A Basket of Chips: An Autobiography

Basket of Chips, page 010

A Basket of Chips regretted. She was used to city life, had no fear of anything and was the best worker I have ever used. She was very easily kept, would clear up the hay left by the cow, needed very little grain, and was always plump and well. Her worse fault was finding the dirtiest spot possible and rolling in it. That meant much combing and brushing on my part. We soon had the farm in good condition. It was always a pleasure to hitch her up as she would step over the shafts and take her place perfectly. The others had to be carefully backed in. What a pleasure it is to associate with an intelligent animal that takes an interest in the work to be done. This one always looked back at me when I stopped at any unusual place as though she wished to know if there were any changes in the program. AMATEUR VETERINARY EXPERIENCES One interesting experience I had after the veterinary had filed down some back teeth that were too long. I had given Blanch the usual feed of hay at night, - six o'clock was the time for the night feed. About seven I made the rounds of the farm creatures. I noticed something wrong with her eating; there were wads of chewed hay that she had rejected. I watched her take the usual amount and chew it awhile, then drop it and take more and do the same thing. I called up the veterinary but he was out on a call so I had to wait for result. But the next morning she took her feed all right. This is the conclusion I came to: there was a different feeling in her mastication and she didn't understand the reason. It was the good animal's conclu- sion "safety first," - not to swallow anything there was doubt about. How many humans are there who would have gone hungry under like circumstances I wonder. Anything will go that can be swallowed, let it be badly chewed or not, unless the throat puts up a barrier. Anything at any time and at any hour 10