THE RED COW
AND HER FRIENDS
BY PETER McARTHUR
AUTHOR OF "IN PASTURES GREEN," "THE PRODIGAL AND
OTHER POEMS," "TO BE TAKEN WITH SALT," ETC.
[Illustration: Title page decoration]
TORONTO: J. M. DENT & SONS, LTD.
NEW YORK: JOHN LANE COMPANY
MCMXIX
COPYRIGHT, 1919,
By JOHN LANE COMPANY
Press of
J. J. Little & Ives Company
New York, U. S. A.
THIS BOOK
IS DEDICATED
TO ALL CITY MEN
WHO FEEL SURE THAT THEY
COULD FARM AT A PROFIT.
IF EACH ONE BUYS A COPY I CAN
AFFORD TO KEEP ON FARMING
_PREFACE_
It is always a pleasure to avoid responsibility and it gives me a
feeling of relief to be able to announce that I am not wholly
responsible for this collection of sketches. When it was suggested that
I should put together the articles dealing with the Red Cow, and the
other farm animals, I felt reluctant to trouble the public with a
somewhat frivolous book at the present time. It seemed as if Fate were
with me for when it was decided to go on with the book it was found that
my file of clippings had been lost. But the matter was still urged and,
remembering that at different times readers had written to me saying
that they were in the habit of clipping the articles for future
reference, I published a paragraph telling of my predicament. The result
was that I received clippings from all parts of Canada and some were
even sent from neighbouring States.
Through the kindness of my unknown friends I am able to offer a book
which they have really edited. Some of the sketches used would have been
rejected had I relied on my own judgment, but finding that they had
pleased some readers I decided that they might please others. Having
the chance to shift the responsibility for the book from my own
shoulders, I accepted it joyously. The unknown friends who did me the
honour of preserving these articles as they appeared are the real
editors.
I can further plead in extenuation that the clippings I have used were
all sent to me by people who are familiar with the domestic animals and
their habits. This should protect me from any charge of farm-faking.
Ekfrid, Ontario, January, 1919.
CONTENTS
COWS
PAGE
I. A SICK COW 15
II. COW TROUBLES 22
III. FLY TIME 26
IV. THE RED COW'S CALVES 29
V. INSURGENT COWS 31
VI. COW TROUBLES 36
VII. THE BRAN HABIT 42
VIII. THE FARROW COW AND OTHERS 43
IX. COW ENJOYMENT 50
X. COW KAISERISM 52
XI. A NIGHT SESSION 55
XII. A CALF PUZZLE 58
XIII. COW CHARACTER 61
XIV. CALF FEEDING 63
XV. A COW TRICK 66
XVI. COW CUSSEDNESS 72
XVII. TEACHING A CALF 75
XVIII. CALF EXUBERANCE 77
SHEEP
XIX. OUR FIRST SHEEP 83
XX. THE FIRST LAMB 90
XXI. SHEEP SURGERY 93
XXII. THE PATIENT 98
XXIII. SHEARING 100
XXIV. VAIN REGRETS 104
XXV. SHEEP SCULPTURE 106
XXVI. OUR LAWN MOWER 113
PIGS
XXVII. CLEMENTINE 117
XXVIII. FEEDING PIGS 121
XXIX. BEATRICE 124
XXX. PIG FRIGHTFULNESS 128
XXXI. A PIG BATH 130
XXXII. IN EXTENUATION 132
XXXIII. BEATRICE ANNOUNCES 134
XXXIV. RECEIVING 137
XXXV. FEEDING TIME 140
XXXVI. BEATRICE BELLIGERENT 144
HORSES
XXXVII. DOLLY'S DAY OFF 147
XXXVIII. THE COLT 154
XXXIX. HORSE CONTRARINESS 156
XL. A GREAT SCHEME 158
TURKEYS
XLI. THE GOBBLER 163
XLII. HIS TROUBLES 167
XLIII. HIS DESERTION 169
XLIV. HIS BELLIGERENCY 171
XLV. HIS CARES 173
XLVI. HIS PRUSSIANISM 175
DOGS
XLVII. A MORAL TALE 179
XLVIII. SHEPPY'S FIRST COON HUNT 181
XLIX. A RABBIT CHASE 189
L. FIGHTS AND FEUDS 192
CATS
LI. A PAGE OF HIGH HISTORY 197
LII. A SPRING ORGY 200
BIRDS
LIII. A DISGUSTED BLACKBIRD 205
LIV. A VISITOR 209
LV. A FAREWELL 211
GENERAL
LVI. THE WHOLE BUNCH 215
LVII. HUMAN NATURE IN DUMB CREATURES 221
LVIII. EARLY OBSERVATIONS 227
LIX. BANTAMS 232
LX. A LITTLE TRAGEDY 234
LXI. A SCIENTIFIC QUERY 236
LXII. A POULTRY NOTE 238
LXIII. SPRING AND THE LIVESTOCK 240
LXIV. FIRST SNOW 242
LXV. A "SKIFT" OF SNOW 244
LXVI. A SPRING SHOWER 247
LXVII. DOING CHORES 249
LXVIII. FISHING 251
LXIX. A LONESOME SQUIRREL 255
LXX. FALL POULTRY TROUBLES 258
LXXI. THANKSGIVING DAY 263
LXXII. SEPTEMBER NOTES 270
LXXIII. "THE DEMON RABBIT" 273
LXXIV. THE FATE OF "THE DEMON RABBIT" 278
LXXV. MY FRIENDS, THE TREES 282
COWS
A BALLADE OF COWS
Fenceviewer I. a cow of parts,
Aggressive, competent and bold,
At every milking gives twelve quarts
And doesn't give a--hoot!--(don't scold!)
