446 BRITISH HUSBANDRY. [Ch. XXXVIII. 



The mode of feeding most tfenerally adopted, and the best to be pursued 

 for the purpose of producing delicate veal, is to feed the calf entirely on new 

 milk, taken fresh from the cow, either by sucking it from the dam, or by 

 milking her, and giving it to the calf by hand. Either way is equally bene- 

 ficial to the calf, though, indeed, it is supposed that the former, bemg the 

 most natural, and occasioning a greater secretion of saliva, must better pro- 

 mote its growth ; but if he be allowed to suck the cow she of course becumes 

 attached to him, and when he is removed at tlie end of a few weeks, it is 

 extremely difficult to foist a nursling upon her ; so much so, indeed, that 

 she often resists with great violence, and if compelled to receive one, she 

 for a long time withholds a portion of her milk. Neither can the caifat 

 first consume the whole of tlie mother's milk, while in the course of a Lttle 

 time he will require more, and in a few weeks he must be removed. In 

 either case, she, therefore, must necessarily have a stranger along with her 

 own, or she must be milked ; wherefore many people adopt altogether the 

 latter plan of milking. It is, in fact, in other respects advantageous ; for, 

 instead of depending on the precarious supply of the dam, the food of the 

 young animal can thus always be regulated to suit the age, appetite, and 

 purposes for which the calf is intended ; and other mixtures or substitutes 

 can be introduced into the milk, if rendered expedient for economy. 



Sucklijig by hand, as it is termed, or teaching the calf to drink, is a 

 matter which requires great patience, and occupies considerable time ; for it 

 is long before he learns to take it from the pail. It is thus performed ; 

 the first and second fingers of either hand, being well washed, are pre- 

 sented to the animal's mouth, and of these it readily takes hold, and sucks as 

 greedily as if they were teats. In the meantime a vessel containing milk 

 is placed under the calf's mouth, and while it is sucking, the hand 

 is gradually sunk a little way down into the milk, so that it may lap without 

 stopping its nostrils. The hand must, therefore, be kept steadily in the 

 milk; for, if too suddenly plunged into it, the calf's nose being immersed, 

 he will want air, and will therefore immediately withdraw his head ; in 

 which case, or from any other accident occasioning it, the attempt must be 

 repeatedly renewed until the animal is completely satisfied. A piece of 

 soft leather, twisted into the form of a teat, and placed in the milk, will 

 however equally answer the purpose; and the plan of thus suckling is con- 

 sidered advantageous, even after the calf has learned to drink, as thus pro- 

 moting the necessary secretion of saliva. 



The manner of feeding is therefore very simple ; but as some sliglit dis- 

 crepancies occur in the management, we shall here state the chief modes 

 adopted in different districts. 



In that around London, every cow is made to suckle her own calf 

 three times a-day, for the first three or four days after calving, and after- 

 wards twice a-day constantly. If she has a very full stock of milk, 

 another calf about the same age is also put to her ; but her own calf 

 must always have its fill, and not be robbed by the other. The calves 

 are also frequently bled before being slaughtered*. On one side of 

 every pen is placed a small trough, that is always kept supplied with 

 chalk, both in lumps and ])owder; not with a view to render the veal 

 white, as some persons erroneously imagine, but with the intention of 

 correcting acidity in the stomach; without which precaution the calves 

 would be liable to scour. Some persons mix ground barley with the 



* Main on the Mode of Fattening Calves in the Neighbourhood of London, — Quart. 

 Jour, of Agric.j vol, v. 



