BREEDS OF DAIRY CATTLE 183 



Sawdust and Shavings for Bedding. For the strictly sanitary 

 dairy, sawdust or shavings are the ideal bedding materials, though 

 the ordinary dairy farmer could not be advised to buy when he could 

 raise either the straw or the stover. There is a little dust in shavings, 

 but it would have no effect on the wholesomeness of the milk, as the 

 dust from the shavings is generally small particles of wood and sel- 

 dom contains 'any moulds or bacteria. As was stated before the saw- 

 dust is. damp and has no dust. Moreover, both of these materials 

 keep the cows cleaner and make a stable look neater than either the 

 straw or the stover. 



Rye Straw. In the city markets rye straw sell for about twice 

 as much as any other material intended for bedding. Of course it 

 is intended almost exclusively for horses, and the double price paid 

 for it would indicate that horsemen considered it just twice as de- 

 sirable for bedding. It is a little difficult to get at the true reason. 

 Farmers evidently prefer the wheat straw for both horses and oows. 

 It is very doubtful if rye straw would prove at all satisfactory in a 

 d;iiry stable. It is hard and stiff and, in some tests made at this 

 station, with a separate and smaller herd than the one used in the 

 previous tests, about the same quantity of rye straw as of wheat straw 

 was used, but the cows did not keep in as clean a condition. The 

 rye straw apparently was a very poor absorbent. (Md. B. 104.) 



RAISING CALVES. 



The Proper Kind of Treatment. If the cow fails to lick the calf 

 soon after birth it should be rubbed dry with cloth or straw, and if 

 necessary assisted to get its first meal. It is especially important 

 for the calf to get the first or colostrum milk of the dam. This milk 

 contains about 17.6 per cent of protein or nearly six times as much 

 as ordinary milk. It also contains more ash. It is a powerful laxa- 

 tive and tonic and is effective in removing the faecal matter from 

 the alimentary canal. The calf should receive its mother's milk for 

 the first week, after which it may get the mixed whole milk of the 

 herd. 



The calf may be allowed to suck until the milk is fit for human 

 consumption, usually about the eighth or ninth milking. The calf 

 may then be removed, preferably to an adjoining pen or lot where 

 the cow may reach and fondle it but where the partition is sufficient- 

 ly high to prevent it from sucking. This will insure the content- 

 ment of the cow, and when the calf is kindly treated will go a long 

 way to inspire confidence in the herdsman or attendant. The cow 

 is a mother and we must appeal to the mother instinct if we are to 

 expect large and profitable returns. 



Danger of Overfeeding. It should be remembered that while 

 the stomach of the cow is remarkably large, holding in its four com- 

 partments about 260 quarts, that of the calf is small, holding about 

 two or three quarts, its first two compartments being yet undevel- 

 oped. When allowed to run with the cow, the calf is said to suck 

 from 10 to 15 times daily, taking only a little milk at a time. When 

 removed from its mother and left from 6 to 12 hours, it gets ex- 

 ceedingly hungry and when offered milk in large quantities will 



