REARING OF DAIRY CALVES. 



55 



Wing^ fed the Blatchford meal to two Holstein and two Shorthorn calves, 

 the average weight of the four at birth being 72 pounds. "The calf gruel 

 was made by mixing the meal with a httle cold water to avoid lumps, then 

 enough hot water was added to make a sufficient gruel for the number of 

 feeds required. The gruel was cooled and warmed again to 90° to 100° F. 

 before feeding if too cold. When the meal was first fed to the young calf 

 a tablespoonful of the meal was mixed into gruel in this way and added 

 to the whole millc. The whole milk was then gradually reduced until 

 the calf took the meal gruel entirely. The amount of calf meal fed per 

 day varied from a tablespoonful, fed in the beginning with the whole 

 milk, up to 2 J pounds per day." 



Results of Wing's Trials. 



It is certain that in case of these four calves the gain per day is low 

 and the food cost per day is high. Wing concluded that "Blatchford's 

 Calf Meal, while good enough for raising fair-sized calves, is too expensive 

 to feed ordinarily." ^ 



V. Calves fed Bibby's Cream Equivalent. 



Tliis meal is prepared by J. Bibby & Sons, Liverpool, Eng., and con- 

 tains, according to the manufacturer's statement, linseed and linseed 

 cake, tapioca flour, sago flour, rice polish starch, locust bean and salt. 

 From the high percentage of fat present considerable flaxseed meal must 

 be used. Its cost is a trifle over 4 cents a pound. It was tried on three 

 calves (one a delicate Jersey and two vigorous grade Holsteins). The 

 Jersey caK was fed whole and skim milk for three weeks, at the end of 

 which the calf-meal gruel was gradually added. Four quarts of skim 

 milk were fed daily throughout the trial which lasted 164 days. The 

 maximum amount of calf meal fed daily as gruel was 1 pound, 5 ounces. 



The Holsteins were also given whole and skim milk for the first three 

 weeks and then began the feeding of the calf gruel. The maximum amount 

 of meal fed as gruel was 18 ounces daily. Four quarts of skim milk were 



' Already cited. 



2 Calf meal cost 4 cents a pound at the time. 



