THE REARING OF THE CALF 87 



with the heat and flies, will result in a practical 

 cessation of growth and possibly permanent in- 

 jury. There is no period when liberal feeding pays 

 better than with young animals. One of our agri- 

 cultural barbarisms that still survives is the idea 

 that young heifers may properly "rough it" 

 through the first two years of life. This is a great 

 mistake, because the first requisite of a good dairy 

 animal is the ability to utilize large quantities of 

 food, and we should lay the foundations for a 

 vigorous digestion by liberal feeding during early 

 life. In a general way, the grain food for young 

 animals should be of some bulky nature rather 

 than of a heavy and concentrated type. Nothing 

 will be better than the old stand-by, a mixture of 

 wheat bran and ground oats. Wheat bran is es- 

 pecially indicated because of the large proportion 

 of phosphorus and lime which it contains. These 

 materials are the basis of the bones, and it is very 

 desirable to encourage skeletonal development in 

 the young heifer rather than excessive fatness. 



If well grown, the heifer may be bred when fif- 

 teen to eighteen months old. She will then drop 

 her first calf at two years to twenty-seven months 

 of age. We are often told that "Nature is a wise 

 Old Dame" and that she manages everything about 

 right. Unfortunately when left to herself, she does 

 not always manage this matter well, because very 

 frequently the heifer will become a mother alto- 

 gether too young, when not yet half grown, the 



