THE COW, MENTALLY 41 



feeding in a far comer by herself when the re- 

 mainder of the herd has decided to go and see 

 whether it is milking time. As a whole, however, 

 the order of feeding and resting and traveling 

 seems to rise from a common impulse. 

 ' In one phase of pasture life, however, the cow 

 attains a sort of impressive dignity and that is 

 when she is definitely "on the march." It is fine 

 to see a large herd of cows who have suddenly de- 

 termined to make a pilgrimage — ^it may be merely 

 to go' for a drink or to explore a distant part of 

 the pasture. There they go, largely strung out in 

 single file, heads up, looking neither to the right 

 nor left, no foolishness, no distractions of eating or 

 casual fighting allowed, but every matron stepping 

 briskly off as if under orders. I feel sorry for 

 them. It seems like a pitiful effort to rehearse 

 within the limits of a pasture field the old-time 

 long marches in search of far-off feeding grounds. 

 Truly man has come to have dominion over her. 

 To me the most interesting and impressive thing 

 about the cow is this : that she still remains a sure 

 foundation for biological musings and a riddle in 

 atavism. Written history is short, but her story 

 is very long. She is an ancient of the earth, and 

 her career is linked with the forgotten men of the 

 Old Stone Age who pictured her in rude outlines 

 scratched upon the walls of their cavern homes. 

 Her minor characteristics, her size, color, con- 



