150 LIVESTOCK ON THE FARM 



into good cows are sold before their valuable characteristics 

 are recognized, but if a man goes to buy such a cow it implies 

 that he has better judging ability than the seller. This may 

 be true sometimes when there is considerable difference in 

 ability in favor of the purchaser. But the breeder or owner 

 who knows his animals always has the advantage of the man 

 who comes in to buy. 



While it is necessary to buy cows in starting a herd, the 

 aim should always be after the start to breed one's own stock 

 as far as possible. This, of course, does not apply to the 

 herd sires but should apply to the cows. The principles 

 relative to breeding previously discussed should be observed. 

 The sire as well as the dam should be as good as possible and 

 the environment and the feeding also should be such as are 

 conducive to improvement. When the calf is born it has all 

 the possibilities for development that it will ever get. 



The Calf. — The fortunes of a cow, be they good or bad, are 

 all in a calf at birth. The calf, however, must be properly 

 fed and cared for. A calf should always be left with its 

 mother till it is perfectly dry. The mother as a rule licks it. 

 The calf also should have the first milk. This acts as a 

 corrective and puts the bowels of the youngster into proper 

 condition. The material that has collected there during 

 foetal development will be passed out so that the digestive 

 apparatus will be in proper condition for work. 



The custom among dairymen differs as to how long the calf 

 should be left with its dam. Some allow it to get just the 

 first milk and others leave the calf with its mother several 

 days. This, however, is immaterial. Some even take the 

 calf away before it has had a chance to suck at all. They then 

 milk the cow and give the first milk to the calf. The sooner 

 a calf is taken from its dam the more easily it can be taught 

 to drink and the longer it is allowed to suck the more difficult 

 this task becomes. 



The yoimg calf, however, should always be fed sweet fresh 

 milk about as warm as it comes from the cow and this should 

 be fed out of a clean pail. As a rule, the milk from a fresh cow 

 is not used for dairy purposes for three or four days. This 

 is used to feed the new calf. After this period it is better 



