CALF FEEDING 223 
We note that the different brands of manufactured calf meals 
are high in protein, fat, and nitrogen-free extract, and low in fiber. 
Being composed of standard feeding stuffs of unquestioned merit, 
such as ground cereals, mill feeds, ground flaxseed, and oil meal, 
they are doubtless highly digestible and possess a high feeding 
value ; their use will, therefore, depend upon the price at which they 
are sold in comparison to other feeds suitable for calf feeding. On 
this point it must be said that the prices charged for these feeds by 
manufacturers and dealers are, as a rule, high, being generally $2.50 
to $3.50 per huhdredweight. Most dairy farmers can do better by 
making their own calf meals from standard and easily obtainable 
feeds, than to buy these manufactured feeds, unless they want to 
use only small amounts for individual calves that need some extra 
feed and care. Two of these meals (Blatchford’s and No-Milk), 
have small amounts of mild drugs which contain aromatic princi- 
ples, and, as suggested, all are palatable feeds of a high nutritive 
value. The question is, however, whether a dairy farmer cannot 
obtain as good results with less expensive mixtures made from com- 
mon standard farm feeds. It seems evident that, as a general rule, 
he can do so. The following mixture will prove a very satisfactory 
calf feed and may be made by any farmer at a relatively low cost: 
20 parts each of ground oats and wheat middlings, 10 parts corn 
meal, aud 5 parts linseed meal or ground flaxseed (nutritive ratio 
1:4.6). 
A number of experiments have been conducted with calf feeds, 
the most extensive ones being, perhaps, the Cornell tests.¢ The 
conclusions drawn from these experiments are, briefly stated, that 
good, strong, healthy calves can be raised without skim milk; skim 
milk, hay and grain make the best substitutes for whole milk for 
raising calves. A calf fed on skim milk should reach a weight of 300 
pounds at five months of age, and the gain should be made at the 
rate of one and one-half pounds per day. If skim milk is not at 
hand, the best substitute for it seems to be third-grade dried skim- 
milk powder. A calf fed on this feed should reach a weight of 
250 to 260 pounds at five months of age, making an average gain 
of 1.25 pounds per day. The manufactured meals did not, in 
general, produce economical gains. The calves on the best of these 
gained, on the average, 1.25 and 1.10 pounds per day during two 
* Bulletins 269 and 304; see also Ontario Agricultural College Report, 
1900, 1905; and Monthly Bulletin International Institute of Agriculture, 
vol. 4, 1914, p. 509. 
