GENERAL CARE OF CATTLE. 328 



fed. A careful watch must be kept over the 

 calves, too, especially where their dams are 

 large milkers, and at the first symptoms of 

 scouring the amount of food should be reduced. 

 In young calves this will generally be caused by 

 an over-abundant supply of milk ; in older calves 

 by too much green food. The cause is gener- 

 ally easily detected and should be removed at 

 once. It rarely takes more than a few days of 

 quiet and reduced rations, or of dry and cool- 

 ing, in lieu of heating, food, to correct these 

 disorders of the bowels. Of course such troub- 

 les are chiefly experienced in the hot summer 

 months or the days of lassitude in the early 

 spring. 



After the calves have been weaned they are 

 past the first epoch in their lives, and may be 

 regarded as out of the period of special care ; 

 nevertheless during the whole course of growth 

 and development the feeder's attention should 

 not lag for an instant. During all this period 

 every effort should be made to bring out all 

 there is in the animals. The feeder for mar- 

 ket has learned how large is the return on beef 

 cattle for liberal feeding in early life. This is 

 a lesson the feeder of breeding cattle needs to 

 learn far more thoroughly than he has hitherto. 

 Many animals which possessed admirable possi- 

 bilities have had their growth and development 

 so checked by scanty rations at this critical 



