2 THE MANAGEMENT AND FEEDING OP CATTLE 



of the young animal. The reasons why the grower has 

 more time at his command in winter will be apparent, since 

 during that season working in the soil is not practicable. 

 This greater leisure makes it possible to give the calves 

 that closeness of attention which is necessary to produce 

 the most desirable results. This may not always be pos- 

 sible during the busy seasons of seedtime and harvest on 

 farms which are without the services of a professional 

 feeder. * 



(2) The calves may be weaned at that season when 

 the hazard is least, that development will be checked by the 

 weaning process. More especially when calves are reared 

 on the dams, the hazard is present that they may lose flesh 

 and weight when milk is withheld. Autumn or early win- 

 ter calves will be ready for weaning sometime during the 

 spring months, when the weather is becoming mild and 

 green food abundant. Under such conditions there should 

 be no cessation in continued development when the man- 

 agement is proper. It is much more difficult to maintain 

 such development when calves are weaned at that season 

 when the weather is becoming colder and when green 

 food is not so readily available. Calves born in the 

 spring must be weaned under such conditions. 



(3) When weaned in the spring, they are not only 

 better able to meet the conditions of winter fare during 

 the first winter after weaning, but they can take a larger 

 proportion of their food in a cheap and coarser form than 

 when weaned in the autumn. Calves weaned in the 

 autumn, being less advanced in development than those 

 that are weaned in the spring, are less able to withstand 

 conditions such as relate to exposure not in consonance 

 with highest development. As in many cases, they are 

 subjected to such conditions, they do not maintain growth 

 equal to that which characterizes calves which have been 

 weaned in the spring under similar conditions of exposure. 

 Nor can they utilize to the same advantage cheap and 



