A circumstance respecting these ponds, though by no means
peculiar to them, I cannot pass over in silence; and that is, that
instinct by which in summer all the kine, whether oxen, cows,
calves, or heifers, retire constantly to the water during the hotter
hours; where, being more exempt from flies, and inhaling the
coolness of that element, some belly deep, and some only to mid-
leg, they ruminate and solace themselves from about ten in the
morning till four in the afternoon, and then return to their feeding.
During this great proportion of the day they drop much dung, in
which insects nestle; and so supply food for the fish, which would
be poorly subsisted but from this contingency. Thus nature, who is
a great economist, converts the recreation of one animal to the
support of another! Thomson, who was a nice observer of natural
occurrences, did not let this pleasing circumstance escape him. He
says, in his Summer:
A various group the herds and flocks compose:
... on the grassy bank
Some ruminating lie; while others stand
Half in the flood, and, often bending, sip
The circling surface.
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