18 THE COW 



dim hereditary memory of what her own ancestor 

 did a thousand and more generations before? Or, 

 may modem science find that this unusual diet 

 isupplies some need of the bovine body at this par- 

 ticular moment? 



It seems to me that the young calf exhibits more 

 of the primal instincts of the wild than does the 

 mother. Under native conditions, it must have 

 been some days after birth before it began to run 

 by its mother's side with the remainder of the herd, 

 and during this period if there was any one idea 

 that was firmly stamped into its little bovine brain, 

 it must have been never, never to betray its pres- 

 ence by movement or voice. So in obedience to 

 this training, the baby calf will lie quietly for a 

 very long period unless aroused by its mother. I 

 do not know how long the calf would remain quiet 

 and I certainly have never had the heart to try. It 

 will often lie for twenty-four hours and probably 

 much longer. I doubt not that the youngster gets 

 very hungry and possibly lonely, but it does not 

 forget its hereditary training. Stoical philosopher 

 that it is, it curls up, pokes its soft little nose into 

 its furry flank and tries to sleep the hours away 

 until mother shall come and give the glad signal 

 that everything is well. 



Very frequently I have gone to give the young- 

 ster its first lesson in drinking, and have found 

 him so sleepy and suspicious of my well-meant at- 

 tentions that I could not arouse any interest in 



