The herald., 1897-12-24
Exercise of Cows

At the last meeting of the Claremont
Pomological club Mr.. E. Squires pre-
sented an excellent paper on THE Fam
lily Cow" 1t was asserted that proper
amount of exercise should be given to
keep the COW in a healthy condition. The
president of the club, in commenting
upon the paper. remarked that many of
the best daiiymen east had abandoned
the idea that our cattle, especially
milch COWS, needed exercise. 1t was
rather contended that the COW had only
about so much energy to expend, and
that if she spent it in muscular effort it
could not be used in milk secretion. No
doubt this position will be stoutly re-
sisted in the minds of most of our peo-
pie. The old idea that cows do need ex-
elcise has been so studiously insisted
upon that people generally adopt it as
automatic 1t is true, however, that
dairymen find that their COWS give more
milk, appear in better thrift and require
less food when kept close in the sta ables
The cows do not become diseased. but
remain in full vigor and health. Many
have become so entirely convinced that
they even bring water right into the
stall. Indeed, they take all pains and
adopt every provision to make the COW
entirely comfortable and to keep her
very quiet. OF course, great pains are
taken to give the most perfect ventila-
ton, to flood the stable with sunshine
and to keep everything in and about the
stable most scrupulously neat and
clean. Indeed, the three notices that
the advanced dairyman hangs in his
barns and stables are comfort quiet
and cleanliness. That these views are
quite general and growing more so in
The best dairy regions should lead all
our dairymen to observe and experiment
for themselves. 1t is through careful OBJ
serVation and personal experimentation
that the new views and consequent
practice have gained such rapid ac-
ceptance. In California, as | have be-
fore urged in The Herald, we must be
very consistent regarding good ventila-
ton But we may well adopt the three
notices, and ! feel sure we shall secure
larger returns from our COWS and with
no loss of health or thrift. We quickly
lind that cows which are made COM
Portable by ample food and pure water
close at hand rarely expend much
energy in muscular effort, but do put
big lot into milk production.
The Mongoose in Jamaica
Tn 1872 MIR. w. Bancroft Espeut i'm
ported four pairs of the mongoose of
India into the Island of Jamaica to rid
the island of the "cane- piece rat" In
Il few years it was estimated that this
little ferret-like mammal saved $780,
COO annually to the colony Indeed, it
did its work too well. Soon it had so
cleaned out the rats that it took, per
force, to birds poultry, nsectivorous
reptiles and batrachia, and rapidly ex-
terminated these fends of the orchard
lst and gardener. Injurious insects in
creased alarmingly: the good the mon
goose had done was overcome a thous-
and times in the enormous increase of
injurious insects. 1t devoured Young
pigs Kids, lambs, puppies and even
neWly-dropped calves. Nor did its ra-
paclous appetite stop here, but bananas
plneappies, young corn, pears, sweet
Po'aloeS' coc0as, yams, peas, sugar cane, !
meat ana other provisions fell a prev to
It's rapacity. But there is another
chapter to this interesting history.
Nature came in to restore the balance.