384 



XEW ENGLAOT) FAEJ^IER. 



Aug. 



females, will not necessarily prove effectual 

 when appiled to this species. The moth of 

 this enemy may have as good wings as the male. 

 Until its complete history is known, — and this 

 your correspondent, being in an infected dis- 

 trict, ought to furnish to the world, — hand- 

 picking can be used on the currant bushes, 

 and tobacco, soap, &c., applied to the apple 

 trees. 



The "fly" which your correspondent thinks 

 "begets" the worm, is as harmless as possible. 

 It is one of the "May-flies," belonging to an 

 entirely different order of insects, and its larva 

 lives in the water. It may be laid down as a 

 rule, to which of course there are exceptions, 

 that the "fly" and the "worm" of the same 

 species will not be found at the same time. 



I have sent the single living worm which 

 remains, to a gentleman who is especially in- 

 terested in the group of moths to which it be- 

 longs, asking him to raise it. If additional 

 specimens are sent in a pill box, we will try 

 to learn more about them. 



Samuel H. Scudder. 



Boston, June 8, 1869, 



For the New England Farmer. 

 KAISING CALVES. 



In the Weekly Farmer of May 8, Month- 

 ly page 294, there is an item upon the subject 

 of raising calves, by Mr. C. F. Lincoln of 

 Woodstock, Vt., in which he gives his method, 

 which, in my opinion, is quite erroneous, and 

 I think will prove a failure in producing first- 

 rate calves. 



He says he never allows his calves to suck, 

 not even once. Now, to my mind there are 

 abundant and obvious reasons for differing with 

 Mr. L. in this respect. In the first place, it 

 is more natural for a calf to suck than to drink ; 

 consequently the most natural way of obtaining 

 sustenance, is the most thrifty way. Again, 

 I have observed that calves that are allowed 

 to suck even a week, are less liable to be 

 troubled with the scours than those allowed to 

 suck a day or two, or not at all. 



Mr. L. experiences less difficulty in learning 

 them to drink, by removing them directly 

 from the cow, and giving them their first milk 

 from a dish. I think a calf will learn to drink 

 quite as soon afcer sucking a week or two, as 

 otherwise. Tlie trouble, if there be any more 

 than at first, lies in the increased strength of 

 the calf, and the consequent increased diffi- 

 culty of handling him. But let him get fairly 

 hungry, and in nine cases out of ten, he will 

 drink as readily at the end of one month, as 

 at the end of one day. 



I am raising a calf which sucked until eight 



days old, and on the night of the eighth day 

 I held a dish of milk to his nose, and after 

 getting a taste of it, he drank it as quickly as 

 any calf could, and all the trouble I have 

 since had with him has been to carry the milk 

 to him. All calves are not so ready to drink, 

 I will admit ; but give them a fast of twenty- 

 four or thirty-six hours and the most obstinate 

 will generally drink from a trough, or dish of 

 milk, placed where it can put its nose into it, 

 and that without a finger or anything else to 

 suck. 



I must differ with friend Lincoln again in 

 regard to his practice of turning young calves 

 to pasture in the spring. My experience and 

 observation induce me to believe that they do 

 better sheltered from the sun until hot weather 

 is over, for in my opinion the exposure to a 

 hot, scorching sun will stunt them quicker 

 than the cold in winter ; and, besides, I think 

 green grass unfit for them to eat. A near 

 neighbor of mine has a steer one year old, 

 which girts five feet and one inch, which never 

 stepped upon the ground, and never tasted 

 grass until this spring ; and yet he was, at one 

 week old, a small calf; being nothing more 

 than a grade Durham, and did not have extra 

 keeping. 



In order to produce good calves, my meth- 

 od would be to keep them housed the first 

 year, letting them suck four or five months, 

 and give them a plenty of good hay and oats, 

 or other suitable feed in proper quantities. 

 If they are kept well and comfortably through 

 the first winter, the succeeding spring will 

 give us good, thrifty yearlings, which we shall 

 not be ashamed to have our brother farmiers 

 look at. 



Mr. Lincoln does not inform us whether his 

 calves are good bad or indifferent ; he simply 

 tells us how he avoids a great deal of trouble. 

 I think one object should be to give them 

 every attention while young, and endeavor to 

 obtain good calves, irrespective of trouble. 

 But perhaps I am in error. Will Mr. L. fa- 

 vor us so much as to let us know what kind of 

 calves he gets, by adhering to his method. 

 Wm. H. Jordan. 



Charleston, Me., May 17, 1869. 



Remarks. — In his book on "American Cat- 

 tle," Mr. Allen says: "the calf should, as 

 soon afcer birth as inclined, suck its dam. 

 This is indispensable to its health, in enabling 

 it to discharge the foetal nutriment remaining 

 in its stomach and bowels, and give it strength 

 for future action. Even when it is intended 

 to bring it up by hand, in feeding from the 

 pail, three or four meals are all the better, 

 and it will as readily take the finger for feed- 

 ing then, as immediately after its first meal." 

 We regret that in consequence of being mis- 



