136 My Little Farm 



than twice as much as the medical treatment of 

 your wife. 



I will never again venture on a calf that has not 

 had several meals of its mother's " beastings." I 

 have succeeded in rearing such calves, but never 

 without trouble, and always for a poorer result in 

 the end. Without the mother's milk for a day or 

 two, the calf seems to remain at a big disadvantage 

 for the whole of his life, as if the constitution 

 were hurt in some way beyond complete recovery. 



Whatever the number of calves, I use only two 

 buckets, which makes it a small business to give 

 them a dash of boiling water before hanging them 

 up ; and I can feed any two calves together in a 

 pen of a dozen without interference from the other 

 ten, simply by slapping the intruders on the ears. 

 They hate it, and it cannot injure them. After 

 an attempt or two, they will stand looking on and 

 waiting for their turn ; and in a few days, they will 

 come up like trained soldiers, two by two, and the 

 same two together every time. While two are fed, 

 the others will pair off in twos, each seeking out 

 and standing side by side with his chum at the last 

 meal, and often this companionship is kept up until 

 the animals are a year old. 



While writing these chapters, I take a rest and 

 a walk among the calves in the paddock, when they 

 come galloping up to me, and then there is a 

 scramble to get nearest. While one is gently 

 butting at me from behind, another has thrust his 

 head between my legs, and two others are pulling 

 at the corners of my jacket. Those that cannot 