My Kerry cow, as good as gold;
Fenceviewer II.--(boss, they say)
La Veau, turned three; Beans, two-year-old--
These are the cows I milk each day!
When Phœbus shoots his morning darts,
Or wet or dry, or hot or cold,
One to the dewy pasture starts
With clanging pails and pants up-rolled.
Again when evening doth enfold
The earth and sky in twilight grey,
Him at that chore you may behold--
These are the cows I milk each day!
Although unskilled in dairy arts
I've soaked some lore by experts doled,
With gentle words that win their hearts
My cows from kicking I've cajoled;
And of all cattle, horned or polled,
Pure-bred or grade, own them who may,
Mine suit me best. They'll not be sold--
These are the cows I milk each day!
ENVOY
Prince, if you ever in the wold
At milking time should chance to stray,
I'll let you drink all you can hold--
These are the cows I milk each day!
_I.--A Sick Cow_
This week the monotony of the winter has been broken. I have been
sitting up with a sick cow. Fenceviewer I. has suffered the first check
in her career of rapacity, voracity and capacity. A couple of days ago
it was noticed that she was off her feed--that she only nibbled at the
blue grass when it was put in her manger. Knowing that in her normal
condition she is an incarnate appetite--"A belly that walks on four
legs"--I knew that something was the matter. I could not imagine her
refusing to eat until Death had "clawed her in his clutch," so I took
the matter seriously from the beginning. I also noticed that she did not
take kindly to water, but stood over it and shivered. There was no doubt
about it. She was a sick cow. After a hasty consultation it was decided
to give her a dose of salts, and I commandeered all that we had in the
house--almost a pound. After it had been dissolved in about a quart of
warm water I took some further advice and added to it, for her
stomach's sake, a couple of tablespoonfuls of a sovereign liniment and
embrocation, good for man and beast, and paramount for poultry, a remedy
for all ills that any kind of flesh is heir to, may be used internally
or externally at any time of the day or night without regard to the
phases of the moon or the signs in the almanac. All I know about this
remedy is that it is a red fluid made of red pepper, red whiskey and all
the other red-hot things in the Pharmacopœia. It is the stuff that was
once given to an ailing coloured woman, and when she was offered a
second dose she declared with vigour, "No thankee! Ah've done made up ma
mind never again to take nuttin' that wattah won't squench." Having
added this mixture to the salts I put it in a quart bottle, called for
help, and proceeded to put the red dose into the red cow.
* * * * *
We did the trick in the most approved fashion. I caught her by one horn,
slipped my thumb and finger into her nose, and elevated her head so that
the other man could pour the mixture down her throat. After the last
drop had gurgled down I turned her loose and stepped back to watch
results. She shook her head, rattled her chain, lashed her tail,
wriggled her backbone, coughed and sneezed and showed other unmistakable
signs of wrath and discomfort. She did not seem to appreciate our
efforts in her behalf, and after I had thought it over for a minute I
realised what she was objecting to. I put myself in her place. What
would I want to do if any one had forced a dose like that down my
throat? I would want to spit, of course. That was what was the matter
with old Fenceviewer. She wanted to spit, but the limitations of a cow
are such that she couldn't do it. If she were only able to do it she
would spit like a cat. I felt truly sorry for her, but as I had done
everything for the best I didn't do any worrying. While watching her I
noticed that she grunted faintly every time she breathed, so I decided
that we needed some expert advice and called in a neighbour who has had
much experience with cows. After he had pressed his ear to her side for
a while he diagnosed her case as pleuro-pneumonia. It had never occurred
to me before that dumb animals could have diseases with Latin names and
that probably needed high-priced treatment. He advised calling in the
farrier at once, and I dispatched a boy to the nearest telephone to do
this, and we went to the house to await his arrival. The boy reported
that the farrier was out, but that he would come as soon as he could.
While waiting we talked about all the sick cows we had ever known, and
as most of them had died I found the conversation somewhat depressing. I
can honestly say of Fenceviewer I., "With all thy faults I love thee
still." She is the progenitor of the whole flock, and her strain is the
kind I need. She can rustle for herself except when she is chained up,
and if she had to do it she could get through the winter by licking the
moss off the trees. She is no stall-fed exotic, but a hardy annual who
in spite of her good breeding has a touch of the qualities that made the
pioneer cows endure hardships and give rich milk. I could ill afford to
lose her from either a financial or scientific point of view. We whiled
away several hours with gloomy forebodings, occasionally taking the
lantern to go to the stable and look her over. But there was nothing we
could do for her, and she grunted rhythmically every time she breathed,
sometimes standing up and sometimes lying down. About twelve o'clock we
decided that the farrier was not coming, and the neighbour went home and
I went to bed. Just as I got sound asleep the household was aroused by
shrill whistling, and I got up to find that the farrier had come.
