TREATISE. 



ON 



MILCH cows: 



^ WHEREBY 



THE QUALITY AND QUANTITY OE MILK WHICH ANY COW WILL GIVE 

 MAY BE ACCURATELY DETERMINED, 



BY 

 OBSERVING NATURAL IXARKS, OR EXTERNAL INDICATIONS ALONE ; 



i THE LENGTH OF TIME SHE WILL CONTINUE TO GIVE MILK, 

 } &c. &c. 



By M. FRANCIS GUENON, France. 



Translated from the French of the Author, for.the Fanners' Library, 



By N. P. TRIST, late U. S. Consul at Havana. 



THE TRANSLATOR TO THE READER. 



Nonsense I Who can believe any sucli thing ? What ! by merely looking at a 

 cow, to be able to tell how much milk she is capable of being made to yield ; 

 and, also, how long she can continue to give milk after being got with calf! — 

 to be able thus to ascertain, not only what are the qualities of a full grown cow, 

 but what are to be the qualities of any heifer-calf, by looking at her while yet 

 but two or three months old ! Surely, if ever there was a humbug, this is one. 



Softly, Mr. Reader ! You are very incredulous, no doubt, but I defy you to be 

 more so than I was when in your present position. What is more, I defy you 

 to cling to your skepticism over an hour or so. However strong and firm it may 

 be at this moment, it will, iri a little while, have vanished into nothing ; and its 

 place will be filled by another solid proof in addition to the many you must al- 

 ready have stored up, that 



" Thei-e are more things in heaven and earth , 



Than arc dreamt of in your philosophy." 



When this discovery was first mentioned to me, as one which had recently 

 been published in France, I smiled at the credulity of some people. My informant, 

 perceiving what effect the announcement had upon me, said, " It is so, however ;" 

 and then, nothing but politeness toward a stranger, foi' the first time under my 

 roof, prevented my replying, " You do not really believe this to be possible." 



He offered to send me the book ; and, though I had not the least idea of 

 throwing away my time in reading it, civility wolild not allow me to decline. 

 It came, and I opened it with the intention merely of looking into it sufiicieiitly 

 to say that I had done so. When, however, in turning the pages over, I saw 

 that this piece of quackery, as I felt very sure the pretended discovery must be, 

 had engaged the attention of distinguished Agricultural Societies in France, and 



