(»L. X-.II. NO. 3*. 



AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER 



269 



eye, reader, a table, showing tlie proportions 

 Iter, mould, .ind salts, which the dinig of yoiir- 

 ind your stock contain. 



Wutcr. Mould. Sails. 



it soil and hoj manure, 7.i.;i0 23.50 1.20 



e dun?, 71.20 27.00 .90 



p dunj, G7 90 22 50 3.06 



(To be conlinueil.) 



R.MSING CALVES, 

 le modes of rearing' calves, ns described by a 

 ■er of gentlemen in the late discussions at 

 Ualo House, were so various, and the opinions 

 'ssed of so opposite a character, that we felt 

 ins to know the course pursued by a respett- 

 iond, Lovett Peters, Esq., who has had much 

 •icnce, and in whose judgement we have 

 confidence. We addressed a note to him, 

 lich he has responded in the fdllowing commu- 

 lon, for which he has our hearty thanks. We 

 the same disposition to communicate their ex- 

 nce, was manifest in many other of our ajri- 

 ral friends. — Ed. 



• Breck — Sir — Agreeably to your request, I 

 itate my method of raisinfj calves. 

 ake my calves from tiie cow when one or two 

 old, and learn them to drink milk, two quarts 

 inie, twice a day, which is as much as a calf 

 ake till he has learned to drink well, which 

 >c in two days, when learned in my fashion ; 

 increase the quantity to three quarts at a time. 

 1 tlie calf is one or two weeks old, set the 

 the half of twentyfour hours, take oft' the 

 ii, warm the milk to blood heat, and give it 

 In nd case should a calf have milk colder 

 blood warm ; as cold, or nearly cold milk 

 ;ertainly make a calf scour. When the calf 

 ee weeks old, let the milk stand twentyfour 

 I, skim, and warm, and increase the quantity 

 jr quarts at a time, until he is at least eight 

 sold ; then give him less every day, till it is 

 jht best to stop entirely. I have tried por- 

 , and Indian meal put into milk, but uniformly 

 1 that skim milk alone is best, 

 ime find it difficult to learn calves to drink: 

 eneral practice is, to put the fingers into the 

 I mouth ; some fi.x something at the bottom of 

 ugh, to serve as a teat : this last is not a good 

 ice, for by it the calf never learns to drink, 

 y method is the following: have a piggin, put 

 ill quantity of milk in first, (lest the calf spill 

 Put, the hand over the calPs nose, the thumb 

 le side, and the fingers on the other; force 

 ose into the milk and hold it there : he will 

 but little the first time ; the second time he 

 do better ; and oftener than otherwise will 

 as much the second lime as he needs, 

 irmerly it frequently happened that we were 

 led to learn calves to drink ; but since wo 

 practiced as above stated, we have had no 

 ulty. Some think it best to let a calf suck 

 , is three or four months old ; I have tried 

 and have not found it the best way for me : it 

 too much. Calves that are raised by sucking 

 1 three or four months, require better keeping 

 after than those raised on skimmed milk : the 

 r if kept well through the first winter, will al- 

 be more hardy the former ; and at three or 

 years old, will bo as large and as well shaped. 

 3ars gone, when butter sold at a good price, 

 I made while my calves drank skim milk, 

 jht me aa much money as the calf would if 



fattened ; so that the calf cost but very little, ex- 

 ccpt the labor in tending. My cows which have 

 been raised on skimmed milk and meadow hay, 

 have grown tn a good size, and when fattened, 

 have weighed, when slaughtered, eight, and some 

 ten hundred, and had in some instances, 120 lbs. 

 rough tallow. So you see, raising calves on 

 skimmed milk, does not make very mean cattle. 



Many have been tlie remedies recommentied for 

 calves when they scour: I have tried most of 

 them, but have had better success with the follow, 

 ing than with any other. It is, half a pint of cider, 

 and as much blood, taken from the calf's neck, 

 shook well together, and given him with a bottle. 

 LOVETT PETERS. 



Westboro\ Feb. I2(A, 1844. 



For the N. E. Farmer. 



REARING CALVES ON "SKIM MILK." 



Mr lireck — I was glad to perceive in the re- 

 marks of Col. Jaques at one of the late agricultu- 

 ral meetings at the State House, as published in 

 your paper, that he discountenanced the practice 

 of taking calves (intended to be reared,) from their 

 mothers at a day or two old, and feeding them 

 thereafter during their cnlfhood, on " skim milk" 

 or "skim milk porridge." Such a course, reason- 

 ing, as the lawyers say, either a priori or a posteri- 

 ori, seems in the highest degree injudicious, and I 

 am glad to see it denounced by so experienced 

 and enlightened a breeder as Col. Jaques. It is 

 as unnatural as it is impolitic — and they who adopt 

 it for present gain, do it, most likely, at the ex- 

 pense of future loss. 



