THE COW, MENTALLY 39 



"br-a-a-a-ah." The adult indulges in such foolish- 

 ness only on very special occasions, and the first 

 day at pasture is one of these. When hard driven 

 by a dog or anxious to rejoin the herd from which 

 she has been separated, the cow is capable of a 

 straightforward running gait that very easily out- 

 strips a man, and wOl even rival a good horse, but 

 the cow merely disporting herself has a particu- 

 larly grotesque, plunging, wobbling gallop. 



The herd on the first day at pasture eats very 

 little for the first two or three hours. Rather it 

 is an occasion for exploration and perhaps for 

 surprise and annoyance that her domain is now 

 so narrow, for she once roamed over many leagues 

 instead of being limited by a fence-line inclosing 

 only a score or two of acres. Life for a cow at 

 pasture is made up of periods of grazing alter- 

 nated with inteirals when she lies at ease to pursue 

 the pleasant task of chewing the cud while diges- 

 tion prepares her stomach for another fill. As a 

 rule, the resting cow assumes the attitude of lying 

 squarely on the brisket and elbows (knees, in the 

 incorrect speech of the farm) with the hind legs 

 drawn up under her while she rests on one hip or 

 the other, but occasionally she varies this position 

 by stretching out at full length as if she were dead, 

 even the head lying on the ground. This rather 

 unusual position is more common with young 

 heifers or calves. If pasture is abundant a very 

 few hours a day suffice to gather her food, but 



