82 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



SEPT. ai. 18!f.. 



(From the Genesee Farmer.) 

 RULFS TO BE OBSERVED If THE MANAGEMENT 



OF Live Stock— the manner of mubsing 

 Calves. 



To my Son.— Aliliough it is believed the sug- 

 gestions contained in my letter are worthy of your 

 attention, consideration and i)rarticai regard, yet I 

 have little expectation that they will he responded 

 to either by yourself or your fellow-citizens, in 

 the manner "which would be most pleasing to n.e. 

 It is hard to persuade farmers to alter the course 

 of their proceedings. '1 he American farmers 

 have it in their power to improve their course of 

 husbandry surprisingly, by introducing the best 

 breeds of Euroi)can stojk, I have not the least 

 doid>t. Coidd you obtain for use in your neigh- 

 borhood a fine bullock of the improved Durham 

 Short Horned breed, although it were but half 

 blooded, it would be a valuable acquisition to the 

 husbandry of that place. 



Tt appears to me the peculiar fitness of 

 your soil for the husbandry of live stock, fm- 

 nishes a reason wherefore yon and your fellow 

 citizens should set your aims high in regard to 

 that object. But 1 will dismiss this subject. Jt is 

 possible that I have urged the introduction of 

 foreign breeds beyond what its im| ortance re- 

 quires. 



If you cannot obtain the improved breeds of 

 other countries, or if that should not be thought 

 advisable, then make the oest use you can of our 

 own native breeds. There are among tlie breeds 

 of our own country very many fine animals, and 

 these breeds are susceptible of improvement, per- 

 haps to an indefinite extent. It is believed the 

 principal dairies in the country have hitherto been 

 composed chiefly, if not altogether, of native 

 stock. By taking suitable care at first to make 

 judicious selections of animals, and afterwards to 

 perpetuate and improve their good properties, 

 husbandmen way, in a short time, avail themselves 

 of such home-bred animals as will be highly re- 

 spectable and profitable. In relation to such 

 cases, the suggestions contained in my last letter, 

 relative to employing only the best animals for 

 propagation, will be highly iui|)ortaiit. It will l)e 

 important too to exercise much sound judgment 

 and iliscretion in selecting calves that are inten- 

 ded to be kept and raised. None but the best, or 

 at least none but such as appear to be well bred, 

 healthy, and of good form, should be selected for 

 that use. All such as are under size, feeble, ill 

 shapen, or in any respect unpromising, should be 

 turned over to the butcher, or otherwise disposed 

 of. 



There are, in connexion with the husbandry of 

 live stock, other precautionary prudences which 

 are very necessary, but are not in general regard- 

 ed according to their impovtance. One is not to 

 undertake to keep too much stock. This is a 

 very common error, and it is one from which se- 

 rious injuries frequently result. It should be 

 considered that the value of live stock depends 

 much less on its numerical amount, than on the 

 quality of the animals which compose it. Ani- 

 mals, in order to he rendered profitable, must be 

 well fed. The only proper ancl profitable method 

 of keeping any sort of live stock, is to keep every 

 animal, from the time of its birth onwards, and at 

 all seasons of the year, in perfectly good order, 

 and in a thriving condition. Care then should 

 be taken not to keep more stock than cau be kekt 

 in this manner. 



In orier to guard against the evils resulting 

 from having more stock than the means of keep- 

 ing are suffic ient to sustain, much good judgment 

 and iirudent fin-ecast should be exercised in appor- 

 tioning the amount of stock to the means provid- 

 ed for keeping animals. In the spring, the hus- 

 baudmaii who keeps stock shotdd consider and 

 inquire how many acres of grazing ground he 

 has at his dis|:osal, and what numbir of such 

 animals as he intends to keep that will be likely to 

 supply with pasture. In the fall he should make 

 similar inquiries relaiive to the quantity of hay, 

 and other fodder which he has provided for 

 wintering hisi-tock. How many tons of hay has 

 he in store. If roots, straw, stalks, and other ar- 

 ticles of coarse fodder are to he used, then let 

 him inquire how great is the quantity of^hay may 

 they be supposed to be equivalent. These should 

 be the first inquiries, and then another should 

 follow: What amount of stock is it likely these 

 provisions will be sufficient to keep through the 

 winter? When these questions are settled, the 

 rule always should be, to keep a smaller number 

 of animals than it is supposed the means of keep- 

 ing might, under favorable circumstances, be suf- 

 ficient to sustain. The remark which I am now 

 about to make is, in my view, of more than 

 ordinary importance, and I desire you to regard 

 it accordingly. The remark is that from being 

 under-stocked, injuries rarely result ; and if they 

 do, they are gcnerall)' small and trifling; but to 

 be overstocked is always <lisastrous. It is far 

 better to be able to sell lialf a dozen tons of hay 

 in the s)i:ing than to starve your stock through 

 the winter, and after all, he ohlige<I to buy even 

 the smallest quantity. It should he considered 

 too that close grazing in the summer injures pas- 

 ture and scanty feeding, either in summer or 

 wnitcr, ruins the stock. 



