394 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Education of Animals. 
Thomas Day, the celebrated author of cc Sanford and 
Merton,” having among other eccentricities, adopted the 
notion that kind and familiar treatment of animals was 
all that was necessary to make them perfect specimens 
of docility, attempted to bring up a favorite colt on this 
principle. It proved a most serious and fatal mistake, 
for by a single kick of the animal, he lost his life. Re¬ 
straint is in the highest degree essential. But it should 
he the restraint of reason and of uniformity. No philoso¬ 
pher can understand sooner the relation of cause and 
effect, than a domestic animal, so far as regards its own 
pleasures and pains. We have seen horses, which were 
used for driving a ferry-boat, pass unled from the stable 
to the boat, step on hoard, walk to the machinery and 
(t back ” themselves downwards through a narrow door, 
on the wheel, ready for work, entirely unattended, while 
most other horses could scarcely be driven on board.— 
An invariable feeding of oats, immediately following the 
act, sufficiently accounted for this remarkable movement. 
The animal quickly understood the connection between 
his position on the machinery, and his breakfast. A uni¬ 
form infliction of es pains and penalties,” will in particu¬ 
lar cases accomplish as much as an appeal to the appe¬ 
tite, if under certain conditions, which we shall soon 
explain. We have never failed, except in a single in¬ 
stance, to reduce the most terrific kickers among cows, 
to permanent quietness and submission, in less than three 
days, by always following with a single stroke of the whip, 
every attempted blow of the hoof. But it was quite essen¬ 
tial that the conditions, just alluded to, should be strictly 
observed, namely: 1. That perfect calmness should 
be preserved, for how can one govern another, when he 
cannot govern himself. 2. That every warlike attempt, 
whether it result in upsetting the milk-pail, or only in 
an abortive stroke against the air, should be punished 
precisely alike, for the animal has nothing to do with 
results ; it is the bad disposition we wish to subdue.— 
3. A single blow only should be given for each offence, 
for in this case, the dread Is greater than the pain—but 
if repeated, the terror instantly ceases, and a feeling of 
fury and resentment usurps its place. It is surprising 
how quickly the connection between the kick and the 
invariable stroke is impressed upon the animal’s per¬ 
ceptions, by this course. We know a person who tried 
this treatment on a cow so liritractable as to be milked 
with difficulty even when tied with a strong rope, and 
after the third milking she was ever after as quiet as a 
kitten in a cradle. A single stroke on the thigh for each 
kick, and a single cut across the nose, for each attempt 
to run, was the whole remedy. 
We have just stated that this remedy never failed ex¬ 
cept in a single instance. In this case the animal pos¬ 
sessed an extraordinary degree of natural shrewdness, 
and perceived at once the firmness and self-possession 
about to be encountered, and consequently suspended 
her bad tricks until others resumed the charge of her. 
Needless severity, may we not say cruelty, spoils the dis¬ 
position of more animals than all other causes put together. 
In all the successful cases we have stated, a familiar, kind, 
and soothing manner was constantly practiced, and se¬ 
Dec. 
verity only on the actual commission of a bad deed. The 
most successful trainer of oxen we ever knew, pursued 
towards the young animals, an invariable course of kind 
treatment, always insisting however on having ultimately 
bis own way. In the first place, having obtained several 
yoke of steers for the commencement of his operations, 
and enclosing them in a sufficient yard, his first object 
was to make them familiar with his presence. For this 
purpose he continued for some hours to pass constantly 
among them, touching with his hand as occasion offered, 
but never frightening. By degrees, they would allow 
him to handle them freely. The ox-bow was next ap¬ 
plied to their necks, and by gently pressing or pulling, 
they would soon give up, and follow where he insisted 
they should go'. In this way everything desired was 
accomplished—and not only so, but in the best manner 
possible, for it was a common remark that these oxen 
were more thoroughly trained than any others in the 
country. A slight motion of the whip, or a low word 
of command, was only required to induce instant obedi¬ 
ence—no “ terrors of the lash,” no vociferous screams, 
so commonly considered necessary in driving oxen, were 
ever needed. 
There can he no question that nearly or quite all un- 
managable and fractious animals, are made so chiefly 
through bad treatment—the only way to cure them we 
have already pointed out. We shall mention a few in¬ 
stances of this bad treatment—because it is often as use¬ 
ful to show how a thing should not be done, as to give 
the best rules. Domestic animals and children are often 
mismanaged in precisely the same way. Thus, a child is 
sometimes severely punished for a misfortune, and slightly 
reproved for a crime; carelessness,' resulting in the frac¬ 
ture of a costly looking-glass, is visited with a heavy 
penalty | hut if, by mere luck, the glass is not broken, 
the thing is very quietly passed over, even though the 
intention may be far worse. In the same way we have 
seen the accidental upsetting of “ a swimming pail of 
milk,” followed with a torrent of blows upon the poor 
animal’s back, while the most spiteful kick, “ with malice 
prepense,” but hitting nobody, escaped the vengeance of 
the law. Milkmaids and milkmen, sometimes endure 
for a while, and with a great deal of patience, the trou¬ 
blesome tricks of badly educated animals, without even 
an expression intelligible to them, disapproving of their 
misdeeds; but when patience departs, vengeance arrives, 
and a thorough storm pours down its terrors. This is 
the way to ruin any beast. We once knew a very clever 
fanner, (using the adjective in its American sense,) who 
committed the milking of the cows to his two boys, who, 
sometimes teasing the animals, found them rather in¬ 
tractable. To punish them for (( running away,” they 
were driven into the yard again, and there received a 
due infliction from whips, clubs, and stones. The ani¬ 
mals, looking into cause and effect, discoved that if they 
kept their distance they escaped torture, and hence In a 
little while it became Impossible to approach them, which 
the good natured farmer accounted for by expressing the 
opinion that u they really had the Old Harry In them?” 
We have written the more freely on this subject, be¬ 
cause it is obviously a matter of very great importance, 
so far as the comfort and satisfaction of farming are con- 