Milk in the state it comes from the cow, (and 

 particularly the. first after calving,) contains the es- 

 sential elements which make the constitution of 

 the ofi'spring ; — it is just what the calf needs: — 

 this is a law of nature, and cannot, therefore, be 

 violated with. impunity. 



HojB soon a calf should be taught to occustom 

 itself to other nourishment, may be a matter of 

 question ; but that this should not be attempted 

 earlier than six weeks after birth, I think is beyond 

 all question. I judge so from simple reason, asiile 

 from the knowledge imparted to the same effect by 

 the science of animal physiology. 



As to "skim milk" alone, or " skim milk"yij:cns 

 being a proper food for calves designed for rearing, 

 the bare idea is ridiculous enough, and no one, it 

 may be supposed, who consulted his true interest, 

 would practice it, were he possessed of knowledge 

 which the science of chemistry — animal chemistry 

 — imparls. With the brute creation no less than 

 with the human species, it is true, that the consti- 

 tution of the mature animal depends, in a great 

 measure, upon the treatment it received in its 

 youth, and hereditary influences ; and the sooner 

 this truth shall have its due influence with our far- 

 mers generally, and triumph over ill-judged econo- 

 my and prejudice for antiquated customs, the soon- 

 er shall we have an improvement in the charac- 

 ter of our stock — ^and, wlmt is even more desirable, 

 an improvement in the character of our ow^n species. 



Why, it might be asked^and it certainly seems 

 to me a rational question — why do we deem it es- 

 sential to nourish our babes with gooil, rick milk, 

 when taken from the mother, yet give our calves 

 that which has been divested of the best of its nour- 

 ishing properties? Why not look to ulterior con- 

 sequences in the one case as well as in the other .' 



Would a race of men brought up on " skivi milk" — 

 (Judas! what an ideal) — be as vigorous and eflTec- 

 tive as one that had been reared on the pure, un- 

 skimmed liquid ? i do n't believe they would, 

 whatever others may think of it. 



I do not wish to be understood to say that a calf 

 raised on " skim milk" or other nipan food, may net 

 make what is now ponerally deemed a good cow : 

 my question is, would it not be productive of im- 

 provement in the character of our stock — especial- 

 ly as breeders — were the mode of rearing calves 

 practiced by Col. Jaques, generally adopted .' 



If any are disposed to laugh at these sug- 

 gestions as " only theory," be it so — and I shall 

 have the gratification of knowing that if I have not 

 ministered to the edification of any, I have at least 

 contributed to the mtrritnent of some — and this, in 

 my philosophy, is not an entirely worthless object. 

 However, I would say to those who may be excited 

 to laughter rather than to reflection by my ideas, 

 that, claiming no infallibility of judgment, and 

 well aware that " there ore more things in heaven 

 and earth than were everdreampt of in my philoso- 

 phy," they cannot e.xcite my angtr by merely making 

 themselves merry with (what tliey may deem) my 

 speculative notions,— ^and this is said to encourage 

 those who see heresy in my views, to meet and 

 confute them (if they can,) without fear of finding 

 in rne an irritable or bigoted opponent. "He that 

 will not reason, is a bigot ; he that can not, is a 

 fool ; and lie that (/are not, is a slave." 



I subscribe myself yours, and an 



Anti-Skim-milk-er. 



Hull, (near Jimerica,) Fih. 1844. 



(U^VVell, here we have a correspondent who 

 shows " war to the" — quill-end against our friend 

 Peters and others of like faith in the virtues of 

 "skim milk." He is evidently no "call" himself, 

 whatever may be the merit of his opinions on the 

 subject of calves. As he has challenged others to 

 enter the arena with him, we will merely assume 

 the position of an "armed neutrality" and watch 

 the movements. — Ed. 



SEA-WEED AS MANURE. S 



We copy the following from the Mark-Lane 

 (London) Express : 



Sir — In answer to an " Isle of Wight Farmer," 

 concerning sea-weed, in your paper of the 20th 

 iiist., I beg to say that the best way of rotting the 

 weed is, to mix It with other manures in the yard. 

 I'y experience, I have found that putting it in a 

 heap by itself, it decays away almost to nothing. 

 If he has got plenty of straw to mix with it, and 

 the other manures, it is astonishing how soon it 

 converts them into excellent manure. 



The crops that I have found it to suit best when 

 so mixed, were turnips and barley. I have known 

 it when ajiplicd in this way, to produce barley 

 weighing 2 lbs. per bushel more than that dressed 

 with farm-yard dung. I have known it to produce 

 good crops of oats, when plowed into the land 

 fresh from the sea ; but this way of using it en- 

 courages the growth of weeds ; hut by being fer- 

 mented with other manures, checks it. 



An Agricl'ltlrist. 



Aoi;. •30//i, lgi;i 



Locke, being asked how he accumulated so much 

 knowledge, replied, it was by not being ashamed 

 to ask for inturmatioii. 



