SOG ANNUAL REGISTER, 1794. 



tlie Essex farmers ; yet, on the bor- 

 ders of Middlesex, tlicre area num- 

 ber of cows kept solely for suck- 

 ling. This to a gentleman may be 

 considered as the mo<;t profuable 

 expenditure of after-grass. Sheep 

 purchased solely to consume the 

 after-grass, where there are no tur- 

 nips for winter food, are often sold 

 again to a great disadvantage. — 

 Suckling being easily managed by 

 a man, requires no additional ex- 

 pence of a dairy-maid, and the easy 

 access to Smilhfield-market, affords 

 a certain sale, if no neighbouring 

 butchers can be dealt with. It is 

 generally reckoned, that calves 

 should pay 5s. a week as sucklers, 

 exclusive of the value of the calf 

 when first dropped. Some value 

 the saleable meat at 6d. per lb. al- 

 lowing what is called the fifth quar- 

 ter for the butcher's profit. In or- 

 der to keep up a regular supply, 

 calves are purchased as sucklers, 

 from a week to three weeks old ; 

 the price varying from l6s. to ll. 

 10s. A wide difference is observa- 

 ble in the thriving nature of the 

 calves ; some acquiring a proper 

 degree of fatness for the butcher 

 much sooner than others, though 

 kept on the same food. Could the 

 ccuscs occasioning this difference be 

 discovered, they would be of great 

 Consequence to the farmer, in re- 

 gulating the purchase of sucklers. 

 Wfien the food and treatment is in 

 every respect the same, the differ- 

 ence must be referred to something 

 constitutional in tlie calf, which it 

 mustbe diflicolt to discover, unless 

 connected with a particular breed. 

 The bt^tchers in general are averse 

 to the purchase of the black calves, 

 though there is reason to believe, 

 that the colour of the skin has no 

 influence on tlie delicacy of the 



meat. The ball- faced sucklers are 

 selected by some, in preference to 

 other colours. The calves are con- 

 fined solely t« the milk of the cow ; 

 of which they are allowed a full 

 quantity morning and evening. — 

 Chalk is uniformly placed in lumps 

 in the corner of the calves pew, 

 with fi view to render the veal 

 white; and though this effect should 

 not be clearly ascertained, still, 

 however, the practice may be jus- 

 tified, as contributing to the health 

 of the calf, by correcting that 

 strong acid, which, though com- 

 mon to the young of all animals, 

 seems to be peculiarly powerful in 

 the stomach of the ralf. It is cus- 

 tomary with the butchers to bleed 

 their calves about two days before 

 they kill them : some bleed them 

 frequently during the time of fat- 

 tening. Though a new milched 

 cow will give more milk than her 

 calf will consume, yet, lo render 

 it completely fat, the assistance of 

 another cow is generally' required. 

 The calves are sold at ditferent 

 ages, from eight \o ten weeks, the 

 price varying from 2l. K)s. to 3l, 

 ]3s. 0"d. It is of importance to the 

 farmer, to ascertain the exact age 

 at v.'hich the calf should be sold, in' 

 order to secure the greatest profit. 

 Some calves will grow, but not fat- 

 ten ; in this case it is losing money 

 to keep them long, in expectation 

 of their being fat for the butcher. 

 It sometimes happens that a calf, 

 uncommonly voracious, will con- 

 sume a much larger quantity of 

 milk than any of the others de- 

 mand, without acquiring growth 

 and fatness corresponding to his 

 proportion of food: such calves are 

 unprofitable if kept to a large size. 

 These observations are of import- 

 ance, as the butchers in general 



endeavour 



