•262 



NEW ENGLAiND FARMER. 



March 0, It^uri 



may be excessive fatness ; growth is iifipeded by 

 very 'rich food, for experience thows that the 

 coarsest fed nnimals Imve uniformly tlie largest 

 , bones. Common sense will suggest the propriety 

 of preparing a medium course between very rich 

 and very poor nutriment. 



Xvlaslication and Cooking. — Unless food be thor- 

 oughly deprived of its vegetative powers before it 

 enters the stomacli, the wliole nouristimtnl which 

 it is capable of affording cannot be derived from it. 

 In the case of the leaves and stalks of vegetables, 

 this is in general effected by mastication ; but it 

 requires some care to accomplish it in the case of 

 grains. Hence the advantage of mi.xmg corn giv- 

 en to horses or cattle with chaff or cut straw ; and 

 hence it is supposed by some the intention of na 

 ture, in the instinct which fowls have to swallow 

 small stones is directed to the same object. But 

 the jiost effectual mode of destroying the living 

 principle, is by the application of heat ; and if 

 vegetable food oi every liind could be steamed or 

 boiled before it was given to animals (at least in 



the animal becomes reconciled to such a state, a each other. Where many are suckled,there( 



retarded circulation, and general decay or diminu- 

 tion of the vital energies takes place. 



cows AND CALVES. 



Where butter is the principal object, such cows 

 should be cliosen as are known to afford the best 

 and largest quantities of milk and cream, of what- 

 ever breed they may be. But the quantity of but- 

 ter to be made from a given number of cows 

 must always depend on a variety of contingent 

 circumstances ; such as the size and goodness of 

 the beasts; the kind and quantity of the food; 

 and the distance of time from calving. As to the 

 first, it need hardly be mentioned that a large cow 

 will give greater store of milk than one of small- 

 er si/e ; though cows of equal size differ as to the 

 quantity of cream produced from the milk ot each: 

 it is, therefore, in those cows whose milk is not 

 only in large abundance, but which from a pecu- 

 liar inherent richness yields a thick cream, that 

 the butter dairy-man is to place his chief depend 



not to be more than half a do. en in one pen. 

 feet cleanliness and dry straw are necessary j 

 a calf that becomes dirty should be washed 

 with soap suds, and well dried ; as any filth 

 fered to adhere to their coats will impede 

 thrivint;-." 



Deane's New England Farmer says, " 

 calves arc designed for veal, they should be tijj 

 from the cow the next day after they are calj 

 Let them suck only two teats during the 

 week; three during the second, and let them I 

 the whole of them during the third and fol 

 weeks; and then kill them. If they have alll 

 milk at first, they will grow so fast that theyj 

 soon need more than all. The natural cod 

 quences is, that they will grow lean, and not| 

 fit for veal. Many kill them at three w«| 

 old; but the veal is not commonly so good, 1 

 the skins of calves so young are but of little] 



winter, and for fattening to slaughter, or feeding !enc<^; and wnere a CO 



c JU1 1 1 V ■.. • I J u ui u I these, she s ion (1 be parted v.itli, and her place 



for edible products) It 1.^ rendered probable by an- '"'t-a"' -"^ ^""" P" >^ 



alojjy and experiment, that much more nourish- 

 ment would be derived from it. 



Salt, it appears from various experiments, may 

 be advantageously given to most animals, in very 

 small quantities; it acts os a whet to the appetite, 

 promotes the secretion of bile, and, in general, is 

 favourable to health and activity. In this way only 

 can it be considered as preventing or curing dis- 

 eases ; unless perhaps in the case of w orms, to 

 which all saline and bitter substances are said to 

 be injurious. 



That degree of heat which has by habit, and the 

 breeding from successive generations in a cold cli- 

 mate,become natural to aiiimals,is necessaryto their 

 well being ; and a somewhat increased degree in 

 the cold months, or diminished degree in such as 

 are oppressively warm, in advantageous in the fat- 

 tening process. Where a sutFicient degree of 

 warmth to promote the ordinary circulation of the 

 blood is not produced by the natural climate, or by 

 exercise, it must be supplied by an artificial cli- 

 mate. Houses and sheds arc the obvious resourc- 

 es, both for this purpose, and for protection from 

 the extremes oftvealher. Cold rains and northerly 

 winds are highly injurious by depriving the exter- 

 nal surface of the body of caloric more rapidly 

 than it can be supplied from vritnin Dy respiration, 

 and the action of the stomach ; and also by con- 

 tracting the pores of the skin so as to impede cir- 

 culation. When an animal happens to shed its 

 covering whether of hair,wool or feathers, at such 

 inclement seasons, the effect on its general health 

 is highly injurious. The excessive heats of sum- 

 mer,by expanding all the parts of the animal frame 

 occasion a degree of lassitude, and want of ener- 

 gy even in the stomach and intestines, and while 

 the animal eats and digests legs food than usual, a 

 greater waste than usual takes place by perspira- 

 tion. Nature has provided trees, locks, caverns, 

 hills and waters, to moderate these extremes of 

 heat and weather, and man imitates them by hov- 

 els, sheds, and other buildings, according to partic- 

 ular circumstances. 



