38 THE COW 



in an effort to prevent their stall-mates getting any- 

 thing to eat. 



However, cow life is not quite all eating and 

 fighting. Cows greatly enjoy licking all parts of 

 the body that they can reach, this probably being 

 the bovine ideal of a careful toilet. It is rather 

 amusing to see another cow very carefully bestow- 

 ing this attention on the head and face of a neigh- 

 bor who, of course, cannot reach them with her own 

 tongue. It is hard to decide whether the giver or 

 the recipient derives most pleasure from this ser- 

 vice. 



The thrilling moment in the life of a cow is that 

 wonderful day in late May when, after a long win- 

 ter of confinement in the bam, she is again "turned 

 out" to the pasture. That gala day stirs up all her 

 old instincts and hereditary memories. Playful- 

 ness except in the calf is rare among cattle, but 

 in the first hours at pasture the whole herd will 

 often indulge in a wild rush, circling the field with 

 tails carried erect, high over the back like banners 

 and with strange awkward cavorting and galloping 

 — for all the world like the rush of a lot of young- 

 sters let out of school. The most ardent admirer — 

 or apologist — ^for the cow can hardly claim for her 

 grace of movement. Well fed and thrifty calves, 

 during the first weeks of life, enjoy giving vent to 

 their high spirits in much galloping in circles with 

 clumsy kicking up of the heels, frequently accom- 

 panying such gymnastics with resounding calfish 



