Year: 1865




pounds. Moreover, that was an
uncommon intelligent COW. and
she used her superior gifts to as
sure her own comforts, regardless
OF my feelings or my profits. Tic
hay was STORED in n closet undcy
tho steps, and in spite Of every
care and contrivancc TO keep her
out, Cushy would open It, aud not
only help herself to what she wan.
ted, hu. throw down armfulls nm.
der feet: and then, like her dainty
race, she would utterly refuse to
eat whatever had become dirty
Ii the door wac latchcd, she push.
ed the latch up; if bars woro plac.
cd across she removed them with
her horn; IL rope was used she
broke or stretched il, and if she
could not get in otherwise shc
would tear the whole away. After
trying many plans the door was
ingcniously hung from the top, so
that, as was supposed, it would ef.
tectually prevent her unauthorized
inroads; but next day it was found
at the other end oflhe yard, having
been carried thithcr on her head,
Besides, the amount of.hay she eat
seemed to have no effect in dinin-
ishing the quantity she wanted;
rather she appeared to carry into
practice the deceptive proposition
OF the stingy father to his hungry
sons. that he who oat the most
meat should have the most pie, by
demanding more bran tho more
hay she consumed.


In spite OF these drawbacks she
was Gn immense convenience: her
,manulactory seemed to work bet.
ter than morc scientific and artili
ciul arrangements, and turned ouI
n better article than the most skill
.iul chemical mildman; however
disgraceful to human nature is the
confusion, science is nowhere
against a COW. TO be sure, she
would on wash days carry n few
clothes off the lines, and drag them
around in the most nonchalant and
unconccrnc way perceivablc
would even, now and then, get her
horn mixed up with the lines gen
orally and pull out n half.dozcn
hooks; but the moment this was
done sho was entirely satisfied and
would stand pericctly quiet unit
she was disencu.nbered. She mad,
moro dirt than was altogether
slightly, and man had to be en-,
gagged to come daily and remove
1t. These various eccentricities
added somewhat to her cost, and
made 1t difficult to compute the
amount accurately; but apart from
the value OF clothes and clothes
lines, her feed cost thirty dollars n
month and the mans attendance
far moro, So long as she kept on
giving twelve quarts Il day there
was n clear profit of five cents
daily, besides the thorough manur-
ing OF the yard, which with farmers
is an important point and would
have been more valuable in Ibis
Instance, il it had been possible to
grow anything in the yard; but
unfortunately, for some unknown
reason, not even n spear of grass
had ever been willing to exist
there. The quantity Of milk how
ever, from some unknown cause,
soon began to diminish, until after
six weeks the arrangement with our
ncighbor had to be discontinued;
this reduced the profit, although
she still gave moro than abun-
dance for our family, and there
would have been q loss, had not hay
and bran came up to the occasion
by coming down in price. The
reader therefore, must call upon
the author of Ten Acres Enough
to determine by a few algebraical
eliminations, allowing TO repre-
sent the unknown quantity, wheth.
or if q cows yield falls of, more or
less, and her feed diminishes in
price considerably, there is u loss
or profit, and if so, why so, and
how much. For my part ] could
never arrive at any satisfactory
conclusion, except that pure milk
and fresh cream were, either com
bined or separate, very satisfac-
tory.


Cushy had an excellent disposi
ton ; she never exhibited but one
evil passion. and that was for the
meal tub she would feed from the
hand or in fact in any way so long
as she was fed enough ; upon this
regimen she waxed fat, until it be
came a serious question whether
she would ever again pass out OF
the doors, that it was at first doubt
/ fnl whether she would ever enter
Her stomach was OF goodly size
when she came, and tdid not won.
der that it occupied so much other
thoughts but it grew prodigonsly y
and she had a way ofstanding still
by the hour with her head under
the clothes on the lines, when the
sun began to grow hot in Spring,
or OF lying at full length in their
shade, that was evidently condnc.
tive to corpulency. When she
wanted her meals, which she did,
not only at frequent intervals, but
whenever any one came into the
yard, she would go to the kitchen