In order to be able to make judicious apportion- 

 ments according to the preceding suggestions, ii 

 is very necessary to know, as nearly as practica- 

 ble, how much pasture, and what quantity of hay 

 and other keeping, will be required to keep any 

 civen amount of stock through a year. Should it 

 be inquired how much pasture, and what quanti- 

 ty of hay are usually require<l to keeji a horse, or 

 an ox, or a cow, through a year, it is believed 

 very few farmers would he able to answer the 

 question. It would be well for farmers to ascer- 

 tain themselves, much more than they do, to make 

 accin-ate observations, in regard to these and ma- 

 ny other things, I do not claim to be master of 

 the subject to which I am now calling your atten- 

 tion, nor cau I sujipose that the idea of infallibility 

 should be attached to the estimates which I am 

 about to submit. From the best lights that have 

 been spread before me, lam led to conclude, that 

 when hay alone is depended on, it usually re- 

 quires two tons of hay to winter a horse — for one 

 ox about as much — for a cow one and a half ton 

 — for twelve sheep the same as for a cow. It is 

 believed, that for summering either a horse or an 

 ox, at least three acres of good pasture, or an 

 equivalent thereto, will be required. For sum- 

 mering a cow, two and a half acres may suffice — 

 the same for snnmiering twelve sheep. 



To the cattle breeder, few things are more im- 

 portant than to know the best manner of nursing 

 and rearing calves. I have taken some pains to 

 avail myself of lights on this si:bject, in which I 

 I have not been altogether unsuccessful, nor yet 

 i successful to the extent of my desires and expec- 



tations. It is generally conceded, that the ancient 

 practice of letting calves suck is not the best, and 

 so far as I know, the pjactice is generally discon- 

 tinued, l-'or several reasons which cannot be 

 explained in this letter, it is supposed to be better 

 to take them oflT at a very early age, and havinj' 

 learned them to drink milk, feed them with that 

 article till they are old enough to he weaned. — 

 Yet if new milk is the article of food chieivy de- 

 pended on, the ex])ense of nursing calves in this 

 way is scarcely less than when they are allowed 

 to suck, and it timounts to a considerable item. — 

 For this reason it has long since been consitlered 

 as a desideratum to devise some less expensive 

 and equally successful way of nursing ca.ves. 1 

 am glad to say, there is good reason to believe this 

 has been done. 



Several correspondents of the Genesee Farmer 

 have published in that journal the details of their 

 successful practice in nursing calves on skimmed 

 milk, and without the use of any othei. Whey 

 has been used for the same purpose, and it is said 

 w th perfectly good success. When either skim- 

 med milk or whey is to be userl as an article of 

 food for calves, the jiractice is, in the first jilace, 

 to warm it to about the temperature of new milk. 

 Boiling it, and afterwards letting it cool down to 

 that temperature, it is said to be better. This 

 being done, the next process is to mix it with a 

 small quantity of meal. It may be Indian meal, 

 or it may be fine bran, or meal mad«! of oats or 

 barley. As preventives of disease, and preserva- 

 tives of good health in the young animals, it is 

 recommended to make frequently small additions 

 to their food of such articles as are known to be 

 useful for such purposes. Particularly, flax seed 

 is recommended for that use. 'J his, it is said, 

 should be boiled or soaked to fit it for use, and 

 then it may be given frequently at the rate of two 

 or three spoonslull for a calf. It is recommended 

 also, to place before calves lumps of chalk, which 

 it is said they will lick, to the great advantage ol 

 their health. Or the chalk may be pulverized, 

 and small qu;intities given them in their food. It 

 scarcely need be added here, that calves, as well 

 as other animals, require .salt, and should have it 

 in suitable portions. In all cases, when calves 

 have attained to any considerable age, they should 

 have hav or grass within their reach, of which 

 they may eat enough to forju what is called the 

 cud. It is believed that with proper attention to 

 these requisites, and others which experience and 

 sound judgment will suggest, there will be found 

 no difficulty in keeping calves well on skimmed 

 milk or whey. Care, however, should be taken in 

 every stage of feeding, not to feed calves to the 

 full extent of their appetites. This is deemed 

 quite important. 



It is admitted, that calves kept upon skimmed 

 milk and whey are more liable to disease than 

 when they are allowed to suck, or are fed upon 

 new milk. It is said, the principal and most 

 dangerous disease to which they are exposed, is 

 that of looseness or scouring. For this there is a 

 very timple remedy, which is said to he prompt 

 and effectual, is prescribed, ll is only to pour 

 into the food prepared for the sick calf, two or three I 

 S| oonsfull of rennet, such as is used in cheese- 

 making. If calves are costive, the remedy re- 

 couunended is, to give them pot liquor, in which 

 pork, mutton, or bacon has been boiled. 



JVew- York Slate, 1836. A Father. 



