The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1883-01-07
THE HERALD's PRIZE EssAY.l
HOW TO KEEP A COW.
BY MISS MAGGIE SLOAN.

l.
and was not unwilling to be ad-
vised as to the best manner of keep
ing her, and Of making her source
OF pleasure az well az Of profit. Had
I known what would be the result OF
inquiries among my kindly dlspos 90
but very laxative neighbors, l
verify believe | would have trusted
to experience for information, rather
than be compelled to endure repi-
tition of the thousand and one sug-
gestions which were made to me.
To the majority COW had proved
neither a matter Of profit nor of
comfort: and these advised me to
give my new purchase away, and
forever after congratulate myself
on the exercise Of good Judgment.
1 was forced to laugh at the
pointed assertion Of one good old
lady, who lives three or four blocks
above me: You needn't tell me it
pays to keep a cow" che said, ct
kept one whole winter, and didn't
get over a pint Of milk q day, and I
was mighty glad to get anything for
her. How on airth people can make
money by selling milk, or can find
any comfort in keeping 8 COW, l
can't guess"
l happened to know that the We
hement dame had kept a COW oil
one winter, and had dispose d Of it
at the earliest possible moment in
the spring. l knew too, that she
had recited her experien CO faithfully,
and her advice, st least, was as free
from envy as the angels. But l also
knew that the poor beast had been
tied the Wh0le winter through on
the south side Of a north fence, with
out a particle of covering; the SHOWS
and rains falling on her unshelteTed
back, and the biting winds freezing
her very marrow. She often left
the COW to stand day and night
without mouthful of food, and fire.
quentIy without water. Every
morning when she went with a
pint cup to milk her COW, and re-
| turned to the house with the tin
about half full, she would say to
! herself: " There amt no use in
tellin' me- 1t pays to keep COW in
the city, AS l did not propose to
keep my cow that way, I was not
disturbed by the old Iady's expert
enee: hut I was not 8 little troubled
to know how l could keep the COW
without any extravaganza eXpendi,
tures, and at the same time derive
enough satisfaction to compensate
| for the means necessary to feed her
and the care attached to her keep
ing.
One dsy,as I was standing near the
stable, wondering what should do,
old uncle Eco came along. Uncle
Eco owned COW. He was not very
laxative, but Is leaked out that he
had thoroughly mastered the science
Of keeping one COW; and knew, if
any person did, how to keep it sue
cessfully. The old man was in q
laxative mood, and began by ask
ing me il that was all the hay had,
and if I thought 1t would last over
winter told him thought it
would.
"You better get more; one ton Of
hay wont last all winter, and It's
best to get 1t now because it's
cheaper, and because it's better.
You can't always buy good feed in
the winter, and when you can it
costs a great deal. wouldn't get
hay if I were you. I ike lucerne
bast. They say hay is good for driv-
ing horses, but there is more
strength in lucerne for a COW; it
makes more milk than hay, and q
COW will get fat on 1t, where she
would grow poor on hay. I tell you
COW is a great deal of trouble, but
she is q great comfort for ali that.
Unless you give her proper alton
ton she will be a downright nuis-
ance to you, and you will be q
downright curse to her. Some
people are very particular about the
breed Of a COW but, excepting for
beef purposes, don't think there is
much choice. For ordinary milk
and butter use, l would as leave
have 8 good COW worth about sixty
dollars, as q Devon, Durham, Ayr.
shire, or Jersey, which are 80 much
! MGlbGtA hDCub ia oSA ACNAbA1 a. OUOhS1
and which cost from one hundred
to TWO hundred dollars more, Mind
YOU, 1 don't say that q common COW
is better: but it is better for persons
who can afford only one COW.
People who have money, as a rule,
do not care to keep cow, because
there is so much trouble attached
to it, and as people who are reasona
bly, comfortable buy a COW as 8
mater Of economy; and as a COM
mon COW will give them all the milk
and butter they need, and some t.
spare, there is no use in spending
two or three hundred dollars, when
fifty or sixty dollars will DO just IS
we'll.
"IW tell you secret about keep
| ing COW. It isn't so much in the
! COW as in the keeping. You can
spoil the finest COW by negligence
and poor feed, and you can make q
poor COW reasonably good by giving
her attention and by feeding her
we'll"
You mean by keeping her well,
that she should be fed and warm
said I.
eyes; that's part of it, but not
aIIs by any means. You snonlo
feed your COW like you would q
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