122 



NEW ExNGLAND FARMER. 



twelve years. The fall feed never wrrs better, as boiling it. If the milk be given ov,r-coM it 

 In the new settlement, Clover Seed is a staple , will cause the calf to purge. When thi» .8 the 

 article of exportation. It was excellent this 'case, put two or three spoonfuls ol rennet in 

 In this fine Efrazing country, Ihey are the milk, and it will^oon stop 



year. 



the loos^cs 

 now -atherin- ihe.r drov"cs, mostly of voung If, on the conlniry, the calf is bomuJ, Kjcou 

 cattle! for the Massachusetts market. It has: broth is a very good and sate thing to put in o 

 been a choice season for the dairy women. ; the milk. One gallon, or rather more, ot milk 

 Their cheese, though not always equal to the per day will keep a call well till it be thirteen 

 Rhode Island, is not far inferior. Their butter . weeks old. A call may then be suppor od w.th- 

 stand.s unrivalled. I have had the honor of vis- i out milk, by giving it hay, and a httle wheat 

 it^no- a number of dairy rooms in the neighbor- [ bran once a day, with about a pint ol oats, i he 

 hood, and from their reports can come pretty ] cats will be found ^f great service, as sooii as 

 safely to this result, viz. That from eight good ; the calf is capable o( eating them, in promoting 

 cows they have averaged a ton of butter uni 



cheese this season. Mr. Thompson, of this 

 place, has made over a ton, and 1000 lb. ol his 

 cheese is of new milk, and looks very bne. 

 from his statements, and those of others, 1 have 



its growth. The bran :u,d oats should be given 

 about mid-day ; the milk in equal portions, at 3 

 o'clock in the morning, and 4 in the afternoon. 

 But, whatever hours are chosen to set apart for 

 feedin" the calf, it is best to adhere to the par 



f 



come to the above-mentioned ratio. There are | ticular times, as regu anty is ot more conse 



than is generally supposeil. II the call 



nine farmers in this neighborhood whose amount 

 of stock in cows is 83 cow-. They have there- 

 fore made eleven tons of butter and cheese this 

 s'eason. Mr. Ira Thompson, of this place, has 

 raised an ap[)lc weighing -5 ounces, and meas- 

 uring 15 l-'J inches in circumference. The 

 harvest of ap()les was never so gieal. The 

 young orchards here are rapid of growth, and 

 bending to the ground with fruit. A number of 

 thonsarul bushels of the New York russets have 

 been transported from this place and Turner to 

 Hallowell, for the New Orleans market. 



SPF.CT.\TOR. 

 Livcrinorc, Oxford Co'ij. Or!. 2X 1022. 



quence 

 goes but 



of feeding, 



FACTS A.M) OBSERVAllO.NS REWTIXU TO - 



AGRICULTURE & DOMESTIC ECONOMY. 



ON REARING CALVES. 



Boil one quart of flax seed in six quarts of 

 water for ten minutes, and it will become a 

 good jelly when cold. Give this jelly to calves 

 with hay tea, three times a day. Mr. Thomas 

 Crook, a writer in the 5th vol. of the Transac- 

 tions of the Bath Society, assorts that he wean- 

 ed a great number of calves with this composi- 

 tion ; and adds, '• My calves are kept in a good 

 growing state, and are much better than my 

 neighbors that are reared by milk — they do not 

 fall off so much when they come to grass."' 



TO HAKE HAY TEA FOR CALVES. 



Take about a pound of red clover hay, well 

 <;ot in, and six quarts of clear spring water ; 

 boil them together till the water is reduced to 

 lour quarts ; then take out the hay and mix a 

 pound of barley, oat, or bean meal, amongst a 

 little water ; put it into the pot or chaldron 

 while it is boiling, and keep it constantly stir- 

 ring until it is thickened. Let it cool, then 

 give it to the calf, adding as much whey as will 

 make a sufficient meal. This is a cheap way 

 of rearing calves, and the valuable article ol 

 milk may be saved for other purposes. 



American Farmer. 



DIRECTIONS FOR FEEDING CALVES. FROM REES 



CVCLOPEDU, &C. 



Where it is the custom to rear calves with 

 skim-milk, it should always be boiled, and suf- 

 fered to stand until it cools to the temperature 

 of that given by the cow, or in a triQing degree 

 more warm, and in that state given to the calf 

 Milk is frequently given to calves when warmed 

 cnly ; but that method will not succeed so well 



hour or two beyond its usual time 

 it ^vill feci uneasy, and pine for its 

 food. 



Calves reared in Ibis manner are to be entic- 

 ed to cat hay, or some other similar material, 

 as early as possible ; and the best way of doing 

 this is tojgive them the sweetest hay in your 

 possession, and but little at a time. Turnips or 

 potatoes are very good food as soon as they can 

 eat them ; and they are best cut small and mix- 

 ed with bay, oats, bran, and such articles, at the 

 time of their being given. When bacon or pork 

 is boiled it is a good w-ay to preserve the liquor 

 or broth, and mix it with milk for the calves. 



