16 



of fai^nmg,from general bad management, and from, 

 indifference to improvement. A supply of milk 1 

 shall yet prove to be within your power of providing ; 

 and surely some effort on yoiu- parts to obtain this 

 necessary article for yourselves and children more es- 

 pecially (to whom salt fish is actiially poison, causing 

 scabby heads, and itch, and many other disorders,) 

 may be reasonably expected from you. The want of 

 milk in winter, where young children are concerned, 

 is dreadful, of which I will give you a proof within 

 my own knowledge. A young woman applied lately 

 to a doctor for advice and medicine ; her limbs were 

 so weak that she could not walk ten yards ; in fact, 

 she was slightly par^ytic. Well, the doctor gave her 

 some bark, which was serving her much, and in 

 about a fortnight's time she felt almost strong enough 

 to kick a football about the J)awn, if it happened to 

 roU in her way ; l)ut unha^jpily she was nursing and 

 it appeared that the medicine was drying up her milk, 

 and starving her child; so she was desired to wean it; 

 but, (here comes the point of the story,) she was un- 

 able to do so, because, though a smaU fanner's wife, 

 she had not a milch cow in winter, therefore she is 

 obhged to give up the physic, and defer the weaning 

 until her cow shall have calved in May, and run the 

 risque of being paralytic for hfe. And how old do 

 you think the child is ? fifteen months ! A child fif- 

 teen months old, dragging the life out of a sickly 

 mother from want of a little cow's milk ! But then 

 you'll turn al)out very short upon me, and say, " all 

 this is very fine talk, Mr. Doyle, but how are we to 

 feed a cow in winter when all the grass is eaten bare, 

 so that she wont run (hy? and supposing that we 

 could feed her properly, how is a poor owner of a few 

 acres to buy a cow at all ? These are very proper 

 questions for you, Mr. Pat, to ask me, and I hope 

 to answer them to your satisfaction, only just allow 

 me, for the credit of our country, to begin with the 

 wrong end of your quere first, and to show how the 



