2 THE COW 



the water course and climbing a little way up the 

 hills will be close-turfed luxuriant meadows and 

 young com fields shining and dancing in the 

 breeze. If it be near evening there will be merry 

 children coming home from school and patient 

 herds with full udders waiting at the bars for milk- 

 ing-time, and boys coming for the cows will call 

 to them "Co-boss, Co-boss, Co-boss" — ^the same call- 

 ing-cry that English-speaking farm folk have 

 known for many centuries. By these tokens the 

 Pilgrim shall know that he has come unto the 

 Kingdom of the Cow, for be it noted that the cow 

 comes into her own and rules unquestioned only 

 where Nature has not been too kind. 



So it wUl be best for us at the beginning frankly 

 to recognize the fact that most of us are dairymen 

 by force of circumstances. Of course, every good 

 farm is suitable for cow-keeping, but when we 

 speak of a "dairy-farm" we really mean one which 

 is capable of giving good returns when used in this 

 way, but which can hardly be recommended for 

 general agriculture. A cursory survey of the typi- 

 cal farm scheme of different localities will demon- 

 strate the correctness of the general statement 

 that where lands are fertile, level and easily tilled 

 and climatic conditions are kindly, men steadfastly 

 refuse to milk many cows. The truth is that we are 

 all as lazy as we dare to be, and on land naturally 

 fertile and adapted to the use of modern machinery 

 it is possible to make a living by types of farming 