It has been suggested that it is sometimes a 

 good convenient plan, to bring up calves under 

 a sort of foster mother ; an old cow with a tol- 

 erable stock of milk, will suckle two calve*, or 

 more, either turned off with her, or at home, 

 keeping them in good condition, until they are 

 old enough to shift for themselves ; they ought 

 to suck the lirst of their mother's milk, for two 

 or three days, although many are weaned with- 

 out ever being suffered to suck at all. Calves, 

 whether rearing or fattening, should always 

 suck before milking, the cow being milked af- 

 terwards, as the first and thuincst of the milk i« 

 sufficiently rich lor them. Old milk often scours 

 very young calves ; but the effect generally 

 goes off without any ill consequence. Skimmed 

 milk and second quality of Hour are somotinies 

 made use of The large short horned breed o! 

 calves mostly consume, daily, at three meals, 

 three quarters of a pound of flour each, boiled 

 up in skimmed milk or other liquid. 



In the Rural Economy of Norfolk, it is re- 

 marked by Mr. Marshall, that some farmer- 

 raise their calves all the year round. Other- 

 rear in winter only. In general, however, thcv 

 begin early in winter to rear their calves, soni>: 

 as earlv as Cliristma--. No distinction is made 

 between males and females, both being equally 

 objects of rearing, and are both occasionall\ 

 subject to castration, it being a prevailing cus- 

 tom to spay all heifers intended to be fatted al 

 three years old. 



Among other substitutes for new milk, the 

 method proposed by the duke of Northumber- 

 land is to take one gallon of skimmed milk, and 

 to about a pint of it add a large table spoonful 

 of molasses, stirring it till it is well mixed; then 

 take an ounce of linseed oil cake, finely pulver- 

 ized, and with the hand let it fall gradually in 

 very small quantities into the milk, stirring it 



in the mean time with a spoon or ladle, unti.1 

 it bo thoroughly incorporated ; then let the 

 mixture be put into the other part of the milk, 

 and the whole be made about as warm as new 

 milk, when it is first taken from the cow, and 

 in th.it state it is fit for use. The quantity of 

 oil cake powder may from time to time be in- 

 creased as occasion may require, and as the 

 calf becomes inured to the flavor of it. 



The method of weaning calves is thus pre- 

 scribed by an English writer. The most suita- 

 ble season for that business is the early |iart of 

 the spring, as such calves as are weaned nt a 

 late period seldom attain any great size. Hav- 

 ing a cow suited to the purpose, which drops a 

 calf, let it be suckled in the usual mode, till it 

 hath cnmplcled the third week of its age, when 

 in-uad uf turning it to the cow, it is to be suck- 

 led by thrusting its head into a pail of new milk, 

 and the finger of the person who directs the 

 business is to supjily the place of a teat. .\t 

 first the calf may be rather awkward at sucking 

 the finger, but this will soon become familiar, 

 and alter a while a lock of hay may be substi- 

 tuted for the teat ; and as the calf advances in 

 age it will drink the milk without assistance. 

 .^t the scsLSon when the calf is thus weaned from 

 the teat, it ought to be turned abroad, in the 

 day time, into a small close or orchai-d near 

 thf^ vard, where there is a good bite of grass. 

 As there will, generally, be more than one calf 

 weaned in a season, they will each be company 

 for the other, and become, in a short time, re- 

 conciled to their situation. This pasture should 

 be at some distance from that wherein the dams 

 are turned, and there should be neither ponds 

 nor ditches, nor any other annoyance, which 

 m:'.y endanger the lives of these youthful ani- 

 mals ; and in order to habituate them still more 

 to their pasture, their pottage sliould be carried 

 clean to them at their feeding hours. For the 

 lirst month or six weeks the calves ought, every 

 nii^ht, to be brought out of the meadow and 

 ludged in pens : but after this time, they may 

 le left in their pasture, as well in ll;e night 

 season as in the day, and at this time their food 

 may be lowered bv degrees, till it be reduced 

 to water only, for when the calves get to the 

 •ige of twelve or fourteen weeks, they will no 

 longer require the aid of this sustenance, but 

 will be able to satisfy their appetites by gras-' 

 Care, however, must be taken through the sum- 

 mer that they be frequently shil'ted from om 

 pasture to another, in order that they may he 

 kept in good flesh, and enabled to grow with 

 celerity. In the latter part of September Hit 

 calves should be taken into a yard ; and if the\ 

 were allowed the indulgence of a small clo^e 

 by themselves, it would be still belter. And 

 here their taste should be gratified with the 

 best and sweetest hay that can be procured, 

 with an outlet on a dry pasture, where, in fine 

 open weather, they may be permitted to enjoy 

 themselves ; and it would redound greatly to 

 their welfare, if, on the approach of winter, a 

 shed was to be erected for them to repose in 

 during the night, and for shelter in tempestuous 

 days. So essential are warmth and good living 

 to young animals of every description, that the 

 care, which has been taken of them in their 

 early days will be manifest in every state of 

 their future growth. At two years old the heif- 

 er may be suffered to take the male, but it 

 W'Oiild be still better for the cow, and more to 



