140 THE OX AND THE DAIRY. 



hide, destitute of a due layer of subcutaneous cellular tissue, 

 bespeak an impoverished system. Is it profitable for a cot- 

 tager that is, a labourer to keep cows ? A writer in the 

 Penny Cyclopaedia says : " A cottager, with two or three 

 acres (query, from half an acre to an acre) of moderate land, 

 may keep a cow, and thus add much to his earnings as a la- 

 bourer. For this purpose, he will require a small portion of 

 permanent grass, fenced off, to allow the cow to take exercise, 

 which is necessary for her health. Her food must be raised 

 in regular succession, and cut for her. The earliest green 

 food is rye, then tares, then clover ; which may be made to 

 succeed each other so as to give an ample supply Cabbages, 

 beet-root, parsnips, potatoes, and turnips will continue the 

 supply during winter; and the dung and urine of the cow, 

 carefully collected, will be sufficient to keep the land in con- 

 dition. This system, lately introduced into some parts of 

 Ireland, has already greatly improved the condition of the in- 

 dustrious poor." In fact, according to this plan, the cottager 

 must pursue a modified system of stall-feeding ; and if he can 

 devote a few hours daily to his land, and possesses the requisite 

 knowledge, he will doubtless gain considerably. In the 

 neighbourhood of large towns he will find a ready sale for 

 his milk at the rate of fourpence per quart ; he will also have 

 a calf yearly for disposal ; and may also keep a few hogs. We 

 think, however, that on this system of green crops and roots, 

 if the land be good, three or four cows may be well kept on 

 three acres, with the addition of a little hay, grains, brewers' 

 wash, &c. A cottager, with the whole of his time, or nearly 

 so, at his own disposal, will, if industrious, thus comfortably 

 maintain himself and his family. " A cow is old and un- 

 profitable when she reaches the age of twelve or fourteen 

 .years : she should then be sold, and a young one purchased. 

 If the cottager have the means of rearing a cow-calf to succeed 

 Hie old mother, he will do well ; if not, he must lay by a por- 

 tion of the cow's produce every year, to raise the difference 

 between the value of a young cow and an old one. The 

 savings-banks are admirable institutions for this purpose ; a 

 few shillings laid by when the produce of the cow is greatest, 

 will soon amount to the sum required to exchange an old one 

 for a younger." 



The cow, as ive have said, should be suited to the pastur- 

 age ; but on the plan of stall-feeding, or feeding on cut green 

 food in a small inclosure, the cottager may keep a superior 







