188 THE DAILY LIFE OF OUR FARM. 



struck her down, has made sad ravages around us. She 

 was saved, undoubtedly, by the strong dose of salts and 

 ginger, that she at once got when we found her to be 

 ailing. I ought to have put opium in also. That 

 omission the veterinary surgeon (a most able neigh- 

 bour luckily) did upon being summoned. These little 

 cattle, which are usually tethered upon the orchard 

 sward, were allowed to run free one day. Whether 

 she fed too heartily or not upon the rank growth 

 beneath the trees, or swallowed acorns and such like 

 in deleterious proportion, anyhow she took to scouring 

 violently, sank beneath the pressure of my hand along 

 her spine, and had her nose quite burning dry. It was 

 an attack of what the old farriers called " scouring rot," 

 or "dysentery," but what is now spoken of as typhoid 

 fever. We kept her up with plenty of wheaten gruel, 

 with chopped and melted mutton suet in it, a recipe 

 which I knew to have saved a poor fellow under a 

 severe attack of dysentery during the Crimean cam- 

 paign. The little cow is now gradually coming round, 

 but continues very weak. 



We w^ere recently very much provoked by having a 

 boar disqualified for the prize, in excellent company, at 

 an adjoining county show, as being incapable of breed- 

 ing, although we have his stock in our hands, and 

 although he was passed by the veterinary of the Royal 

 Show in much higher condition. So much discretion as 

 this should not be allowed to judges. Their business is 

 to select the best animal, and leave all such questioning 

 of disability to the scientific inspector. 



We were all delighted that the Didmarton Short- 

 horns sold so well. They were a grand solid-framed, 

 wealthy-coated, mellow-flesh sort, and would, if they 



