328 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



kinds of apples sTiowed that in l,0001bs. weight of 

 fresh apples there were 8271bs. of water, 170.41hs. of 

 organic matter destroyed by heat, and 2.Glbs. of inor- 

 ganic matter or asli. l,0001bs. of dry apples contain 

 between 17 and 181bs. of ash. The per-centage of in- 

 organic matter in the apple is therefore small, not much 

 exceeding that of the richer grains. 



The ripe apple is rich in sugar and a body analogous 

 to gum, dextrine. In the dry apple, lOOlbs. will con- 

 tain about 191bs. of fibre, 1.11b. of water, fat, and 

 wax, 18.71bs. of dextrine, 49 81bs. of sugar and ex- 

 tract, 21bs. of malic acid, 8'41bs. of albumen, and lib. 

 of casein. 



In the fresh apple the relative per-centages are 

 about 3.21bs. of fibre, 0.2 of a pound of gluten, fat, and 

 •wax, 3.11b. of dextrine, 8.31bs. of sugar and extract, 

 0.3 of a pound of malic acid, 1.4lbs. of albumen, 0.16 

 of a pound of casein, and 82.GGlbs. of water. The 

 apple is richer in nitrogenous compounds than tlie 



potato ; and relatively viewed in its chemical composi- 

 tion, may be regarded as richer than the latter in those 

 bodies which strictly go to nourish the system, or, in 

 other words, to form muscle, brain, nerve, and, in 

 short, assist in building up and sustaining the organic 

 part of all the tissues of the animal body. This will 

 account for the fact of the Cornish labourers, in a year 

 of scarcity in the commencement of the century, 

 asserting that they could stand their work on baked 

 apples without meat, whereas a potato diet necessitated 

 some animal food with it. Apples are much more ex- 

 tensively used as food on the Continent than with us. 



The fermented juice of the ajiplc contains much of 

 the nutritive matter of tlie fruit; but the arguments of 

 some of our recent correspondents, as to the policy of 

 doing away with the use of cider at harvest-time, may 

 receive additional force if it can be shown that it is 

 more profitable for man and beast to convert api^les 

 into fat instead of alcohol. 



THE BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT OF SHORTHORN STOCK. 



BY A PRACTICAL MAN. 



At the present time, when the breeding of Shorthorns 

 is greatly on the increase, little apology is required for 

 the remarks on their treatment which we are about to 

 offer. I shall not enter into any inquiry as to the 

 source or origin of this breed of cattle ; suffice it 

 to say that at the time I write, Shorthorns are 

 justly recognized as the best pure breed of cattle in 

 the United Kingdom, and command the most money at 

 our public and private sales. Indeed the breeding of 

 Shorthorns is not confined to farmers who breed them 

 for profit, nor to noblemen and gentlemen who breed 

 them for pleasure, or for exhibition at our national 

 shows : it takes a place in our great commercial system, 

 and has become a commercial pursuit. The demand for 

 first-class animals to export to the United States of 

 America, to Australia, and to all parts of Europe has 

 exceeded the supply, and resident agents of our 

 transatlantic breeders are always ready to purchase good 

 Shorthorns for future shipment. Special accommoda- 

 tion is provided on board the steamers and ships which 

 carry these valuable animals. Captains are preferred 

 who take an interest in the preservation of animal tribes ; 

 and such is the extent and variety of some cargoes of 

 live stock now sent abroad, that the vessel may not in- 

 appropriately be styled a " Noah's Ark." 



In several parts of England, but more par- 

 ticularly in the North, calves are allowed to run with 

 their dams, and suck at pleasure ; care being taken that 

 the dam has a sufficient supply of milk for the calf, and 

 that the udder is sucked out clean, or drawn, once a 

 day, to prevent disease. Calves will thus run with their 

 dams six to eight months, and some are only taken 

 away when the cows require drying previous to calving : 

 by this time the calves have gradually weaned them- 

 Belves. My objections to cows suckling their own calves 



are, that the cow is not so likely to come in season 

 whilst the calf runs with her, and time is lost in breed- 

 ing ; that if the cow's milk should fail, it is difficult to 

 wean the calf from her, after it has sucked eight or ten 

 weeks, or induce it to suck another cow ; and that in the 

 winter months the majority of homesteads have not 

 the requisite accommodation for cows and calves to lie 

 together in shelter. Neither do cows take kindly to 

 be milked by hand, after calves have run with and 

 sucked them. The system I adopt and prefer is, to 

 take the calf from the cow when it is three days old, 

 put it in a warm and well-littered pen, and teach 

 it to drink from the pail, giving it new milk direct from 

 the cow twice a day. In two or three days the calf 

 will learn to drink, the cowman carefully holding the 

 pail to its head, with his fingers in the caU's mouth ; 

 and if it keeps in health, there is no further trouble in 

 the matter. The calf should be fed at the same hour 

 morning and evening, as nearly as possible, say 5 a.m. 

 and 5 p.m. ; and if two or more calves lie together, 

 they should be tied up separately for an hour after 

 being fed, or tliey will contract the habit of sucking each 

 other, which is apt to produce flatulency and skin 

 diseases, and renders them dirty in appearance. Should 

 the cilf be the first produce of a heifer, I let it suck 

 her for ten or twelve days, and then remove it, as I 

 think the heifer allows her milk to come more freely 

 after being sucked for a few days, and there is less risk 

 of disease in the udder. In the spring of 1856, a 

 favourite cow calved five weeks before her time : the calf 

 was small and weak, and unable to stand or to suck its 

 dam. However, I procured an infant's feeding bottle, 

 with india-rubber nipple, and directed the cowman to 

 feed the calf with new milk by means of this bottle, 

 giving it a small quantity every two hours for the first 



