86 THE COW 



at the meal, and at two weeks old we may find her 

 busily and happily chewing her little cud quite 

 after the manner of her danL Once a calf begins 

 to eat freely of solid food the dangers of indiges- 

 tion and bowel trouble are largely over. Milk may 

 then be fed within any reasonable limits that the 

 supply will permit, and no other food equals it for 

 rapid growth and for putting an animal into the 

 best condition. Another matter easily forgotton 

 and yet important is to see that there is provided 

 an abundance of bedding. Calves will not thrive 

 in a damp and dirty stall. 



The autumn-bom calf will be ready to go to pas- 

 ture as soon as the grass is plentiful the next 

 spring. Some grain and shelter from flies during 

 the first summer is the ideal, but it may not be 

 practicable to provide these, especially if we are 

 dependent on back or outlying pastures. 



In the case of pure-bred, high-class animals, 

 when it is desirable to secure the greatest possible 

 growth and when economy is a secondary con- 

 sideration, it may be wisest to barn-feed the calf 

 for the first year and not depend on pasture. It 

 must not be forgotten, however, that this is an 

 expensive system and on most farms we should ex- 

 pect the calf to get its living to a considerable 

 extent from pasture. The spring-bom calf, how- 

 ever, would better spend its first summer in the 

 bam, because if turned to grass when only a few 

 months old the withdrawal of the milk, together 



