance 

 in the case of blooded stock. 



For the best results in raising young stock I 

 have already said that it is highly important to 

 keep them as quiet and as far removed from 

 excitement of every sort as possible. In order 

 to secure this the animals must be handled sys- 

 tematically from birth, habituated to the pres- 

 ence of man made to regard him as a purely 

 beneficent being. Gentleness is almost a sine 

 qua non of thrift. An animal that is being 

 frightened constantly, that will bolt out of the 

 stall leaving a half -emptied feed box behind it 

 at the least approach of man, that will race 

 around the pasture whenever an attempt is 

 made to drive it up to feed or for any other 

 purpose, is not likely to yield satisfactory re- 

 sults. They should be familiarly handled from 