Getting into my clothes as quickly as possible I took the lantern and
hurried to the stable. The farrier examined her, confirmed my
neighbour's diagnosis and added that the attack was complicated by a
serious case of "impaction of the rumen." I was glad that he didn't say
that she had appendicitis or adenoids, for I had made up my mind that I
was neither going to pay for a costly operation nor to send her south
for her health.
* * * * *
While the farrier was mixing another dose--he had approved of the one I
had given--I enquired cautiously about her ailment. When the big words
had been simplified for me I found that what she was suffering from
chiefly was indigestion and pains in her tripe. This gave me much
relief, for I felt that if there ever was a cow that deserved to have
indigestion it was old Fenceviewer. Some of you may remember that a
couple of years ago she gave me a scare by eating a bushel or so of
corn. But she got away with that without any bad results, so I was
puzzled as to what she could have eaten that had disagreed with her. I
knew that she had not had too much of anything, for she is kept tied up
most of the time. Then I remembered that when feeding the bottom of the
stack of cornstalks I had noticed that the butts of some of the sheaves
were mouldy. As the tops of them were fresh and good I had fed them,
thinking that the brutes would know enough not to eat the parts that
were damaged, but it doesn't do to bank on the intelligence of even the
brightest cows. The farrier agreed that that had probably started the
trouble, and I felt somewhat disgusted with myself. When I didn't know
enough not to feed such stuff I need not expect the cows to know enough
not to eat it. It was a wonder that more of them were not ailing.
After the farrier had filled the quart bottle with a mixture that
smelled suspiciously like doses I have had to take myself when my
stomach has been out of order, we went through the exercise of holding
up her head and pouring it down her throat. This time she tried so hard
to spit that she almost did it and I wished that she had been able, for
I know what nux vomica and such stuff tastes like. The farrier then
mixed a bunch of powders to be given her in a bran mash, every night and
morning, and judging from the way she goes at the bran she has forgiven
him everything. I may say, by the way, that the bran is now about the
most expensive part of the dose, and if prices keep on as they are
going we will soon have to get our bran for sick cows at the drug store
instead of at the flour and feed emporiums. I am glad to be able to
report that at the present writing Fenceviewer I. is taking her feed
standing up, and chewing her cud between times, so I guess she is going
to pull through all right.
[Illustration]
_II.--Cow Troubles_
I know I should have a silo for the cornstalks or at least a cutting
box, but I haven't either, and the result is that I have trouble. How to
get ten-foot stalks into a four-foot manger is a problem that I have to
wrestle with every day and I am no nearer the solution than I was at the
beginning of the winter. I have to stand them on end in front of the
cows and as the soft ears were all left on the stalks, the cattle go at
them wildly and toss them all over the place in their hurry to get the
ears. The result is that every few days I have to clean out the rejected
stalks from the mangers and the front of the stalls and that makes more
trouble. I wish some one would tell me why it is that the tines of a
fork will slip through cornstalks so easily and are so hard to pull out.
I do not find very much trouble in getting a good forkful of the stalks
but when I carry them out to the hole in the barnyard where I am piling
them in the hope that they will rot some time I have a wrestle with
them that starts me quoting poetry:
"On Astur's throat Horatius
Right firmly placed his heel;
And thrice and four times tugged amain,
Ere he wrenched out the steel."
When I have thrown down my load I find that every tine has three or four
stalks on it so that it looks like Neptune's trident entangled with
seaweeds. But though it is a nuisance clearing out the stalks in this
way I have a vivid recollection of trying to pitch manure that had
cornstalks mixed with it and I have made up my mind that that will never
happen again. I try to keep them out of the manure as far as possible,
even though I may be robbing the "stercoraceous heap" of some of its
most valuable fertilising constituents.
* * * * *
The more I work among cows and study their ways the more puzzling they
become to me. Sometimes when I am feeling a bit conceited I think I
understand them pretty well and then something happens that puts me
entirely out of countenance. One warm day last week, when I had let them
out to water, I thought I would let them stand out and sun themselves
for a while before driving them back to their stalls. I half remembered
that the gate to the young orchard had been opened when the snow was
deep and left opened, but I did not give it a thought. The government
drain had been flooded and was covered with slippery ice that I was sure
they could not cross, and I felt that everything was serene for a
pleasant sunbath for the cows. Half an hour later I took a look to see
where they were and every last one of them was in the young orchard
picking at some long grass that had been brought into sight by the thaw.
There was no waiting about starting to get them out, for you know the
way cows have of rubbing their necks against young trees and breaking
off limbs. Luckily they had not started rubbing and had done no damage,
but I had to do some rushing around before I finally got them out of the
orchard. But when I got them back to the icy government drain there was
all kinds of trouble. You never saw such a timid bunch of cows in your
life. It was absurd to think that they could walk on ice like that and
what was more they wouldn't do it. But I knew that they couldn't fly and
that they had crossed that ice on the way to the orchard and I was just
as stubborn as they were. Gritting my teeth with determination I went
at those cows and in a few minutes each one of them had been personally
conducted across the ice by an earnest man who was earnestly twisting
her tail. I then made the discovery that twisting a cow's tail puts a
lot of ginger in her for when the last one was across they began to romp
around the field. I saw that I would have trouble getting them into the
stable and went to the house to get some one to help. I don't think I
was in the house five minutes, but when I went out again with
reinforcements, those wretched cows were on the other side of the
government drain again and headed towards the orchard gate. Apparently
it was no trouble at all for them to cross ice when on the way to
mischief. I may say that on the return trip they did not wait for much
tail twisting. Possibly the second twist hurts more than the first.
