450 BRITISH HUSBANDRY. [Ch. XXXVIII. 



she is in milk, and some which he has had, two and a half ; but this can 

 only rarely be comited on.'' Still, taking one cow with another, kept for 

 tlie purposes of suckling, he calculates that her returns will be about the 

 smn which is commonly calculated — namely, 12/. per annum* ; but others 

 rate them much higher. 



Thus it has been found by experience that the milk of a good cow will 

 in seven weeks feed a calf to about 14 stone dead weight ; he consuming 

 at the rate of — 



During the first week, about 10' 



,, second do. , , 16 



,, third do. ,, 20 



, , fourth do. , , 24 ^Gallons. 



,, fifth do. ,, 27 



, , sixth do. , , 30 



, , seventh do. , , 32 



or about 160 gallons; and if the milk upon which he has been fed be of 

 rich quality, he will then be in prime order for the market; the meat pro- 

 bably commanding 8jrf. per lb., or 5s. Sd. per stone, which will bring his 

 value to 31. 19s. id. Now, it is very commonly found that cows of a fine 

 breed will yield as much as 900 gallons of milk yearly f, which thus sup- 

 poses them to bring 5^ calves to market ; but calculating only upon 

 live, or an equal portion of meat, the account — with some deduction from 

 the charges in case of the calves being fewer, and grown to a larger size — 

 will stand thus : — 



Five calves of 14 stone each, at 5s. 8d. per stone, £19 16 8 

 • Less cost of four calves, at 20«. each £4 



Salesman's commission . 1 5 



5 5 



£14 11 8 

 The different statements, indeed, when reduced to a mean standard, 

 show that a good cow during the period of her milk — say 40 to 44 weeks 

 — will suckle 3^ calves, the average dead weight of which mav be about 

 seven score, or 140 lbs. each ; thus leaving a gross amount of 490 lbs.: 

 which, supposing the price and charges to be as above, would amount to 

 14/. Veal, however, being only in great demand during the winter and 

 spring months, the price there stated cannot be always counted upon ; and 

 therefore, the common calculation probably comes near the truth. The 

 profit of suckling must also in some measure depend upon the breed of the 

 calves, for the grain of the flesh of some is closer, and they have an earlier 

 disposition to fatten ; but it must be evident from the mode in which they 

 are collected, that the suckler seldom has any opportunity of making a 

 selection. 



With regard to comparative estimates of the returns to be expected from 

 the several applications of milk to the making of butter and cheese, and tlie 

 production of veal, they are generally thought to be in the order we have 

 mentioned ; but a very intelligent and experienced farmer, whom we have 

 already mentioned — Mr. Hayward of Frocester Court, in GloucestershireJ — 

 who has long kept as many as a hundred cows in his dairy, views the pro- 

 duction of fine cheese as being the most profitable. His estimate is thus : — 



* On the Mode of Fattening Calves. — Quart. Journ. of Agric, vol. v., p. 611. 



+ See chap, xxxvi. p. 403, of this volume. 



I See the Farmer's Series, No. 21, in the Library of Useful Knowledge. 



