THE SIMILITUDE OF THE COW 31 



wise old mothers often manage to raise in excess 

 of a dozen. 



It is a surprising fact that while so far as we 

 know the wild cow was homed and the whole genus 

 (Bos) bears horns, yet we have long had well de- 

 fined races of hornless or polled cattle. The truth 

 seems to be that hornless sports ("mooleys" in the 

 farm vernacular) appear from time to time among 

 all breeds and these show a strong tendency to 

 reproduce the same condition in their offspring. 

 The establishment within a few years of a herd- 

 book for Polled Jerseys and also for Polled 

 Durhams or Shorthorns indicates that it is not 

 especially difflcult to fix this variation when it 

 appears. The prepotency of the polled breeds is 

 very strong and the offspring of the first cross with 

 homed breeds will be hornless in most cases. 



From the standpoint of the dairyman the pres- 

 ence of horns is an unmitigated nuisance, so much 

 so that the dehorning of cows has become a very 

 common custom. The animal is fastened securely 

 and the horns removed with a thin small-toothed 

 stiff -backed saw, taking care to make the cut close 

 enough to take a little circle of skin with it in 

 order that there may be no further growth of the 

 stub. The horn is hollow, and the operation is not 

 so laborious as it sounds. This method makes a 

 less serious wound than that caused by the use of 

 the clippers. Doubtless it is a very painful opera- 

 tion, but it is kindness in the end and our New 



