SECRETARY'S REPORT. 49 



necessary. A calf at birth, or better at three or four days of age, 

 can easily be taught to drink ; and, if supplied from that time 

 until four weeks old, the first twenty days with milk warm from 

 the cow, and for the next ten days with cold full milk diluted 

 with a little warm water and mixed with a quantity, at first, of 

 rye or oil-cake meal, he will thrive well, and after four weeks 

 will do well upon warm skimmed milk, with oats or oatmeal 

 and a little hay. Gruel made of linseed oil-cake steeped in 

 warm water, bears a close chemical resemblance to milk, and 

 makes an excellent drink for calves at this age. 



Milk being the natural food of the calf, he does not require 

 when young that complicated arrangement of stomachs which 

 becomes necessary for the proper division and preparation of his 

 food when older. We accordingly find the passage to the first 

 and second stomach closed, and the folds of the third adhering 

 closely, leaving only a narrow tube for the passage of the milk 

 to the fourth stomach, the true seat of digestion. This arrange- 

 ment shows that the food of a young calf should be liquid. 

 The time of change from liquid to dry or solid food with a calf 

 is always critical, and weaning should take place gradually. 



John Brooks. 



Charles K. Tracy. 



Paoli Lathrop. 



The committee appointed to consider and report upon the 

 diseases of vegetation, prepared and sent out the following 

 circular : — 



Sir, — The Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture desires informa- 

 tion upon the subject of Diseases of Vegetation, and proposes the follow- 

 ing questions to the farmers of the State. 



You would confer a favor and assist the cause of Agriculture, if you 

 will take the pains to answer the questions, and to make such experi- 

 ments or inquiries as may enable you to answer them fully. 



You will be kind enough to return your answers in the inclosed 

 envelope, on or before November 15th, directed to Charles L. Flint, 

 Secretary of the Board of Agriculture, Boston, Mass., with the name of 

 tin' subject or subjects upon which you have answered, indorsed thereon. 



1. Do any of your cultivated crops, except potatoes, manifest indica- 

 tion- of disease. If so, name the varieties? 

 7* 



