10 Oct., 1917.] Rearing of Calves on Substihites for Milk, dc. ' 621 



In Leaflet No. 142 of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, the 

 following are recommended — in addition to cod liver oil. 



((/) Boiled linseed. 

 (/<) Ground linseed. 



Ground linseed cake is also referred to, but it is correctly 

 pointed out that ground linseed cake is not sufficiently rich in oil 

 to make up tiie requisite amount of fatty matter when added to 

 separated milk. 



Further, in America much calf rearing is done and recommended 

 by the Department of Agriculture in the form of feeding the seiparated 

 milk and meal separately. The meal is given to the calves in the dry 

 condition, the calves are taught to feed when from seven to ten days 

 old, by placing a little of the grain in their mouths after feeding the 

 milk, and in this way their attention is called to the meal instead of 

 sucking each other's months, ears, &c. They soon learn to eat the meal 

 greedily. 



The Department state clearly it is not advisable to mix any 

 starchy meals with the milk. The starch of the meal is intended to 

 take the place of the fat of the milk, and its form must be changed to 

 sugar before it is digestible. This change is largely effected by the 

 saliva of the mouth. If the grain is gulped down with th? milk, there 

 is no time for the saliva to act, hence intestinal troubles follow. 



The recommendations of the Kansas Experimental Station, United 

 States of America, are : That separated milk can be introduced gradu- 

 ally (1 lb. separated milk substituted for 1 lb. milk until all the latter 

 is replaced) when the calf is fourteen days old. 



At seven-ten days age the calf is taught to eat grain as described 

 above. The grain which gave the best result was a mixture of Kaffir 

 corn (millet) ground and whole maize. As Kaffir corn forms the chief 

 diet of some millions of human beings, it is not to be wondered at that 

 it makes a suitable food for calves. 



Maize fed whole proved better than when fed as meal, while 

 Kaffir corn fed as meal gave the better results than when fed whole. 

 The grain was given in amount averaging 1 lb. per head for the whole 

 rearing period of seventeen weeks. 



The results obtained with 130 calves, divided into thirteen series, 

 gave an average daily gain in live weight of 1.58 lbs., against the 

 Yorkshire 1.37 and the Aberdeen 1.27 daily gains with separated milk 

 and cod liver oil. 



I have been informed by the Secretary of the Irish Department of 

 Agriculture that exiperimente are in progress in Ireland on the subject 

 of feeding starchy meals to calves in the dry condition, but up to the 

 present there seem to have been no experiments carried out in Great 

 Britain in feeding the meal which forms the fat substitute in the dry 

 state, with one exception; yet in America it would appear to be the 

 almost universal custom in some States. 



The exception in Great Britain, where meal has been fed in the 

 dry condition, is in the experiments carried out by Dr. Voelcker for 

 the Roval Agricultural Society at Wolmrn during 1913-13, a report 

 of which has been furnished to members of the above society. 



