152 Animal Husbandry 
good corn silage is hard to improve on. It is very palatable, 
readily digestible, and to stimulate the flow of milk it is second 
only to grass. 
252. Roots and tubers. — When the construction of a silo 
is not convenient, one can procure a good succulent food by raising 
roots and tubers. While there are may roots and tubers, such 
as potatoes, beets, flat turnips, ruta-bagas, and the like, that may 
be grown, mangels are the most important root-crop as a suc- 
culent food for cattle. These roots all possess a very high per- 
centage of water, even more than silage. As a succulent food for 
the milking cow they are excellent, being palatable, almost en- 
tirely digestible, and stimulating the flow of milk. 
THE CALF 
253. Feeding the calf. — It is especially important for the 
calf that it get the first or colostrum milk of the dam. This milk 
is rich in mineral matter arid ash, is a powerful laxative, and is 
effective in removing the fecal matter from the alimentary canal 
and in addition it serves as atonic. The calf should be allowed to 
suck the dam a few times; some recommend until the milk is fit 
for human consumption, usually about the eighth or ninth milking, 
while others recommend separating them on the second day, 
provided the calf is strong and the cow’s udder in good shape, 
as the cow is more easily reconciled to the separation, and the calf 
can then be more easily taught to drink than if it has sucked the 
cow for some time. 
254. Danger of overfeeding calf.— When feeding by hand, 
there is much danger of overfeeding and gorging the calf’s stomach, 
thereby causing digestive disorder, scours, and death. When 
permitted to run with the cow, the calf sucks many times daily, 
—ten to twenty, — taking only a little milk at a time. When 
removed from the dam and left from eight to twelve hours, it 
gets exceedingly hungry, and when offered milk in large quantities, 
