652 



NEW ENGLiVND FAEMER. 



Dec. 



quantities, and, as Dr. Hartwell says, don't 

 give more than the equivalent of a pint ot 

 corn meal a day, when a year old. Oats and 

 shorts contain large quantities of bone- mak- 

 ing material, and are probably the best grains 

 for growing stock. There is no chewing 

 bones by animals of any age thus fed. Still, 

 ■where the calf is inclined to grow large and 

 bony, and lacking in plumpness, corn meal 

 may be substituted in a limited degree. 



Clover is probably better than any other 

 one kind of hay for calves or milch cows, but 

 all need a change. Rowen of any kind is ex- 

 cellent, also corn fodder. A little bog hay 

 will occasionally be eaten with avidity in pref- 

 erence to any other, for a change, especially 

 if the animal thinks it is stealing it. Noth- 

 ing is so good as a daily feeding of some kind 

 of roots. I do not think a calf is really 6tted 

 to eat much green food until it is from four to 

 seven months old, the time varying with dif- 

 ferent animals. It is also proper to com- 

 mence gradually. A calf born in April or 

 June may be let out into a dry pasture in Sep- 

 tember or October, the grass not then being 

 in a state to scour the animal, as in previous 

 months. 



Meanwhile, as cattle are comparatively 

 scarce and high, all the good stock, and none 

 other, should be raised. 



A poor farmer without capifiil to expend in 

 fine stock can often work into it by buying 

 young calves from good stock, and taking pains 

 wilh them. A poor man of my acquaintance 

 has a cow for which a rich manufacturer has* 

 made a standing offer of $150. He bought it 

 when a small calf, and raised it by hand. 



Where milk cannot be had or spared, or is 

 considered, as is often the case with milk 

 sellers, too valuable to raise calves on, the 

 oat meal gruel and hay tea may be resorted 

 to ; and the calves, as in Mr. Brown's case, 

 be raised on hay tea wholly, after five weeks 

 old. Always study the comfort of the an- 

 imal. The man who ties his calf out in the 

 hot sun, and among the tall grass, ought to be 

 tied out likewise, and fed on green apples. 

 A good bed and warm stall in winter, save 

 food, and increase the growth and value of 

 animals. "Boards and nuils," shingles and 

 battens, are often substitutes for food, and a 

 propei' distribution of hay in the mow often 

 keeps the wind out of a loose barn. Dry 

 loam, should be stored, and used beneath the 

 litter in winter, both for the comfort of the 

 animal and for the saving of manure. 



In addition, I would say a word in regard 

 to absorbents. It seems to be usually con- 

 tidered tha' the only benefit in using absorb- 

 ents for the manufacture of manure is in the 

 saving of the liquid. It is evident however, 

 that the dissolving power of urine and of 

 green dung renders much crude inorganic 

 matter, of which absorbents are usually com- 

 posed, fit for plant food ; while the gases from 



the manure penetrate through the mass and 

 become fixed and ready for plant food. 

 Franklin, Mass., Sept. 5, 1869. John. 



PAMPEHED STOCK. 



It is certainly to be regretted, that when the 

 prospect for the general diffusion of the blood 

 of so valuable a race of domestic animals as 

 the Short-horn cattle seems so encouraging, 

 there should be any of the breeders of these 

 noble animals practicing such a system of 

 feeding and management as cannot fail to have 

 injurious effects upon the breed. High feed- 

 ing, pampering and "training" for exhibition 

 and sale, are not only calculated and intended 

 to deceive and impose upon the public, but 

 tend also, as every intelligent br«eder knows, 

 to impair the health, the constitutional vigor, 

 and all the useful qualities of our herds. 



Cattle are wanted for use, and not as mere 

 ornaments ; and therefore the best are those 

 which make the largest return in good flesh 

 and milk for the food consumed and the care 

 bestowed upon them. Of course we cannot 

 expect an animal to be successful under such 

 a test as this, that has not a sound constitution, 

 with such substance of bone and lean flesh as 

 plenty of good grazing, with the exercise it 

 will afford, alone can produce. 



To confine cattle in stalls from calf-hood, 

 and feed them with oil meal and similar fat- 

 producing substances ; to cover with blankets 

 and rub and curry as horses are trained for 

 the race, except that the sweating and exercise 

 are omitted, will undoubtedly cover almost 

 any animal with fat, give a fine gloss to the 

 hair, and therefore, to an unpracticed hand, 

 convey the idea of superior handling. The 

 flesh will be soft, the hide yielding and flabby ; 

 whereas if the same amount of flesh had been 

 laid on with ordinary feeding and grazing, 

 with proper exercise, the flesh would feel firm 

 and solid, though the skin would not have a 

 harsh touch. When will our judges learn that 

 a thin and flabby hide is objectionable, as is 

 also soft and spongy flesh, when the animal 

 is ripe-fat? There is scarcely a butchtr 

 in America so ignorant as not to know this. 



It is a well-known fact that up to the period 

 of 1839 or 1810, the majority of Short-horns 

 were kept only for grazing and dairy pur- 

 poses, and were treated with only such feed- 

 ing and care as the ordinary stock of good 

 farmers had. If we may be permitted to ex- 

 press the hope that the Durhams of our day 

 are equal to those of that period, it is very 

 certain that we have no evidence on which to 

 ground the assertion that they are any better. 



While, therefore, the pampering and train- 

 ing, so common in our day, have, in many in- 

 stances, very decidedly impaired the constitu- 

 tion, the milking, grazing and other useful 

 qualities, all intelligent men know that the 

 practice has not even improved the style and 

 appearance of the stock. While fat and in 



