24 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



dairy calves get their greatest set-back in trying to make it drink 

 out of the pail by sucking the fingers and eating in an unnatural 

 manner, thus gorging themselves and not properly digesting the 

 milk. By using the feeder they are compelled to take their time 

 in eating, and are fed in the manner nature intended that they 

 should be fed. When there are a number of calves in the same 

 pen a short piece of rope is attached to the pen near where each 

 calf is fed, and they are tied up before feeding. In the pen we 

 always have a small trough with a little bran, meal and ground 

 oats. The calves soon learn to lick up a little of this, thus dry- 

 ing up their mouths and lessening the tendency to suck each 

 other. This also takes the place of the cream which we begin 

 to take from them in the course of a couple of weeks by sub- 

 stituting skim milk for whole milk. And by the time the calf 

 is six weeks old it is eating ground feed and getting skim milk 

 entirely, and now is the time to teach it to drink. Its stomach 

 is strong enough to stand it now, it has become accustomed to 

 eating other feed, and the change has been gradual and brought 

 about in a perfectly natural manner. From now on the progress 

 of the calf depends a great deal on the kind of person in charge. 

 The changing from the natural manner of nursing to drinking 

 requires more or less patience, and the judgment on the part of 

 the attendant, and to abuse and maltreat the |X)or little beast 

 only tends to confuse and make it more contrary (if such a thing 

 is possible.) The milk should be warm and sweet and it should 

 be given regidarly, the amount being from three to four quarts, 

 with what ground corn, oats and bran with a little oil meal that 

 it may need. Some good clover hay, or better, alfalfa, should 

 be given it to pick at. Lately we have been using about a 

 tablespoon full of blood meal in the skim milk and think the 

 calves are doing better with it than before we commenced using it. 

 Right here I presume I might say that the best remedy we 

 have ever found for scours, with which, no doubt, everyone who 

 has tried to raise calves by Hand has had more or less experience, 

 is to mix equal parts of tincture of opium, catechu, ginger and 

 lime water and give a tablespoonful every one, two or three 

 hours, according to the urgency of the case. We have very 