Anyway they hustled back and didn't stop to argue with me.
_III.--Fly Time_
As a rule old Fenceviewer hasn't much faith in me. Of course, this is
entirely due to her independent and predatory nature. She is accustomed
to rustling for herself and apparently does not feel the need of
cultivating a thankful spirit for anything I do for her. I even suspect
that she would renig at milking time if it were not more comfortable to
play the game and give down. Up to the present we have continued to live
on the same farm without serious disagreement, and yet without any bond
of affection being established. She goes her way as far as the fences
will allow, and I go my way. But there are signs of a change. During the
past week her actions have indicated that she thinks I may be of some
use after all. This is because the flies are unusually bad this year.
The cattle have been simply covered with them. When we took them into
the stable at milking time they were in such misery and so restless that
it was almost impossible to milk them. They were all the time lashing
their tails, swinging around their heads and trying to paw up hooffuls
of dust and dirt against their sides. Though we have ingenious little
contraptions for holding their tails it seemed positively cruel to use
them when they were being pestered and bitten, so, after due
consideration, we bought a spray pump and a gallon of some coal tar
by-product that smelled like a political investigation. After milking we
proceeded to spray the cows thoroughly with the vile smelling stuff, and
if they had not been thoroughly chained the trick could not have been
managed. But though the operation seemed unpleasant to every one
concerned it was most unpleasant of all for the flies. Hundreds of them
fell to the ground stupefied, and those that kept on the wing kept at a
distance from the cattle. After the cattle had been sprayed a few times
they objected less and less, and old Fenceviewer seemed to get it
through her head that the spraying was being done for her comfort.
Although some of the younger cattle still struggle she lowers her head
and wiggles her ears and stands perfectly still. Apparently she
understands that the spraying rids her of the flies, and the look in her
eye when I come along with the spray pump is positively friendly. In
fact, she doesn't seem happy till she gets it and I suspect that if I
missed it any morning she would bawl for it. But all nonsense aside,
spraying the cattle to keep off the flies strikes me as being not only a
humane but a profitable thing to do. They cannot be expected to do
business as usual in the way of giving milk when they are tormented by
hordes of flies. We are also spraying the calves at feeding time and
they seem much more comfortable.
[Illustration]
_IV.--The Red Cow's Calves_
Talk about excitement! When I came home from the excitements of the city
to enjoy the quiet life on the farm I ran into more excitement than I
had met with on my travels. Although it was after dark when I got home
nothing would do but I should go out to the stable to see the new calf.
Although I wanted to have my supper first I was over-ruled and I
followed the lantern, with the whole family at my side. I might have
suspected that there was something unusual about Fenceviewer's new calf,
but I put down the enthusiasm of the children to the fact that it was a
brand new calf. The little comedy was properly staged. I was not allowed
to see anything until I had reached the calf pen. The lantern was then
swung in front and every one yelled at once. I got the situation at a
glance, and I guess I yelled too. The red cow had given birth to twins!
There they were, as nice a pair of red calves as any one would wish to
see. I couldn't blame the little folks for being excited. According to
those who know, this is the first pair of twin calves that ever was born
on the farm. But what interests me is this further development of the
red cow strain. You may remember that when summing up their good
qualities I recorded the fact that Fenceviewer and her progeny give me
aid in farm work by testing the fences every spring so that I put them
in good shape for the summer. Moreover, they almost invariably bear
heifer calves, so that the flock increases rapidly. To these excellent
qualities is now added the unexpected pair of twins. The strain is
developing steadily, and some day Fenceviewer and her descendants will
force the authorities to give them a corner in the herd book.
_V.--Insurgent Cows_
These are the days when the cattle become discontented with their
pasture and begin to go on a rampage. Fenceviewer I. and her brood are
running true to form and living up to their best traditions, but I have
lived with them too long to be taken entirely unawares. As soon as the
pasture withered with the long drought they began to take an undue
interest in the cornfield. Although it is a comparative failure it still
looks green and succulent compared with everything else on the farm, and
the cattle have been stretching their necks over the fence and bawling.
The first to get through and enjoy a feed were Fenceviewer's twins.
Although they are small they are thrifty and seem to inherit much of
their mother's resourcefulness. Already they are taking a lively
interest in the fences. Although I felt quite safe on that point, it
happened that during the haying a board was broken in a gate. The twins
found it and worked their way through and had their first feed of
stolen corn. After they had been driven out and the gate had been mended
I felt secure again, but it was a false security. A few days later I
happened to notice a commotion among the cows and saw at once that
Fenceviewer II. was beyond the fence and making straight for the corn.
The Government drain was dry and she had managed to push through where
the ice had loosened the wires that were used for a home-made
flood-gate. But would she go out where she got in? Not if she knew it.
