148 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



have merely selected those specially interesting to the 

 agriculturist, in order to place at his command, for 

 reference, facts and figures which may have an im- 

 portant bearing upon his dealings. The comparison 

 in minor articles of import would have carried us too 



much into detail. We may ohserve, in conclusion, 

 that the farmers of Scotland imported last year 24,006 

 tons of guano, and 18,663 tons of bones — an evidence 

 that they are not neglecting the improvement of their 

 soil. 



REARING OF CATTLE, 



In Great Britain, where animal food enters so very 

 largely into the general consumption of the inhabitants, 

 no part of the economy of farming demands a more 

 earnest attention than the rearing and fattening of the 

 animals that are used for that purpose. A detailed 

 statement of the most approved mode of managing 

 cattle may not be unserviceable. 



The calving season commences in January, and con- 

 tinues till June, the earliest dropped calves being always 

 the best, and maintaining a superiority throughout the 

 season. So soon as it is dropped, tlie calf is rubbed dry 

 by straw in hand ; an egg is crushed and passed down 

 its throat, and it is carried to a single apartment, in 

 which it lies undisturbed for some hours. In the mean 

 time, the teats of the cow are stripped by the fingers of 

 the hand, in order to discharge the first milk, which is 

 reckoned to be unwholesome. The calf is then intro- 

 duced and sucks a moderate quantity, and is again 

 returned to its apartment. The sucking is performed 

 thrice a-day : at six o'clock in the morning, at noon, 

 and at six in the evening The cow-house and the calf- 

 pens are adjoining, and afford convenience by that posi- 

 tion. The calf is led by a rope or halter on the head, 

 and when it is sucking, the end of the rope slung longi- 

 tudinally for that purpose behind the cow. Two calves 

 suck one cow, and are placed one on each side. 



So soon as the calf is able to chew with its mouth 

 and to masticate, bruised oil-cake is placed in a box in 

 a corner of the apartment, which food the animal 

 very soon learns to chew, and it has a very nourishing 

 effect. Another box contains a lump of chalk, which 

 the animal licks, and it is found to be very useful in 

 correcting the crude acidities of the stomach. A rack 

 is placed on the sub-division of the apartments, and in 

 it are placed clover and vetches, which the animal 

 soon learns to eat. One rack thus serves two calves. 



The calf continues to be fed and sucked in this 

 manner for three months at least, when it will be grown 

 strong and fit to be removed to an adjoining grass- 

 paddock, which must be rich in pasture, well sheltered, 

 and provided with a regular and ample supply of fresh- 

 water, and a roomy shelter- shed. An orchard suits 

 well for this purpose, the shade of the trees is grateful 

 and the grass is tender for the young animals under the 

 shade of the trees. At the end of sixteen weeks the 

 milk is gradually withdrawn, and if the grass in the 

 paddock be scanty, cut clovers and vetches must be 

 given daily in racks, and in a fresh state. The shelter- 

 shed must be well-littered and kept dry. 



Sucking the dam is very much preferable to giving 

 the milk to the calves by hand from the pail ; for by 



exposure the volatile gases of the milk escape ; and in 

 the process of sucking a quantity of saliva is en- 

 gendered, which is necessary for the proper digestion of 

 the milk, and for the secretion of nutritious juices. The 

 appearance of the animal at once shows the great dif- 

 ference of the two ways of rearing ; the suckled calf 

 being ever sleek in the coat, light in the offal, and of a 

 thriving and animated appearance. The animal that is 

 fed by hand is heavier in the paunch, slower in growth, 

 and of a generally more unthrifty appearance. 



By the month of July the earliest calves will be able 

 to be removed from the weaning paddock to the pasture 

 field, which must be rich and well sheltered and watered. 

 They remain there till the end of October, when they 

 are removed to the farm-yards, where they are put into 

 yards provided with shelter-yards, and about six or 

 eight animals in each yard, into which fresh straw is put 

 daily, and the feeding crib is frequently moved from 

 place to place in order that the dung may be equally 

 made, and get the same trampling and consolidation in 

 every part of the yard. Fresh tops of turnips are given 

 them to eat daily ; and in the early winter the tops of 

 mangel wurzel are added. The smallest sized turnips 

 go with the tops, and form the food of the animals 

 during the first winter, when the teeth are weak and the 

 mouth is delicate. 



In the first part of the month of May the grass is 

 most generally sufficiently grown to afford a bite to 

 pasturing animals, and at that time the young cattle, 

 now about one year old, are removed to the pasture- 

 fields, which must be well fenced and provided with a 

 shelter-shed and an ample and constant supply of fresh- 

 water. The gates and fences must be made very secure 

 and impenetrable, that no damage may happen to the 

 cattle in trying to escape by leaping the fences, or 

 effecting a passage in any way. The shelter-shed, large 

 and roomy, is an indispensable requisite for the purpose 

 of protecting the animals against the scorching heats of 

 noon-day and the cold storms of wind and rain that 

 occur in autumn and in the early part of winter. No 

 part of pasturing economy is more necessary. 



About the end of the month of October the declen- 

 sion of the herbage and the increasing inclemency of 

 the season render it necessary to house cattle, and they 

 are removed from the fields to the farm-yards, and there 

 arranged for the winter in smaller lots than during the 

 last winter, as the size of the animals has increased : 

 six or eight beasts are sufficient in one yard. Fresh 

 straw is given them daily in a wooden crib, latticed in 

 the sides and bottom, and frequently moved from place 

 to place. The mouths of the animals being now strong 