Good air and water may seem unnecessary to 

 insist on ; but cattle and horses, and even poultry, 

 pent up in close buildings, where there are no fa- 

 cilities for a change of the atmosphere,often suffer 

 on this account. A slight degree of fever is pro- 

 duced it first, and after a time, when the habit of 



When calves are to be reared, some pe| 

 deficient in either of .j,,,,,, to run with.or at least to suck the cow 



Ikij 



supplied by one more proper for this use 



Where cheese is the principal object, the man- 

 agement in respect to the covvs must be the same. 

 When the object is the suckling of calves the 

 farmer should provide himself with a breed of cows 

 suited to the quality of his land Large cattle for 

 rich soil, and consequent plenty of cattle-food and 

 vice versa. For suculing calves, cows ara wanted 

 which oive a large quanlily of milk, the yuality 

 being considered of less consequence. Indeed it 

 is said that rich milk ia not the most proper for 

 calves, as it is apt to clog their stomachs. "A 

 deep milker," says Mr Lawrence, " in the first 

 flush of her milk, will give a sufiicient quantity for 

 two or more young small calves, but if circumstan- 

 ces demand that part of the cow's milk be reserv- 

 ed for butter, the last, which is the richest of the 

 milk should be reserved; the thinnest or first milk 

 being sufficiently nourishing for the calf; and if 

 the calves should be suckled three times instend 

 of only twice a day, allowing them still but the 

 came quantity, there is no doubt, but the milk.in a 

 smaller quantity would set much easier on their 

 stomachs, and contribute more to their speedy nu- 

 trition ; for the chief reason of their almost con- 

 stant suffering from acidity and crudities subsists 

 in the great load w hich is at once laid upon the 

 calves' stomachs, after many hours of abstinence 

 and pining. It requires considerable caution at 

 first suckling of calves that their stomachs be not 

 overcharged, in which case, obstruction puts an 

 entire stop to tbcir thriving, and is even fatal, as 

 I have too often experienced ; their stomachs 

 must be inured by degrees to quantity of milk, nor 

 should the calves be suffered to suck their fill, till 

 towards the latter part of their time." 



"The calve-pens should be in convenient prox- 

 imity to the cow-stalls, warm for the winter seas- 

 on, since all young animals require \yarmth, 

 which in fact is a constituent part of their nourish 

 ment, and possessing the moans of ventilation in 

 the summer. The bottom of the pen shoidd be 

 perforated boards, or at least sloping ones, that 

 the urine may be discharged, and conveyed to the 

 proper reservoir. Where only two or three 

 calves are suckled, it is better to keep them sep- 

 arate, and they will lie quietly by themselves, if 

 suckled three times a day; but when in company 

 they will sometimes get the ill habit of sucking 



ing the first season, and it is a prevalent opii 

 that they are improved by it. It is, however, ce i 

 tain that the best raisers of valuable stock in En, 

 land and even here do not concur in this seal 

 ment. Experience has shown that the finest pog 

 ble animals have been raised in great numbw 

 without taking any milk from the cow after thti 

 days. They may go with the cow the first thli 

 or four days. They should have milk more or 

 for about twelve weeks. They may be fed 

 skimmed milk, or water porridge, after the 

 fortnight ; or hay tea may be mixed with 

 milk ; or their milk may be mixed with meal 

 water. After a calf has sucked or drank mil 

 the space of a month, take some of the fresi 

 and sweetest hay, and put little wisps of it 

 some cleft sticks, stuck np in such a manner 

 he can easily come at them, and he will soon li 

 to eat. 



" If skim milk is given to calves, it shoul 

 boiled and suffered to stand till it cools to the ti 

 perature of that first given by the cow. It is b( 

 ter boiled than when warmed only. If the mi 

 be given too cold it will cause the calf to purg 

 If this is the case, put two or three spoonfuls 

 runnet in the milk and it will stop the loosenef 

 If the calf is boun I, pork broth is said to be a sa 

 thing to put'into their milk. 



" It is not true that calves are best weane 

 grass ; and the reaaofl assigned is both unfounj 

 and absurd, vi/,. that when raised on hay, they 

 come big bellied. They do not in fact become 

 They are much more docile when raised in tt 

 barn, thrive much faster and are as lively ; at 

 even if their bellies did grow larger we are yi 

 to learn that such a circumstance would be a blen 

 ish in a milch cow. It is thought by many tot 

 an excellent mark." 



The following mode of raising calves is practfc 

 ed by the religious society denominated Shaktr 

 at Canterbury, N. H. It is extracted from a con 

 mnnication from Mr Winckley, received by favoii 

 of Mr Bartlott, of Warner, N. H. and published i 

 the Now England Farmer, vol. iii page •305. W 

 republish it because the method adopted appear 

 to us to be judicious, and may be new, in some t 

 its details, to many of our recent subscribers 



"We let calves that came in the fore part t 

 March, suck about a week or ten days, then tak 

 them from the cow, giving them a moderafr- sllov, 



i 