She seemed to have an idea that if she fooled us about that hole she
could get through some other time. She was evidently working alone when
she found it for even her piratical mother had not noticed it, and had
failed to follow, though she bawled with surprise to see her daughter so
near the cornfield. After three or four attempts to make her go out
through the ditch we finally had to give up and drive her out through
the gate. Then we fixed the hole and now we are waiting for the next
outbreak.
The cattle had not attracted our attention all summer except at milking
time, but a few days ago the alarm was raised that Mars--the yearling
steer--was in a well, and the whole family had to be assembled to get
him out. The well is not really a well, but a drinking place that has
been fixed so that the cattle can help themselves. There is a low place
in the woods where there is a quicksand bottom about four feet from the
surface and for many years it has furnished an unfailing supply of
water. Many years ago a shallow well was scooped out from which the
cattle can drink at all times simply by having a plank left off the top
so that they can drink as from a trough. As there is a pond nearby which
supplies them during the rest of the season they do not use the well
except when other supplies fail. This year the other supplies failed
completely and the drinking well was fixed for them with scantlings
nailed across the opening a couple of feet apart. It was looked upon as
quite safe, but apparently when a yearling steer ventures to go for a
drink before his betters he is likely to be taught a lesson. Mars must
have been down on his knees drinking when one of the big cows came along
and poked him right through. When found he was not worrying a bit. He
was standing in about two feet of cold spring water contentedly chewing
his cud. He didn't seem to care whether he was rescued or not. As the
day was unusually hot I could understand his feelings exactly. But for
the good of the water supply he had to be disturbed. We found that all
we needed to do was to enlarge the opening, give his tail a twist and
let him do the rest. Then we cleaned out another well of the same kind
so that the water came clear and cold from the quicksand and closed the
first one so that nothing could get in. I know that a quicksand bottom
is not considered a good thing on a farm, but there is only this spot of
it, and in a dry season it seems like a dispensation of Providence.
* * * * *
On the way home I had an experience that I had not enjoyed since
returning to the farm. While we were busy cleaning out the well clouds
began to gather, and even though a thunderstorm did not develop, rain
began to fall. It was a sun shower of the kind that used to make
children sing:
"Rain, rain sunshine!
Sure to rain to-morrow!"
We had no time to make a dash for the house, so we took shelter under
some spreading beech trees at the edge of the woods. There used to be a
tradition that lightning never strikes a beech tree, but that was not
our reason for choosing them. They had the thickest branches and most
plentiful leaves and offered a better umbrella. At the beginning of the
shower tree-toads began to call, and many kinds of birds sounded notes
that were unfamiliar. Everything seemed too happy to keep still. The
cattle in the pasture stopped eating as if to stand and enjoy the
cooling, shower bath. The sunlight filtered through the falling rain and
altogether the scene was one that offered Nature at her best. But before
long the rain began to drip through our roof and we had to do a lot of
stepping about before we found a comfortably dry spot under the thick
trunk of a leaning maple. As there was no lightning there was no
objection to leaving the beech trees. Presently the shower passed and we
walked home with everything greatly refreshed. But when I looked at the
thermometer and found that it stood at ninety-six in the shade I almost
wilted. If I had known it was so hot I wouldn't have dreamed of
undertaking so strenuous a job as cleaning out a well.
_VI.--Cow Troubles_
Say, what do you do when a cow swallows a rubber ball? I don't mean one
of the hollow kind, but a solid rubber ball about the size of a small
Ben Davis apple--one of the kind that used to sting our fingers when we
played "Long Injun" with them at the old school. I hadn't seen one for
years, but this spring an old one was ploughed up in one of the fields,
and as it still retained its shape and would bounce the children used it
to play with. Well, last night one of the boys went to bring up the
cows, and when a cow strayed apart from the bunch and stood still he
threw the ball at her. He missed her, but as the ball rolled past she
ran after it and grabbed it, apparently under the impression that it was
an apple or a potato, or something good to eat. I was in the stable when
the boy came to tell me about it as a great joke, and I was inclined to
think that the joke was on him, for I felt sure that as soon as the cow
found that she had been fooled she would drop the ball. But when I went
out to the gate to let in the cows I found "Beans," granddaughter of old
Fenceviewer, with her head and neck stretched out, doing her best to
chew and swallow something that was stuck in her throat. She was half
choked, for her eyes were popping out, and she was red in the face--or
at least had the same expression that a human being has when red in the
face. With my customary presence of mind I rushed to her side and began
to slap her on the back the same as we do to the children when they
choke on something or when something "goes down the wrong way." But it
did no good, and the slapping made her bolt to her stall in the stable.
I immediately began to feel her throat, and was not long in discovering
a lump that seemed about the size of the missing rubber ball. I then
followed my usual practice when in real trouble. I sent for a neighbour.
