ON RED-WATEIl IN CATTLE. 
85 
the man of science whose genius does honour not only to a nation 
but to the whole world, was once a school-boy ; and the unnoticed 
acorn that is trodden by the foot of the careless and unconscious 
traveller, may become a stately oak, the pride and the beauty of 
the forest. 
Let us persevere. The path is partially opened before us. Al- 
though it is to be regretted that the light of art has not yet shone 
into the darkest valleys of the animal world, still there is great 
cause for rejoicing. We have seen all its mountain tops gilded by 
the sun of science, and this is to us, certainly, great encouragement. 
Let us profit by it ; let each act as if he alone were to accomplish 
some great object, and advancement is sure. Let us never lose sight 
of the one great principle applicable to all bodies of men, “ union 
is power.” 
A certain philosopher has very tritely observed, that “ he who 
can make two blades of grass grow where only one grew before is 
a benefactor to, and deserves the gratitude of, his country.” There 
must be a considerable relation between the effects, taken as a 
whole, of doubling the means of our comforts, and reducing by one- 
half the sources of the evils that attend us. If gratitude is due in 
the former it is also called for in the latter ; and it certainly will at 
once be conceded that those who devote their time, &c. to 
study the diseases of our domestic animals, for the purpose of pre- 
venting their attacks or accomplishing their cure, deserve well of 
their country. 
Of all the different classes of animals we possess, no one, I 
presume, will deny that the cow is the most useful, whether we 
view her as in the hands of the nobleman, the rich farmer, the dairy- 
man, or the humble cottager ; indeed, in the latter case, her worth 
is seen in a most superior manner. To the two former she is 
chiefly valuable on account of the improvement of breeds that can 
be effected through her means. Although, in general, proprietors of 
cattle pay more attention to the breeding of the male than of the 
female, it does not follow from that circumstance that the female 
has less influence on the progeny than the male — quite the con- 
trary ; I think it would not be difficult to prove that they have 
more. 
To the cottager who is fortunate enough to possess one, the cow 
is invaluable. To her his family are indebted, either directly or in- 
directly, for almost every comfort they have : her milk furnishes a 
cheap and health)' 1 article of food : the produce of that milk, when 
sold, assists in procuring clothing : and, lastly, her calf, when a 
little grown, is, perhaps, equal to the annual value of the small 
bit of soil that furnished the means of their subsistence. 
The cow is often the subject of fatal disease ; and among the 
VOL. XVIII. N 
