164 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. 



The special characteristics of the Blacks, which make them so valuable, are : Hardi" 

 dood of constitution, aptitude for dairy purposes, and docility. 



As regards hardiness of constitution, no one acquainted with the common method of 

 rearing" the calves and their subsequent treatment and the hardships they undergo 

 can have any doubt on that point. The great wonder is that respectable-looking 

 cattle can be shown after having been reared in such a manner. During the time 

 when the rinderpest caused such havoc, that fell disease was not known in South 

 Wales, principally from the great exertions made by the county magistrates and 

 other authorities to prevent the transit of infected animals, but also because the 

 constitutions of the cattle were so good that even on the frontier of infected districts 

 they repelled the disease. When the Blacks were taken into counties where the rind- 

 erpest was prevalent they seldom, if ever, caught the infection. The same immunity 

 also existed when the foot-and-mouth disease was so general. There were certainly 

 some cases supposed to have been caused by the importation of Irish cattle, but upon 

 inquiry it will be found that those herds of cows which consisted of Shorthorns, Ayr- 

 shire, and Guernsey were those that suifered. 



As to aptitude for dairy purposes, I do not trust merely to the report of others, but, 

 having for some years had a dairy of from 18 to 20 cows, I can speak personally of 

 the qualifications of this breed in that respect. Some of these 20 were in every year 

 heifers which had their first calf, and were not so profitable as older animals. My 

 account book shows the churning as under : 



Pounds. 



From September 29,1862, to September 29, 1863* 2,896 



From September 29, 1863, to September 29, 1864 2,725 



From September 29, 1864, to September 29, 1865 2, 755 



From September 29, 1865, to September 29, 1866 2,450 



From September 29. 1866, to September 29, 1867 2, 815 



The yield of butter was affected by the dry weather in some seasons, as my farm 

 was not well watered. As regards the reduction in quantity after 1863, 1 reared more 

 calves every year afterward, and as the bull calves were nearly all sold for stock pur- 

 poses they had to be kept well. I also had on an average about 25 cwt. of skirn cheese 

 sold every year, and small pigs were fed on the whey and buttermilk, and turned out 

 to grass and sold as " stores," realizing from 23 to 36 per annum profit between 

 buying and selling. My farm was only about 70 acres, and it will thus be seen that 

 there was a large return for the area. I have also heard of places where only 1 or 2 

 Black cows were kept where the yield of butter was very great, amounting to 11 

 pounds per cow per week. I have never in my own dairy" churned more than 10 to 

 11 pounds from a fresh-calved cow ; but where 20 cows are grazing on a small area 

 there is no chance of very great individual results. 



The docility of the breed is remarkable. A stranger may go safely into a herd of 

 cows, but it is not safe to do so where there is a bull, unless accompanied by some 

 person acquainted with its habits. I have a very strong feeling that bulls after they 

 are one year old should be always kept in the house, not only avoiding accidents, but 

 enabling the farmer to regulate the times of calving! The cows stand very quietly to 

 be milked in the yard or in the house, and with their large, full eyes and quiet ex- 

 pression look the very picture of docility. There is no doubt but that the Black 

 breed as now reared are not apt to fatten at an early age, but I have seen instances 

 where, when reared like the improved breeds, they have done to. Still I do not wish 

 to assert that at present they are so profitable for stall-feeding, but I maintain that, 

 looking at the soil, the climate, and the accommodation for them during the winter, 

 they are the only breed that will pay the farmer's rent. Those who have seen a good 

 Black ox well fed have always acknowledged that there cannot be a handsomer ani- 

 mal. Butchers will tell yon that the quality of the meat is not to be surpassed, and 

 that the internal fat is much in excess of Shorthorns and Hcrefords of a similar size. 



The usual method of rearing calves is to take the calf away from the cow after a 

 few days, and then give it nothing but skim-milk. When it is able to eat it is given 

 hay and barley or oatmeal, upon which it thrives fairly. But in the month of May or 

 June the poor animal which has never seen grass, and does not know what it is, is 

 turned out into a good pasture, and there, before its tender mouth can properly eat, 

 it loses all its calf flesh, and when the winter comes on it is still lean. My own 

 method was to take away the calf after a few days and give it its own mother's 

 milk for one month, then half new and half skim for a fortnight, and afterwards skim- 

 milk only with a little dissolved oil-cake mixed with it. Sweet hay and manggls were 

 given as soon as it was proper, and in the spring cut grass was gradually introduced, 

 so that the calf, when turned out in June, readily took to it. A little 'milk and water, 

 with orubacd oa'.s and some oil-cake, given all the summer. The .first winter, tur- 

 nips, hay, oil-cake, and oats, and then turned out to grass at one year old, strong, 

 useful yearlings with good constitutions. Afterwards they had no corn or oil cake, 

 but the next winter fed on straw and turnips. 