* * * * *
By the time my neighbour had arrived the cow had stopped her frantic
swallowing, and I had become suspicious that the lump I had been feeling
in her throat was not a lodged rubber ball, but the end of her
wind-pipe. My neighbour confirmed this suspicion, but he could not
suggest what I should do under the circumstances. That is the trouble
with my cattle. They are all the time doing things that are outside of
the common fund of experience. Other people's cattle seem to confine
themselves to ailments that can be treated according to recipes given in
the Veterinary Guide, or in the back numbers of "The Farmer's Advocate,"
but mine are all the time doing something unexpected. Still, I got a
line on what was an entirely new wrinkle to me. A person of experience
brought me a beetle ring and told me that the way to dislodge a
substance from a cow's throat was to open her mouth and keep it open
with the beetle ring. Then I could slip my hand through the ring and
remove the obstruction with my fingers, or take a piece of rubber hose
and poke it down her throat. That sounds to me like a very plausible
method, but as the little cow had stopped gagging and had commenced
chewing her cud, it was considered unnecessary to try the operation. And
speaking of her cud--she should not be in any danger of "losing her cud"
in the near future. That rubber ball should provide her with just about
the most serviceable cud that a cow ever had. Whenever the pasture gets
short she can bring up her reserve rubber cud and keep herself
contented with it until the pasture grows. Seeing that most of our young
people seem to find it necessary to provide themselves with cuds of
durable, rubbery gum on which they chew during most of their waking
hours, isn't it just possible that our cows would be more contented and
give more milk if we provided them with rubber cuds? If I could only get
scientific endorsement for the scheme I would have no trouble in
promoting a company to supply rubber cuds for cows. Anyway, "Beans"
seems to have suffered no inconvenience from having swallowed that
indurated knob of gutta percha. When I was driving her back to the field
after milking she hastily picked up a nice clean corn-cob and put it
down as dessert to the rubber ball--all of which leads me to believe
that she inherits her grandmother's digestion as well as her appetite. I
am willing to bet that a post mortem on Fenceviewer would reveal a
collection of junk that would give impaction of the rumen to an ostrich.
Still, if any authority on cows thinks that having a rubber ball in her
midst may be injurious to "Beans," I wish he would write and tell me
what I should do.
* * * * *
And now having asked for help, there should be no objection if I
offered a couple of suggestions that seem to me to be valuable. Of
course, they may be quite well known, but there are sure to be a few
backward farmers like myself who will be glad to be enlightened. The
first deals with the value of the old-style wire fences when feeding
calves. The most annoying thing about feeding calves in a pen is that
when trying to teach a new calf to feed without the finger a man usually
has to step inside. While he is wrestling with the beginner other calves
will try to get into the pail or to get nourishment from his coat-tail,
occasionally administering a bunt to express dissatisfaction with the
taste of the cheap dyes they now use in cloth. If you have the right
kind of wire fence around your calf pasture you can keep on your side of
it and let the calf stick his head through. As his head is the part you
really have to deal with you can gradually teach him to take his milk
without inhaling too much, and at the same time you have less trouble in
slapping interfering calves on the nose. The wire fence has robbed
calf-feeding of half of its terrors for me. So much for that suggestion.
The other has to do with greedy horses. One of our horses usually tries
to get all her oats in one mouthful, and, when she tries to chew them
she scatters them all over her manger and stall. On advice, we have put
several corn cobs in her feeding box, and now when she is given her oats
she has to take reasonably sized mouthfuls and there is no waste.
[Illustration]
_VII.--The Bran Habit_
I am once more in trouble. Fenceviewer the Third, direct descendant of
Fenceviewer the First, has acquired the bran habit. For the past month I
have been giving her a bran mash every milking time but when I was away
on a trip those in charge had cut off her supplies and as nearly as I
can judge she is suffering from a sort of bran delirium tremens. She
comes to the gate of the pasture field whenever she sees any one around
and bawls and bawls. When we bring her in to milk she whines and bawls
during the whole milking time, and judging from her tones her sufferings
are really acute. With bran at its present price I feel that she must be
cured of the bran habit, though I hardly know what to do in the case.
She is so nervous and unhappy that I think something should be done, and
if any reader knows how to cure a cow of the bran habit I shall be
delighted to receive instructions.
_VIII.--The Farrow Cow and Others_
I don't know that I ever sat down to write an article when feeling so
full of improving thoughts as I do at this blessed minute. A lot of
things have happened lately, and all of them were of the kind that seem
designed "To point a moral and adorn a tale." To begin with, the boy and
I were working in the garden yesterday, when I happened to notice some
dark object on the ground between two of the cows that were lying down
in the pasture, up near the woods. I ventured the opinion that it was a
newly arrived and not unexpected calf. The boy took a look and said it
was a stone. I could not remember having seen a stone in that place, but
I was busy and did not stop to argue the matter. After a while I chanced
to look up again and saw that all the cattle in the pasture had gathered
around the dark object on the ground and were sniffing at it. Once more
I ventured the opinion that it was a calf.
"But that is not where the cows were when you were looking at them
before."
"Why, yes it is."
"I am sure it isn't."
"Don't talk nonsense. Don't you think I can remember where the cows were
when I was looking at them? And that calf, or whatever it is, is lying
exactly where it was when I spoke to you about it."
"But it was not there they were at all. And now I can see the stone that
was between them as clear as can be."
My temper was rising but I looked and saw a stone about ten rods to the
east of the object I was looking at. A couple of questions brought out
the fact that we had not been looking at the same couple of cows, nor at
the same object on the ground. That explained everything, and while we
were settling the matter the dark object I had been looking at got up
and began to stagger around on wobbly legs. It was certainly a calf. But
you can see the lesson to be learned from the incident, can't you?
