PREGNANCY AND WHAT FOLLOWS. 419 



bag — may be tied to it, just above the gambril joint, to gradu- 

 ally draw upon, and thus loosen its hold, and expel the noisome 

 incumbrance. It is seldom, however, when the cow is in good 

 condition, that nature itself fails to remove the placenta. 



It sometimes occurs that the udder of the cow at parturition 

 becomes caked, swelled, and inflamed, or the teats be sore, or 

 chapped, and not caused by an over secretion of milk. In such 

 cases, the applications before mentioned may be applied, which, 

 frequently repeated, together with the sucking of the calf, will 

 be effective. But no neglect of the kind should be suffered to 

 prevent bringing the udder into its proper condition, as soon as 

 may be. Such cases neglected, or carelessly treated, may either 

 spoil the cow outright, or cause a portion of the udder and teats 

 to be lost, and thus her value materially lessened. In fact, the 

 most assiduous attention of the keeper should be given, in carry- 

 ing the cow safely through this critical period, and bringing her 

 to the best condition of profit and usefulness. 



MARKS INDICATING THE AGES OF CATTLE. 



The horns — when cattle have horns — are commonly examined 

 by most people, to judge of their ages. When not exceeding 

 seven or eight years, these may give a tolerable indication of the 

 time they have lived, by the number of rings at the root of the 

 horns. With steers, at three years old, and heifers not breeding 

 until that age, the first ring appears. Heifers which breed at 

 two years, commonly show the ring during that season, after 

 breeding; so beyond that age, the latter, judged by that mark 

 alone, show a year older than they actually are. An additional 

 ring grows out every succeeding year. Thus, the animal shows 

 one ring at three years, two rings at four, and so on ; but after 

 several rings are developed, as at eight, nine, or ten years, they 

 become more or less indistinct, running into each other, and no 

 accurate test, by this measure, is left. The rings on the short. 



