118 On the different Kinds of Cattle Farms, 



cow, and attain to a degree of fatness hardly to be credited. .Mr Aiton, 

 in his valuable treatise on the dairy, page 90, mentions many instances 

 of calves being sold for veal, as high as L.10 and upwards, when the 

 veal did not sell for more than 5d. or 6d. per pound, of 16 oz. A far- 

 mer in that district, (Mr Strang of Shawton,) fed, some years ago, a 

 calf to the weight of thirty-five stones avoirdupois, and sixteen pounds 

 to the stone living gross weight ; and he was offered 14s. per stone of 

 16 lb., and 22 J oz. per pound, which with the hide would have brought 

 L.15 or more. Mr Granger in Dykehead, fed a calf to the weight 

 of 22 stones 9 lb. county weight, of 22 J oz. per lb. and 16 lb. to the 

 stone. This calf brought, at lOd. per lb. upwards of L.15, besides the 

 hide ; and at the price veal has sometimes given in the Glasgow market, 

 it would have brought L.25. It is certain however, that feeding to such 

 a pitch, is not so profitable, as it is to sell the calves when about 

 five weeks old, and to apply the milk to feeding another calf. 



The method of feeding calves in Lanarkshire is simple and easy. 

 During the first ten or twelve days after their birth, they do not get 

 the whole milk of a cow, and if they are kept longer than five or six 

 weeks, they require more than the milk of one cow. They are not 

 allowed to suckle, but the milk is drawn from the cow, and given to 

 the calf from a dish, and an artificial teat is put into the mouth of the 

 latter, to make it draw in the milk slowly, and promote the secretion of 

 saliva. The calves are fed twice every twenty-four hours, and are 

 kept in a dark place, to make them quiet. They have abundance of 

 dry straw for litter. In this district, they are neither bled, nor are 

 any drugs given them. If they become costive, they get a little mut- 

 ton broth, and a small quantity of rennet when too lax. They get no 

 other food but milk. 



The following plan, for carrying on the suckling process, has been 

 adopted in other places. 



As soon as the calf is dropped, it is put into a box made of coarse 

 boards, 4j or 5 feet long, and 4 or 4J feet high, and about 2 feet 

 wide, according to the size of the calf. The boards are not put so 

 close, but that a sufficient quantity of air is admitted. Light however, 

 is carefully excluded, and the box has a cover for that purpose *. 

 The box stands on four feet, which at one end are four inches high, 

 but at the other only two inches, and as there are holes at the bottom, 

 all wetness is drained off. The bottom is also covered with straw or 

 hay, which is changed twice a-week. For seven or eight days, milk 

 is but cautiously given, for unless a calf is fed moderately at first, it 

 is apt to take a loathing to its food. It should be bled in about ten 

 days, and afterwards as much milk given it, fresh from the cow, either 

 twice or thrice a-day, as it will take. The bleeding should be re- 

 peated once a-week ; and at all times, when a calf loathes its milk, 

 and does not feed well, bleeding ought to be repeated. These fre- 



* All animals, when fattening, ought to be excluded from light as much as 

 possible, as the best and safest mode of keeping them quiet ; and infinitely 

 preferable to soporific drugs, which are frequently given them. Exclusion 

 from light is practised by those who fatten poultry for the London market, 

 with much success. 