Before you get into a red-hot argument with any one be sure that you are
talking about the same thing. Thus endeth the first lesson.
* * * * *
The calf belonged to the purposeful and strong-minded red cow. Of
course, she was very proud of her calf, and mooed solicitously when we
approached to examine it. But strange to say she was not nearly so
excited about it as her oldest daughter, a quiet and hitherto
well-behaved cow that has been milking all winter and is farrow this
season. Judging from her actions she had adopted the new calf, and had
taken out adoption papers before we arrived on the scene. She ran around
and bawled and acted silly as soon as I began to push the calf towards
the barn. By the way, pushing a young calf that braces its front legs
and insists on lying down every couple of rods while its real mother and
an idiotic farrow cow are threatening to run over you all the time, is a
job that is rather trying on the temper. But I finally got it through
the gate, and proceeded to push it along towards the drive shed where I
could get it out of sight. The mother objected, of course, and bawled
her protest as loudly and ineffectively as a loyal Opposition when a
Government is putting through a railway subsidy. But the farrow cow made
as much noise as a self-elected reformer. She stood by the gate and
pumped up basso-profundo bawls from her second or lower stomach. Every
time she bawled she humped her back and moved her tail up and down like
the handle of an old-fashioned wooden pump. But I paid no attention to
her. I could not see where her feelings were being lacerated, and I kept
right on picking up the calf and setting him on his wobbly legs and
pushing him towards the drive-shed. But just as I reached the door and
the calf had gone down again I was startled by a yell behind me. I
turned hastily, just in time to see the farrow cow in the act of
shredding herself through a tight barbed wire fence. I was too late to
head her off, and, as I watched her struggles, I felt that when she got
through she would be of no use for anything but Hamburg steak, and I
reflected with some satisfaction that the new onions in the garden are
ready to be used for a meat garnish. But when she got through she did
not sink on the earth in a pile of little pieces as I expected, but ran
like a deer, bawling like a fog-horn, to where a calf that had been
weaned the day before was bleating for its mother. By this time the red
cow had become excited and was threatening to follow her fool daughter
through the barbed wire fence. And the cow whose calf had been taken the
day before also went into hysterics. I don't believe there was ever so
much noise and excitement on the farm as there was for the next few
minutes. The boy kept the red cow from going through the fence, and I
opened the door of the drive-shed and hurled the calf under the buggy,
where it lay down once more with a little grunt of satisfaction. Then I
went after the farrow cow to see how much she was damaged. It seems
incredible, but there was not a scratch visible on her silly carcase.
Now, will some learned man please explain how that could be possible.
Whenever I try to go through a barbed wire fence, even though I go at it
with the greatest circumspection and care, the barbs catch in my hat,
coat, trousers and stockings, and even catch the rag on my sore
finger--not to mention the bias patches they tear out of the most
sensitive skin in Middlesex County. And yet that cow ripped through that
fence by brute force and didn't get a scratch that was visible to the
naked eye. Before I got peace restored on the place I had to capture
each cow and lead her into the stable. I had to put in the three of them
before they would stop threatening to commit hari-kari on the barbed
wire fence. As I think over the occurrence the lesson that sticks in my
mind is that the farrow cow was wonderfully like a professional
reformer. Though her interests were not involved in any way she made a
bigger disturbance and got more thoroughly worked up than the cow that
was really bereaved. And nobody thanked her or gave her a word of
praise. I admit that this lesson came home to me with great force.
* * * * *
Though I got the cows in the stable the excitement was by no means over.
The cow that had lost her calf the day before is a kicker by nature, but
after getting excited she simply refused to be touched when milking time
came around. When she was being broken in last year sympathetic friends
sent me many receipts for conquering a kicking cow, but in the state she
was in none of them was of any use. Though I could keep her from kicking
by tying a strap around her hind legs and another around her body in
front of the udder, my friends neglected to tell what to do when a cow
tries to lie down on top of the milker. But just when I was in the thick
of this trouble an experienced milker came along and gave me a plan that
was so simple that it seemed silly. I took off the leg and body straps
and then took a rope and looped it loosely across the cow's back in
front of the hip bones and then tied it behind so that the rope rested
loosely against her knees. There was no pressure of any kind. The rope
simply hung around her rump and lay against her hind legs. This plan had
not been recommended by any of my correspondents, but it worked like a
charm. She would lift her feet but would not kick and she gradually
quieted down. Apparently that loose rope gave her much the same feeling
that we humans have when our clothes begin to come undone in some public
place. We do not feel like putting forth violent efforts of any kind.
Anyway, it was the conquering scheme and I pass it along to all who may
be having trouble with kicking cows. And the lesson to be learned from
that is--Pshaw I forget just what lesson I was going to draw from the
kicking cow.
[Illustration]
_IX.--Cow Enjoyment_
Did any one say that a cow has no sense of humour? I am not sure that
any one did, but cows, as a rule, are regarded as very serious-minded.
When Bill Nye tried to emphasise the fact that he could occasionally be
serious, he wrote: "There are times when I can be as serious as a cow."
