156 



SILK MANUAL, AND 



Calves. — The following mode of rearing Calves, 

 adopted by the Society, denominated Shai<eis, in Can- 

 terbury, N. H. was communicated in a letter from Fran- 

 cis Winkley, to Levi Bartlett, of Warren, N. H., and 

 was published in the N. E. Farmer, in 1824 ; but such 

 have been tlie changes since that period, in our sub- 

 scription list that it would probably be new to many of 

 our readers. 



" We let calves that come in the fore part of March, 

 suck a week or ten days, then take them from the cow, 

 giving ihetn a moderate allowance of new milk to drink 

 till they have learned to drink it freely ; then put in 

 some skimmed milk; and we feed them wholly with 

 skimmed milk, taking care to give it at about the tem- 

 perature of milk taken directly from tiie cow, by heat- 

 ing a part of it and mixing it with the rest. Care should 

 be taken not to scald the milk, when heated ; also, not 

 to give them any sour milk, for this will make them 

 scour. The trough or vessel in which they drink tlieir 

 milk, should likewise be kept clean, and not suffered to 

 become sour. We let the milk stand about twelve hours 

 before it is skimmed ; giving a calf at first about four 

 quarts, night and morning ; increasing the mess as need 

 requires, till he is six weeks old, from which time till 

 ten weeks old, he will require, perhaps about 12 quarts 

 per day. 



" When about ten weeks old, we begin to diminish 

 the quantity of milk for about the space of two or three 

 weeks, at which time we wean them. During the 

 whole process, from two to fourteen weeks of age, calves 

 should be well supplied with good hay, salt and prov- 

 ender, such as oats, wheat, bran and oil cake, ground 

 fine. 



" The particular advantages to be derived from the 

 above method of treatment, are the following: 



" 1. It is much cheaper than to let them suck in the 

 ordinary way ; whereas it makes a great saving of cream 

 for butter, and that without injuring the calves, if they 

 are properly attended to. 



" 2. It prevents calves from moaning or pining, so 

 much while weaning as they would otherwise do, when 

 taken from the cows. 



" 3. It not only prevents the cows being injured in 

 consequence of the caWes biting the teats, but also pre- 

 vents their holding back the milk from the milker, which 

 often serves to diminish the quantity of milk after- 

 ward. s. 



" The only disadvantage to be found in the above 

 method of treatment is, that it requires some more la- 

 bor to feed them, where they thrive equally well in ev- 

 ery respract as those do which are permitted to suck in 

 the ordinary way." 



Cows which are expected to calve, ought to be lodged 

 by themselves in some conveifient place, under cover 

 for a week or two before calving, as such care may be 

 the means of saving the life of the calf, and perhaps of 

 the dam also. In order that it may be ascertained v/hat 

 is the time wheo cows may be expected to calre, an 



account should be kept of the time when each cow is 

 put to the bull. The day and night after a cow has 

 calved, she should be put under cover, her drink should 

 be luke warm, and she should not be exposed to the 

 dampness of the night. 



Inflamed teats should be washed with two drachms of 

 sugar of lead in a quart of water. Should tumors ap- 

 pear, apply a common warm mash of bran, with a little 

 lard. 



To prevent cows from sucking their own milk, it is 

 said that rubbing the teats frequently with old and strong 

 smelling cheese, is effectual. 



The following prescription for drying cows, which 

 continne to give .milk till too near the lime of their 

 calving; or to expedite their becoming fat enough to 

 be good beef, is taken from Monk's Agricultural Diction- 

 ary, an English work of established reputation. 



" Take an ounce of powdered alum; boil it in two 

 quarts of milk till it turns tu whey ; then take a large 

 handful of sage, and boil it in the vi'liey, till you reduce 

 it to one quart ; rub her udder with a little of it, and 

 give her the rest by way of drink; milk her clean be- 

 fore you give it to her, and as you see need, repeat it. 

 Draw a little milk from her every second or third day, 

 lest her udder be over-charged." 



Turnips, Corn, Potatoes, &,c. — Assuming that 

 GOO bushels of Swedish turnips will grow upon an 

 acre of ground which will produce thirty-five bu'shels of 

 corn, and that six bushels of the Swedes will fatten as 

 much as one bushel of corn, it will be seen that one acre 

 in ruta baga will go about as far in making beef as three 

 acres in corn, with the further advantage that the latter 

 will cost four times as much labor in its culture as the 

 former. We have given an instance of the Swedes yield- 

 ing more than 1500 bushels to the acre, and the opinion 

 of an intelligent feeder that two bushels are as much for 

 feeding, as one bushel of corn. The mangel wurlzel, 

 the carrot and the parsni'p, may be all raised in field cul- 

 ture, at about the same expense as corn, and they will 

 give as great a yield, and afford as much nutriment as 

 the ruta baga. The potato, whose culture we are all ac- 

 quainted with, should be made to yield 300 bushels per 

 acre ; and these afford a far more profitable food than 

 grain. A bullock will consume from 120 to 240 pounds 

 of ruta baga per day ; but if full fed with this or other 

 roots, they will consume but little hay, and have little 

 or no occasion for water. — Cultivator. 



Mr Houghton, — If any of your readers have horses 

 that are inclined to dig holes in the stable floors by con- 

 stant pawing and scraping, they may put a stop to the 

 habit m the following manner : — Go to the wood pile 

 or some other place, and get a stick of round wood, 

 about four inches in diameter, and split it in two ; take 

 one of the pieces and nail it across the floor of the stall, 

 about four or five inches in front of the place where the 

 horses forward feet usually stand ; nail the other piece 

 on the floor, four or five im.hes forward of the first 

 piece ; each piece to be the round side up and flat side 

 down. The horse will find pawing so inconvenient, that 

 he will abandon the practice. — Dedham Patriot. 



