10 



FARMERS' MONTHLY OF HAMPSHIRE COUNTY 



RAISING DAIRY CALVES ECONOMICALLY 



Progressive dairymen know that the 

 surest way to build up a high-producing, 

 profitable herd is to raise the heifer 

 calves from the best cows in the herd, 

 sired by a bred-for-production, purebred 

 bull. It is relatively easy to raise thrifty 

 calves cheaply when there is plenty of 

 skimmilk available, but in condensary, 

 market milk, or cheese factory districts, 

 the matter is more difficult. 



To gain information on economical 

 methods of raising calves under various 

 conditions, trials have been carried on 

 during the past three seasons at the 

 Wisconsin Experiment Station. As a 

 check lot each year one group of four 

 calves (Lot I) has been fed the sort of a 

 ration used by dairymen who have plenty 

 of skimmilk. This was not over 14 pounds 

 of skimmilk a head daily, clover hay, and 

 a mixture of corn, oats, wheat bran, and 

 linseed meal. The calves were watered 

 twice daily and had plenty of salt. In 

 each trial they made excellent gains, 

 averaging 1.76 pounds a head daily for 

 the three trials. 



Limiting; tlie Skimmilk Allowance 



In two of the trials other groups were 

 fed similarly except that the amount of 

 .skimmilk was limited to 10 pounds a head 

 daily, to represent conditions on farms 

 where the supply of skimmilk for calf 

 feeding is limited. These calves made 

 very good gains, though somewhat less 

 than Lot- 1, which was fed 14 pounds of 

 skimmilk a head daily. They gained 1..52 

 pounds a head daily in comparison with , 

 1.72 pounds for Lot I in corresponding 

 trials. Owing to the lesser amount of 

 skimmilk fed, the feed cost up to six 

 months of age was $21.32, compared with 

 $23.80 for Lot I. The calves receiving 

 14 pounds of .skimmilk daily were slightly 

 more growthy, although there was no ap- 

 parent diflFerence in the vigor of the two 

 lots, and the gains of the calves limited to 

 10 pounds of skimmilk a day were actual- 

 ly a ti-ifle larger than is considered nor- 

 mal. 



These results show that good thrifty 

 calves can be raised on an allowance of 

 skimmilk limited to 10 pounds daily, if a 

 good concentrate mixture and good hay 

 are fed in addition. When an abundance 

 of skimmilk is at hand, it is best to feed 

 the larger allowance given to Lot I. 

 However, sometimes it may be advisable 

 to limit the allowance of skimmilk fed the 

 calves in order to have more skimmilk for 

 young pigs or poultry. 



A Ration for Market Milk Districts 



Each year a third lot has been fed no 

 skimmilk, but has been raised on a min- 

 imum amount of whole milk, which did 

 not exceed 400 pounds for each calf from 

 birth, or about 37.5 pounds from the 

 fourth day after birth, when the dam's 

 milk was salable. This was supplemented 



by a simple concentrate mixture rich in 

 protein consisting of equal parts ground 

 oats, ground corn, linseed meal, and 

 wheat bran. After the calves were seven 

 to nine weeks old, they were fed only 

 this mixture with hay, water, and salt, no 

 expensive calf meal whatsoever being fed 

 at any time. In two trials these calves 

 have made an average daily gain of 1.43 

 pounds at a feed cost of $22.64 per head 

 to six months of age. This lot gained 

 slightly less than Lot II, fed 10 pounds of 

 skimmilk a head daily, but did remark- 

 ably well considering the small amount 

 of milk fed. In fact, the grains would be 

 considered normal for well-reared dairy 

 calves. 



These results show plainly that good 

 thrifty calves can be raised on market 

 milk in condensary districts at a reason- 

 able cost by following this simple method, 

 and without the use of any expensive 

 commercial mixtures. In raising calves 

 by this method, if a calf is delicate and 

 not making good gains, it will be neces- 

 sary to continue the feeding of whole 

 milk longer than otherwise. In these 

 experiments, however, little difficulty has 

 been experienced in getting the calves en- 

 tirely off milk at seven weeks of age in 

 the case of Holsteins and eight to nine 

 weeks in the case of Guernseys. 



Do Not Neglect Watering Calves 



The importance of supplying plenty of 

 water to dairy calves even when fed a 

 fairly liberal allowance of skimmilk is not 

 appreciated by many dairymen. To gain 

 definite information on this matter, in 

 two of the trials a lot was fed the same 

 ration as Lot I, except that no water was 

 given these calves. Both lots received a 

 liberal allowance of skimmilk, the good 

 concentrate mixture mentioned previous- 

 ly, and common salt. Lot I received what 

 water they would drink twice daily, while 

 the other lot had no water except that oc- 

 curring naturally in the skimmilk and 



the trifle in the "dry" concentrates and 

 hay. The calves not given additional 

 water gained only 1.32 pounds a head 

 daily, while Lot I watered daily gained 

 1.86 pounds during corresponding trials. 

 The lack of water, therefore, causes a 

 surprising diff'erence in the gains of 

 calves. No farmer who wishes to grow 

 his calves rapidly and well can afford to 

 neglect supplying them with plenty of 

 water — the cheapest item in the ration. 



FRUIT CROPS WILL BE SMALLER 



THAN LAST YEAR 



Only fair crops of apples, peaches and 

 pears are now expected in the United 

 States this year, Department of Agricul- 

 ture crop officials declared today. Frosts 

 in late May reduced prospects in many 

 scattered .sections, particularly in some of 

 the central States, Virginia, Michigan, 

 and portions of New York. 



The condition of apples on .June 1 was 

 nearly 10 per cent below the usual aver- 

 age on that date. The northwestern 

 States expect more apples than were 

 picked last year, but for the country as 

 a whole the crop seems likely to be light- 

 er, although much depends on the rain- 

 fall during the next few months. 



Peach production shows a large in- 

 crease in California where most of the 

 crop is canned or dried, but in practically 

 all other important States the croJD is ex- 

 pected to be substantially smaller than 

 last year. Even in Georgia, where many 

 young trees are coming into bearing, the 

 crop is expected to be less than 7,000,000 

 bushels compared with 8,333,000 bushels 

 last year. 



The pear crop also is reported only fair 

 this year, California alone among the im- 

 portant producing States expecting ma- 

 terially larger crop than in the preceding 

 season. 



■NOW IN SEASON- 



STRAWBERRY and TILL BASKETS, 1 pt., 1, 2, 4 qt. sizes 

 32 quart STRAWBERRY CRATES, with dividers 

 PEACH BASKETS, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16 qt. sizes 

 Tomato Baskets — Vegetable Crates — Bushel Hampers 

 Berry Picking Baskets — Carriers — Bushel Baskets 

 Arsenate of Lead — Nicotine Sulphate — Kayso — 

 Copper Sulphate, Barium Sulphur, Peach & Potato Dust 

 Spraying and Dusting Machines, Accessories & Supplies 

 Everything for the Orchard and Garden. 



THE ORCHARD AND GARDEN SUPPLY CO. 



Telephone 2073, 69 King St., Northampton, Mass. 