He might also have written that there were times when he could be as
happy as a cow having her will with a stack. Just let a cow get free
swing at a stack and she can have more solid enjoyment than anything
else on the farm. Up goes her tail, down goes her head, and she rushes
at it as if she were going to pitch it over the moon. Then she will
throw herself against it sideways and rub against it like a tom-cat in a
catnip bed. If it happens to be a stack of sheaves, and she comes out of
her merry bout with a sheaf hanging rakishly from one horn, she will
look as happy as a woman coming out of a bargain-counter scrimmage with
a new hat. As there is a stack between the stable door and the gate of
the pasture field the cows manage to have considerable fun every night
and morning in spite of wild yells and the use of a buggy whip.
Sometimes, when driving through the country, I see straw-stacks to which
the cows are allowed free access, and most of them are so rubbed out at
the bottom that they look like big mushrooms. I shouldn't wonder but it
is a good thing for the cows, too. There is an old proverb which says,
"Laugh and grow fat," and who knows but the cows might lay on beef more
rapidly if allowed to enjoy themselves in this way. I offer this
suggestion to the scientific department for mature consideration.
Although they have done well, there may be a few tricks about
beef-raising that may have escaped their attention, because they have
been considering the matter so seriously.
[Illustration]
_X.--Cow Kaiserism_
Feeding a dozen head of cattle, watering them, cleaning out the stable,
milking four cows twice a day and separating the cream take up a lot of
time, and when the thermometer is hovering around zero it is none too
pleasant. And besides the regular routine there are bound to be
incidents that try the temper. For instance, when I was doing the chores
one day last week, with the thermometer at six below, I cut the ice on
the Government drain and turned out the cows to water. When I had
finished cleaning the cornstalks out of the mangers and had put in a
fresh supply of feed I noticed that only the red cow and her eldest
daughter, who never leaves her side, had returned to the barnyard. An
investigation showed the rest of the herd standing around the
water-hole. I started down to find out what was the matter, and found
the Jimmy-cow standing over the hole in the ice keeping the rest of the
cattle away. She had her fill of ice-water and was shivering with cold,
but she was in possession of the visible water supply and was bound to
show her authority, even if she fr-fr-froze. She got out of the way of
the swinging kick I launched at her, and my leg almost pulled itself out
by the roots. Such conduct on the part of a cow leads me to believe just
the opposite to Gratiano, who was inclined
"To hold opinion with Pythagoras,
That souls of animals infuse themselves
Into the trunks of men."
I incline to the belief the souls of men infuse themselves into the
trunks of animals, for it does not seem possible that by any process of
evolution animals should develop such human meanness. I have often seen
human beings play just such tricks as that cow played, and it strikes me
as being of wholly human origin. In the same way I have always doubted
the "dog in the manger" story. I have never seen the trick of keeping
another animal from using something that was of no use to itself played
by any dog of my acquaintance. The trait is wholly human, and can be
accounted for only on a theory of transmigration. The Jimmy-cow must be
occupied by the spirit of some gripping old miser, for she has other
traits that are entirely human. She is so discontented with her lot that
she bawls whiningly even when she has her mouth full, and in that way
contradicts a verse in Job, which I cannot locate this morning, which
asks if the ox "loweth over its manger." If I can only manage to sell
the Jimmy-cow to some back-to-the-lander next spring he will learn much
by studying her exasperating little ways.
_XI.--A Night Session_
The cattle seem to suffer from insomnia occasionally, and the hot nights
rouse their predatory instincts. Last night as I was gasping on the
floor besides a screen door I heard something stirring on the lawn.
Glancing out I saw one of the calves investigating a bed of poppies as
if meditating a dose of laudanum to induce sleepfulness. Further
investigation found all the cattle and the horses in the orchard.
Dressing lightly and hurriedly, I called Sheppy and started to drive
them out. For almost an hour we raged around the orchard and the
buildings before we got the brutes back into the pasture. I found that
the pasture gate was open and at once jumped to the conclusion that the
boy who put out the cows after milking had left it open. While running
around in the moonlight and under the shadows of the apple trees,
getting tripped by furrows and switched in the face by branches, I
thought of a number of interesting things to say to the boy about his
carelessness. At first I intended to waken him and tell them to him
while they were fresh in my mind, but when I got a drink of cold water
at the well I thought better of it and decided to let the matter rest
until morning. The evidence was all against him, for he was the last one
through the gate, and as the gate was a new hardware-store gate of steel
tubing and wire, with a regulation catch, I felt sure it couldn't have
come open accidentally. But it was just as well that I decided to let
things stand over until morning. About 3 o'clock, when I was again
snoozing fitfully on my sofa-pillow by the door, Sheppy began to bark
and a cow rushed past. They were in again. Without waiting to dress I
joined Sheppy, and we took the Kneipp cure together while rounding up
the cows and getting them back into the pasture. The new hardware store
gate was open again, and my thoughts shifted to the hardware man. I
pictured myself leaning over the counter and saying things to him about
that gate and the fastenings on it. Yet that would hardly do. He did not
make the gate; and, anyway, it was of the kind used by all other
farmers. The real trouble was with the gifted Red Cow and her unhallowed
progeny. I knew from experience that if there was any way of getting
into mischief they would know it. The gate fastenings that were good
enough for listless and pampered pure-bred cows were no defence against
their enterprising energy. So if any one was to blame for the night's
trouble it was myself--for owning that particular strain of cows.
[Illustration]
_XII.--A Calf Puzzle_