ABOUT FRUITS, FLOWERS AND FARMING. 83 



CARE OF ANIMALS IN WINTER. 



THE wisest man has said that " the righteous man regard- 

 eth the life of his beast ; but the tender mercies of the 

 wicked are cruel." If any one is at a loss to know the 

 meaning of the latter part, he cannot have made good use 

 of his eyes. Lean cattle, leaner horses, anatomical speci- 

 mens of cows, half fed, dirty, drenched by every rain, and 

 pierced by every winter wind, these are an excellent com- 

 ment OR the passage. 



It is time for every merciful man to make provision for 

 every dumb animal which is dependent upon him. 



Cows should be provided with a comfortable stable at 

 night. No feeding will be a substitute for good shelter. 

 Both the quantity and quality of the milk will depend upon 

 bodily comfort in respect to warmth and nutritious food. 

 Such as are becoming heavy with calf should be specially 

 cared for. Many farmers let their cows shift for themselves 

 as soon as their milk dries away. But the health of the 

 coming calf and the ability of the cow to supply it, and her 

 owner, copiously with milk depend on the condition in 

 which she is kept during the period of gestation. 



Cattle should have a good shed provided for them, under 

 which they may be dry and sheltered from winds. It is the 

 curse of western farming that cattle and fodder are so plenty 

 that it is hardly a loss to waste both. 



Where the amount of stock is too great for comfortable 

 home-quarters, and they are wintered in a stock field, there 

 should be places of resort for them, so high as to remain 

 dry, well turfed with blue-grass, and sheltered with cheap 

 si KM Is, or by belts of forest. 



Sheep should receive special attention. They abhor vet. 

 They should be permitted to keep their fleece dry, and to 

 eat their food in a dry stable. The flock should be sorted. 

 The bucks and wethers by themselves, the ewes by them- 

 selves ; lambs and weak sheep in another division ; and a 



