little time and less skill, "Ah!" he exclaimed,
pointing to the fat ewes, "that's the sheep!" and the ticket was fixed
accordingly. This anecdote was related to me by the owner of the fat
ewes, who was present.

No butcher, except he be well acquainted with the treatment of a
breeding stock, ought to be a judge of breeding animals. With fat stock
one of the judges ought always to be a first-class butcher.

In natural labour the after-birth generally comes away soon after
calving. Many remove it immediately; this, however, should never be
allowed, as the cow will chew it greedily, and it acts as physic to
her. If the after-birth should be retained, as it generally is in cases
of premature labour, this need cause little alarm to the owner. I have
never seen any danger from allowing it to remain, and I prefer letting
it alone, as it will rot away of itself, to the danger of tearing it
away; but the cow should be removed from the others. I believe the
opinion to be erroneous that there is danger from the after-birth being
retained for any moderate length of time; but the womb itself will
sometimes follow the calf, and this requires prompt treatment. I have
known of its being successfully returned without the aid of the
veterinary surgeon, but this should never be attempted by an
unpractised hand if you can command the surgeon's attendance. It is a
very common occurrence that two or three months before calving the
vagina protrudes when the cow is lying: when this occurs she should be
kept well up behind, else it may bring on premature calving. When the
cow calves the danger is over.

If the calf is to be milked from the hand it should be taken from the
cow as soon as it is dropt, and before the mother sees it; if allowed
to remain with the cow for some time and then removed, it will be a
cause of great irritation to the mother and very prejudicial to her
milking. When it is to be suckled, the calf should be left quietly with
the cow: and by licking the calf and eating the placenta the cow will
be settled, the calf will get to its legs, and all may be expected to
be right. A warm drink should be given--cold water must be avoided--and
the cow made comfortable. She should be milked out after first
suckling, and this will require to be repeated two or three times a-day
for a few weeks, until the calf is able, and can with safety be
allowed, to take all the milk. In a day or two after the calf is dropt
it ought to be muzzled,