1004 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE 



calves get the scours, coughing, wheezing and run- 

 ning at the nose, then rush to town for disinfectants 

 and diarrhoea medicine and have a general house- 

 cleaning and a lot of sick calves. Prevention is al- 

 ways wise. 



"The young calf is better beside the dam from 3 

 to 6 weeks of age. Then it can be put in the calf 

 cot and nursed twice daily, 12 hours apart. This 

 is especially good with a heifer 's first calf. It de- 

 velops her udder and makes her a better mother 

 in the future. Supply the calf cot with the choicest 

 morsel or hay and have shelled corn, oats, bran and 

 a little oilcake in silage, so they can nibble at will. 

 What good millers they are and how they enjoy 

 doing their own grinding! But a word of caution 

 about silage: Never let a young calf get frozen or 

 musty silage. Alfalfa is rapidly replacing roots 

 and silage, but I still believe good silage the best 

 substitute for milk. 



"The yearlings and two-year-olds in the open 

 sheds need lots of roughness and should have some 

 grain. Never let them stop growing a day if you 

 expect to raise good young cows at the least pos- 

 sible expense. And remember that water is an all- 

 important factor in winter as well as summer not 

 once every other day or a bellyful of ice water once 

 a day. What a mint of money is lost in the cattle 

 business in this country for want of water summer 

 and winter! 



"Alfalfa and silage are rapidly changing feeding 

 conditions throughout this country but the general 

 principles are still the same. It is still the good herd 

 bull and the breeder who stays close to nature, 

 watching the little details which the other breeder 

 ignores, that forges ahead and gets the ripe persim- 

 mons. 'The eye of the master maketh his cattle fat 

 and the righteous man is merciful to his beast. ' 



