IX WELLHOUSE HERD. 381 



why the butcher, who is the final and best judge, prefers 

 the polled bullock to any other, and will buy a well-fed 

 polled animal when crosses are a glut in the market. I 

 have never bred polled animals for mere fancy purposes, 

 and have never prepared them for breeding or fat-stock 

 shows, but it has always been my practice to prepare 

 a small lot of prime polled bullocks for the London 

 Christmas market. I now think it would have paid me 

 to have given rather more attention to specially preparing 

 show animals than I have done ; but I was afraid of 

 spoiling my cattle for breeding purposes, and I have 

 never, in the management of my herd, allowed myself to 

 depart from commercial utility. In preparing bullocks 

 for the London Christmas market, the first thing to attend 

 to, after breeding from good, well -shaped, well -fleshed 

 dams and sires, is the nursing of the calves. The calf 

 should get milk for at least six months ; but after it is 

 six weeks old, if it is fed with the hand, the milk should 

 be mixed twice a day with a small allowance of pottage 

 made from bruised linseed or bruised oil-cake. The 

 quantity may be increased as the calf grows older and 

 stronger. After the first six weeks the calf should also 

 have a daily supply of cut turnips and straw*. For the 

 first fortnight the calf gets a small quantity of milk four 

 times a day. After that it gets milk three times a day, 

 on to twelve weeks at least ; and after about that age it 

 gets milk twice a day, until it is weaned. It is then of 

 special importance to attend to the calf well. Before it 

 is weaned it should be learned to eat linseed-cake. It 

 ought to receive at least 1 Ib. a day of linseed-cake until 

 it is a year old, after which decorticated cotton- cake 'may 

 be used with good results. In winter, turnips should be 

 given twice a day, and plenty of good oat straw. I give 

 no cake either to yearlings or two-year-olds on the grass. 

 They are pastured, and lie in the fields from about the 

 26th May till in the case of yearlings about 1st 



