436 REARING CALVES. 



Iiard dry food, is often critical for young animals ; and I have al- 

 ready said that it is one at which they frequently lose weight. 



If we reckon the daily increase from birth, that is to say, for 69 

 days of mixed alimentation, we have 1.5 lb. for the quantity. 



Crescent, bom the 27th of June, weighed. .. 88.8 lbs. 

 Eleven days later 112.1 



Increase 23.3 per day, 2.1 lbs. 



At the ago of 87 days he weighed 188.1 



Increase in 26 days 27.1 per day, 2.5 



Six days afterwards he weighed 202.4 



Increase in 6 days 14.8 per day, 2.8 



Another calf at birth weighed 101.2 



At weaning, aged 41 days 189.2 



Increase 88.0 perday,2.1 



These various observations give about 2.2 lbs. for the average 

 daily increase of a calf in weight during the period it is sucking. 

 The data of M. Perrault make a little higher, 2.7 lbs. So that it 

 may be assumed that a calf which is receiving from 15 to 19 pints 

 of milk in the day, will be gaining 2.48, or very nearly 2J lbs. in 

 weight per diem. 



It will readily be understood that in places where milk is of con- 

 siderable value, as in the neighborhood of cities, the farmer may find 

 his profit in selling that article directly rather than in turning it into 

 veal or beef, more especially if the usage of the district be to give 

 the calves milk till they are three or even four months old. Noth- 

 ing, in my eyes, can justify such a needless expenditure of milk ; 

 especially since I have had an opportunity of witnessing what I may 

 call the natural course of rearing cattle in the steppes of South 

 America. There the young animals only receive milk in any thing 

 like quantity for two or three weeks ; they soon get accustomed to 

 live on grass. In the warmer countries of the earth, too, cows give 

 much less milk then they do in temperate latitudes, and the secre- 

 tion also dries up much sooner. The value of the milk, and the 

 high price of butter and cheese, are unquestionably at the bottom 

 of the immense slaughter that takes place in France among the 

 calves even at a very early age, when they are fat, but do not weigh 

 more than from 110 to 112 lbs. This circumstance undoubtedly 

 Btands in the way of the production of meat in that country, and 

 causes the notorious scarcity of meat of the best quality. Of the 

 two millions of calves which it is calculated are slaughtered in 

 France, I'oths are killed before they are a month old, and when they 

 do not weigh, one with another, more than from 90 to 110 lbs. But 

 we have seen that at two montlis old the weight will have increased 

 to from 154 to 176 lbs., more than half as much again ; so that, by 

 merely keeping the animals for one month more, the quantity of 

 butcher-meat brought to market would be increased by about 

 120,000,000 lbs.* 



It does not by any means follow, however, as the excellent au. 

 thority I have quoted seems to think, that this increase of butcher, 

 meat would add to the actual amount of food produced by the agrL 

 • Perrault de Jotemps, in Journal d'Agrlcnlture, t. v. 



