Agriculture of Shropshire. 27 



These stock are generally calved down when little more than 

 two years old, or else sold, when two-and-a-half years old, to go 

 to better land for fattening. 



Upon the present system I have two suggestions to make : 

 I would advise better bulls to be kept, and that the store-stock 

 should have better food. With the excellent opportunities here 

 offered for keeping up the supply of dairy cows, the object of the 

 farmer is clearly to produce as good a bullock at two-and-a-half 

 years old as his circumstances will allow. The influence ol a 

 good bull would be great. The cows, as I have said, are of inferior 

 class ; but if these are crossed with a^z-s^-class bull, probably 

 better stock will be produced than from much better cows, and 

 the produce will retain the hardy constitution of the cow with 

 the high feeding character of the bull. A second-raXe bull is not 

 suitable, and its produce will be far inferior to that of a superior 

 animal. All such stock should be allotted to the butcher; tor, 

 however tempting the animal may be — and there will be many 

 really beautiful animals, — a second cross will be a failure. 

 Having thus secured a calf calculated to make a good bullock, 

 give it a more generous system of feeding ; supply it with lin- 

 seed gruel, or mucilage from linseed cake when it loses the new 

 milk for skimmed. Some breeders in oiher counties give to each 

 calf, daily, ^\h. bean-meal, Jib. crushed linseed, and |- lb. mo- 

 lasses, made into broth, and added to the skimmed milk. When 

 the calf is weaned, it should have, in addition to good grass, 

 ^Ib. of linseed-cake daily ; and if this appears to purge, owing 

 to a rapid growth of grass, change the cake for h lb. bean- 

 meal. The same extra food should be continued through the 

 winter, and gradually increased to 1 lb. daily, and this allowance 

 continued until two-and-a-half years old, when we may presume 

 the animal will be sold. This will have added about 3/. per head 

 to the cost, but the increase of value will be from two to three 

 times this sum ; and such stock would be eagerly sought after for 

 fattening, because of their thriving condition and kindly dispo- 

 sition. Not only can this be done with direct profit, but we 

 must remember the benefit resulting from this addition of fertil- 

 ising matter to the farm. It is poor economy to keep any animal 

 intended for the butcher upon the alternate system of thriving 

 and declining. A steady progress will be found most remu- 

 nerative. 



I must here refer to a valuable herd of Devon cattle kept 

 at Kinlet by the late Mr, Child. These were of very high 

 merit, and excelled any herd in the north of Devon for number 

 and quality combined. Good cows and heifers were selected 

 from West Devon stocks, and these were !bred with first-class 

 bulls. The celebrated Y>vize-hu\\ (Devon Herd-Book, No. 108), 



