BOOK VI. XXIV. 5-xxvi. 2 



abundance of milk, for which reason, if their own 

 young are taken from them, excellent cattle can be 

 reared at the udders of cows who are not their 

 mothers ; or if this resource is not available, the calf 

 puts up quite well with crushed beans and wine. 

 This plan should be adopted particularly in large 

 herds. 



XXV. Worms, which generally occur when indiges- Kemedies 

 tion is present, are often harmful to calves. Their i^'cliv™^ 

 feeding, therefore, must be so regulated that they 

 digest properly ; or, if they are already suffering 



from a malady of this kind, half-raw lupines are 

 crushed and pellets of them thrust down their throats 

 to serve as a drench. Wormwood « can also be 

 ground up with dried figs and bitter-vetch and 

 made up into pellets and thrust down their throats 

 to act as a drench. The same effect is produced by 

 one part of axle-grease mixed with three parts of 

 hyssop; also the juice of horehound and of leek is 

 effectual for killing creatures of this kind. 



XXVI. Mago is in favour of castrating calves while ^he castra- 

 they are still young and tender, and he advises that calves. 

 the operation should not be performed with a knife 



but that the testicles should be compressed with a 

 piece of cleft fennel and gradually broken up. He 

 considers this to be the best method of castration, 

 because it is applied when the animal is still tender 

 and causes no wound. When the animal has grown 2 

 tougher, it is better that it should be castrated as a 

 two-year-old than as a one-year-old. He recom- 

 mends that the operation should take place in the 

 spring or in the autumn when the moon is waning, 

 and that the calf should be bound in the machine * ; 

 then, before applying the knife, you should seize 



187 



