316 CATTLE-BREEDING. 



mother will be the best method, as the cow 

 will begin to lick off the meal, and once started 

 the maternal impulse is rarely insufficient. In 

 some cases, chiefly where the cow is seriously 

 or fatally affected by calving, artificial means 

 must be used, which in such instances cannot 

 be applied too promptly. This licking of the 

 calf seems to serve not only to dry the calf,, 

 which in inclement weather is highly essential 

 to prevent chilling, but also to warm and 

 quicken the as yet feeble circulation, which as 

 soon as the genial warmth spreads through the 

 members leaps into full course. 



When the calf has been thoroughly dried and 

 the cow has had an hour of quiet the next thing 

 is to see that the calf is suckled. This should 

 never be neglected. While some calves are 

 strong enough to get on their feet and suck for 

 themselves many cannot do so, and it never 

 pays to take any chances. Wherever the labor 

 has been tedious and the cow restless the calf 

 is apt to show the results of it, and where labor 

 has been greatly prolonged it may not recover 

 its full strength for several days. These calves 

 must be held up to suck, and if they do not 

 suck well at the first trial, frequent opportuni- 

 ties must be given. Unless this is done many 

 valuable calves will be sacrificed at the outset. 

 A strong calf which meets with no adverse 

 circumstances in the birth-throes of his dam 



