The cow in her native home led a natural life, reared
her young, suckled them till they were old enough to
obtain their own living. Mankind, ever intent upon some-
thing to gratify the appetite, discovered that cow's milk
was "very good," and although duly weaned from their
natural mother, claimed the mother cow by adoption, and
from her have not yet been weaned.
That milk is a forced product is a fact not generally
thought of, but it must be known that if left to nature
the supply would cease when the young no longer required
it. Who, living in the country, has not been thrilled
night and day for weeks in succession by the wailing and
lamentations of the bovine mothers because of their babes
" which were not" ? Has the cow love and the power of
suffering ; is she capable of mental anguish ?
The later method of confining the hand-fed calf in sight
of its mother does much towards quieting her mind, but
MILK AND THE COW. 187
does not give the calf its natural food while preparing it as
vealy to be used on our tables.
The old-fashioned cow of lowly birth and pedigree pre-
sents a strong contrast to the modern cow of noble
lineage and high-bred ancestry. Her home was the farm
pasture, not always the best, it must be admitted, but
where she browsed all day in the pure air, regardless of
sunshine or storm, and lay under the trees contentedly
chewing her cud from early spring until late autumn ; her
breath was like new-mown grass, her milk of pure quality
and butter sweeter than the modern gilt-edged at 75 cents
a pound. When housed she was fastened with a rope or
chain that gave her freedom of movement. She was often
chilly, no doubt, from the winter wind sweeping through
a few unnecessary ventilators, but even this did not pro-
duce tuberculosis, for the pure breath of life from the
outside was far preferable to the close atmosphere of the
modern stable. Even her cold food and drink were less
disease producing than the heated, stimulating rations of
to-day. Animals in a natural state rarely become diseased,
but when domesticated they are soon more or less afflicted
with various ailments.
With the onward march of our own so-called refinement
and civilization we have taken the cow with us, subjected
her to similar conditions and she is sick from the same
causes that produce sickness in the human family. As a
result of this, an ever increasing army of doctors have
followed in the wake of civilization everywhere, both for
the animal and the human, while grim death, regardless
of place or position, of poverty or wealth, has gleaned
more victims from this national disease — tuberculosis —
than from any other.
1 88 THE FAT OF THE LAND.
The Statistics of this disease, under various names, are
appalling among children under five years of age, their
diet consisting largely of milk, and are almost incredible
among youth and adults.
As with the human family, so with the animal world.
They develop the germs of disease in precisely the same
way ; many perish in early life, but by far the greater
number are to-day furnishing our food and dairy supplies.
Afflicted with the most disastrous and far reaching dis-
ease, exceedingly difficult of detection, we are now watch-
ing with the deepest interest the work of the conservators
of the public health.
The gray-haired farmers look backward and say, **We
did not hear of such things when we were boys on the
farm, what can be the cause of it " ?
With money and influence behind them, the cattle
commissioners are busy inoculating with tuberculin broth,
inspecting, condemning and sentencing to death thousands
of cattle, diseased through no fault of their own. And
how many of the sleekest, fairest, most brilliant eyed and
apparently healthiest have been slain, under protest of the
owners, who have been speedily convinced that they were
full of tubercles!
Page 74
Presented as published in 1896. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
The cow in her native home led a natural life, reared her young, suckled them till they were old enough to obtain their own living. Mankind, ever intent upon something to gratify the appetite, discovered that cow's milk was "very good," and although duly weaned from their natural mother, claimed the mother cow by adoption, and from her have not yet been weaned.
That milk is a forced product is a fact not generally thought of, but it must be known that if left to nature the supply would cease when the young no longer required it. Who, living in the country, has not been thrilled night and day for weeks in succession by the wailing and lamentations of the bovine mothers because of their babes " which were not" ? Has the cow love and the power of suffering ; is she capable of mental anguish ?
The later method of confining the hand-fed calf in sight of its mother does much towards quieting her mind, but
does not give the calf its natural food while preparing it as vealy to be used on our tables.
The old-fashioned cow of lowly birth and pedigree presents a strong contrast to the modern cow of noble lineage and high-bred ancestry. Her home was the farm pasture, not always the best, it must be admitted, but where she browsed all day in the pure air, regardless of sunshine or storm, and lay under the trees contentedly chewing her cud from early spring until late autumn ; her breath was like new-mown grass, her milk of pure quality and butter sweeter than the modern gilt-edged at 75 cents a pound. When housed she was fastened with a rope or chain that gave her freedom of movement. She was often chilly, no doubt, from the winter wind sweeping through a few unnecessary ventilators, but even this did not produce tuberculosis, for the pure breath of life from the outside was far preferable to the close atmosphere of the modern stable. Even her cold food and drink were less disease producing than the heated, stimulating rations of to-day. Animals in a natural state rarely become diseased, but when domesticated they are soon more or less afflicted with various ailments.
With the onward march of our own so-called refinement and civilization we have taken the cow with us, subjected her to similar conditions and she is sick from the same causes that produce sickness in the human family. As a result of this, an ever increasing army of doctors have followed in the wake of civilization everywhere, both for the animal and the human, while grim death, regardless of place or position, of poverty or wealth, has gleaned more victims from this national disease — tuberculosis — than from any other.
The Statistics of this disease, under various names, are appalling among children under five years of age, their diet consisting largely of milk, and are almost incredible among youth and adults.
As with the human family, so with the animal world. They develop the germs of disease in precisely the same way ; many perish in early life, but by far the greater number are to-day furnishing our food and dairy supplies. Afflicted with the most disastrous and far reaching disease, exceedingly difficult of detection, we are now watching with the deepest interest the work of the conservators of the public health.
The gray-haired farmers look backward and say, **We did not hear of such things when we were boys on the farm, what can be the cause of it " ?
With money and influence behind them, the cattle commissioners are busy inoculating with tuberculin broth, inspecting, condemning and sentencing to death thousands of cattle, diseased through no fault of their own. And how many of the sleekest, fairest, most brilliant eyed and apparently healthiest have been slain, under protest of the owners, who have been speedily convinced that they were full of tubercles!