A cow, to a person with a family, is one of the principal sources of comfort derivable from a country residence. A cow, it is true, may be kept in town as well as in the country, and may occupy a stall in a stable, in the same manner as a horse; hay and straw being purchased for feeding and littering the one as well as the other. The cow, however, not being worked in the saddle, or in harness, like the horse, and not having either a large yard or a field to take exercise in, soon suffers in her health, and must, in that state, produce unwholesome milk. It is true there are some exceptions, where cows kept in gentlemen's stables in the metropolis are regularly exercised by driving them to some public park, where the pasturage is let out (such as Hyde Park, or the Regent's Park), and bringing them back again after they have remained there an hour or two; but this mode, besides being expensive, is too troublesome ever to become general; not to mention the injury which the cow sustains in being driven through crowded streets. Notwithstanding the evils attending want of exercise, it is a fact, though not generally known, that cows in some of the London dairies are kept stall-fed, and so treated as to give milk for two years in succession, without having a second calf.

There are instances of such cows never having been once untied, from the day they were put up, till the day, two years afterwards, when they were sold to be fattened for the butcher. The confined places (frequently dark cellars) in which cows are lodged, and the state of filth from want of litter and drainage, and of closeness from want of ventilation, in which they are kept in the crowded parts of the metropolis, such as St. Giles's, Saffron Hill, Liquorpond Street, etc, are disgusting in idea; and, in reality, must be highly injurious to the health of those who use the milk as an article of food. Even the milk from cows kept a year or two without exercise, however cleanly and suitable the treatment may be for their condition, cannot, we should imagine, be so wholesome as that produced by cows that have abundance of exercise and air. Hence it is that the better-informed inhabitants of the metropolis, and all the higher classes, have their milk from suburban establishments to which grass fields are attached; and where the cows, though highly fed in the house, are yet turned out into these fields for a certain portion of every day throughout the year, except when the weather is of an extraordinary degree of severity.

355. The cow-house should be of ample me, with complete drainage and thorough ventilation; and the cow should be carefully cleaned every day with a currycomb and brush, in the same manner as a horse. When there is only one cow, some, other animal, the food for which will not be expensive, such as a pet lamb or a goat, ought to be kept in the cow-house; and this lamb, or a donkey, should be turned out with the cow into the field. The cow soon becomes attached to her companion, and this attachment is useful in keeping her quiet: for it is well known that restlessness and anxiety not only impair the quality of her milk, but considerably decrease its quantity. If two cows have been kept together for some time in the same pasture, and one is sold or taken away, the other will immediately begin to fall off in her milk (which will become thin and poor), and her uneasiness will be so obvious as to occasion pain to every one who sees her in the field. The dairy should be cool and well ventilated; but the construction of this building, and also that of the cow-house, will be found in our Encyc, of Villa Architecture.

356. The breed of cowe used for large public dairies is generally unsuitable lor private dairies; the object in the former case being quantity of milk, and in the latter, chiefly quality. The Ayrshire breed is, perhaps, on the whole, the best adapted for a private dairy; but, where the main objects are butter and cream, the Guernsey or Alderney cows are preferable. In order to have a supply of milk and butter from one's own dairy throughout the year, it is necessary to have at least two cows; that one may continue to give milk during the month or six weeks which the other is dry before calving; but, in situations where dairy produce can be purchased for that period, then one cow may suffice for a small family. Whoever keeps either cows or horses, must occasionally send to market, either as a purchaser or a seller; and this is commonly the part of the business in which there is most risk of being deceived. To endeavour to instruct the reader on the subject is out of the question in a work like the present; nor would it be worth any man's while to attend to instructions of this kind, even if we were to give them, unless he contemplated becoming a professional dealer or a farmer.

All that we can say, that is likely to be useful, is, consult your neighbours, and employ such professional dealers to buy and sell, as you find are generally considered in the neighbourhood to be respectable. In all cases, the well-known maxim should be kept in view, viz. always to employ a man who has a character to lose.