THE COW, MENTALLY 37 



pared food in order that she may lay 3000 eggs a 

 day. 



Intellectually and morally, a very good case can- 

 not be made out for the cow. Her standards of 

 ethics and honor are low. In her conduct toward 

 the other members of the herd she is both cruel and 

 cowardly. Cattle by nature are polygamous, rov- 

 ing in herds with an old bull at the head who holds 

 his place against all comers by ordeal of combat. 

 Therefore, the instinct to fight is very strong 

 among bulls. If a number of young bulls run in 

 pasture together, they seem to settle satisfactorily 

 the question of precedence and get along very well, 

 but strange bulls fight on first introduction until 

 it is definitely settled who is victor. These com- 

 bats are sometimes rather spectacular with much 

 pushing and scuMng but apparently with very 

 little real injury to either party. This combative- 

 ness seems to crop out in the cows as a sort of 

 secondary sexual character, and every herd of any 

 size will always have some hooking and fighting 

 going on, resulting sometimes in serious injury 

 to the udder. The cow shows herself a mean 

 coward, because frequently, if one cow is fast in 

 the stanchion and hence unable to defend herself, 

 another not yet fastened will pitch in and gore 

 her most unmercifully until she bellows with pain 

 and terror. So also many cows standing in their 

 stalls with a fellow on each side will strike with 

 their horns first on one side and then on the other 



