No. 6. 



Mode of Fattonivj; Calves near London. 



1S5 



lump, or some pounded chalk, for the calf to 

 lick. This is supposed to counternct the ten- 

 dency to inward fever, which suckled calves 

 are otlen subject to. 



Every cow is made to suckle her own calf 

 three times a day, for the first three or four days 

 afier calvintr, and afterwards constantly twice 

 a day. If she has a very full stock of milk, 

 another calf about the same age is also put 

 to iier, in order that her udder may be per- 

 fectly emptied at tacii milkini^. Her own 

 calf must, however, always have its full, and 

 not be robbed by the other. If a calf goes 

 on thrivinsrand well, it will be what is es- 

 teemed in England prime vcul in about ten 

 weeks, and will, at the end of ti)at time, 

 weigh from seventeen to twenty .stones of 8 

 lbs. each, and will fetch in Smithfield market 

 from 4s. 6d. to 5s. (id. per stone, accordmg as 

 veal is more or less plentiful. 



It is not the largest or heaviest calves that 

 fetch the most money ; one of fourteen or fif- 

 teen stones, if of the proper age, and as com- 

 plete as to fatness as possible, will sell for a 

 shilling or two per stone more than a calf 

 weighing between twenty and thirty stones. 



Notwithstanding this well known fact, some 

 farmers are of opinion, that as a calf grows 

 and fattens faster after it is ten weeks old than 

 before, and also requires less milk to keep it 

 improving, there is really more clear profit 

 made from a calf of twenty-five stones, than 

 from two of fifteen stones each. There is only 

 the prime cost of one, say they, and one com- 

 mission for selling; whereas there is in the 

 other case two first costs and two commissions 

 to be deducted from the first amount. 



Farmers living at the distance of from fif- 

 teen to thirty miles from London send their 

 fatted calves to market by a salesman, who 

 keeps horses and covered spring- vans for the 

 purpose. Each salesman has a tract of coun- 

 try which he frequents, and wheie he is well 

 known. His van calls twice a week at the 

 farm houses on his route to market, to take 

 up the fatted stock. This is sold in I/ondon 

 early on the morning of the next day. In 

 the evening he repasses homeward, leaving 

 the amountof sales at each of his employers, 

 enclosed in a printed market-bill, with the 

 name of the jiu re baser, and the amount as 

 stated by the clerk of the market, to whom 

 the money is in the first place paid. The 

 salesman's commission for carrying and sell- 

 ing a calf from a distance of twenty miles is 

 fis. and one shilling additional for every pound 

 sterling above £5 the calf may fetch. 



The veal sucklers are supplied with calves 

 by another class of men called calf dealers, 

 who travel in carts built for the purpose into 

 the dairying countries, and they buy up all 

 the young calves to be disposed of. These 

 are "brought up by hundreds every week into 



'the suckling districts, and sell at prices vary- 

 ing from 20s. to ;i'')s. per head, according to 

 their age, size, or breed. The London cow- 

 keepers also sell all their calves as soon 

 as dropped; these are carried to Smith- 

 field, and bought by another classof calf deal- 

 er.*, who carry and dispose of them in the 

 country. The whiteness as well as the firm- 

 ness of the veal constitute its principal value 

 when dressed. Some breeds have whiter 

 fleshed calves than others, and they are most 

 valued by butchers, who judge of the color 

 of the l1e^h by looking at tlie inside of the 

 mouth and white of the eyes. Tin' butchers 

 also bleed the calves repeatedly before they 

 are slaughtered. 



! The prospect of fattening calves may be 

 judged even by an example in figures, which 

 i'l have often experienced. A calf is suckled 

 'for ten weeks, and weighs from eighteen to 

 twenty .stones, sinking the offal, as it is called 

 about London. The calf fetches £5 at mar- 

 ket, from which, deduciing liOs. which it 

 inioht have been sold for a week old, and .5s. 

 salesman's commission, leaves a profit of £3 

 5s., or .5s. (Ul. per week for the cow's milk. 

 Now, deducting 2s. 6d. per week for the keep 

 iof the cow, the bare profit left is only 3s. per 

 jweek. But it must be remembered that a 

 good cow will latten off two calves, while 

 she is in milk; some I have had, two and a 

 half, but this is rarely accounted on. Still, 

 taking one cow with another kept for the pur- 

 pose of suckling, her annual returns will be 

 nearly what it is commonly estimated at, 

 namely, £12. To ensure this or any other 

 sum as clear profit, depends entirely on the 

 attention bestowed on the cows and calves. — 

 Some cows are odd-tempered, letting down 

 their milk only to their own calves, and with- 

 holding it from those they are made to foster. 

 This, if not corrected, will injure both cow 

 and calf; the one will be starved, and the 

 other will soon become dry. One of the 

 greatc5:t rarities about a calf-tatteningfarmer's 

 house is a drop of cream, or even milk for the 

 owner's tea ! The cowman is constantly 

 enjoined to forward the calves as fast as pos- 

 sible ; and though it be his duty to strip ev- 

 ery teat after the calves are satisfied, still but 

 very little comes to the tea-table, if the num- 

 ber of calves are duly proportioned to the 

 stock of milk. — Quarterly Journal of Agri- 

 culture. 



It is not often that insects have been 

 weighed ; but Reaumur's curiosity was ex- 

 cited to know the weight of bees, and he 

 found that 336 weighed an ounce, and 5,376 a 

 pound. According to John Hunter, an ale- 

 house pint contains 2,100 woikers. — KirOy 

 and Spence, 



