708 



Calf-Rearing. 



[march, 



(white of egg), which will not curdle on the calf's stomach, and 

 practically needs no digesting ; it, however, coagulates with heat, 

 so that in warming " biestings," care should be taken not to 

 allow it to get really hot. The old-fashioned custom of giving 

 a new-born calf an egg is, therefore, like " sending coals to 

 Newcastle," for albumen is abundant in the colostrum already. 

 This first milk also has mild aperient properties suitable for 

 putting the calf's bowels in working order, and it is not necessary 

 to give a new-born calf castor oil, Turkey rhubarb, or other 

 opening medicine. In the course of about five days colostrum 

 has gradually assumed the character of ordinary milk, but it 

 sometimes happens that a newly-calved cow is sold a day or two 

 after calving, or a calf a day or two old is purchased, or the cow 

 dies from bleeding at calving, and no colostrum is available 

 for the calf; a useful substitute for the first three days may be 

 made by whipping up an egg with half a pint of warm water, 

 adding half a teaspoonful of castor oil, and stirring in one pint 

 of new milk, for each meal. 



• Dietary. — The calf gets three meals of milk a day, viz., at 

 6.30 a.m., 12.30 p.m., and 5.30 p.m., until it is eight weeks old, 

 that is, until it eats hay freely, and will go to its hay-rack 

 when hungry. It is most unnatural for infant animals to 

 go long without food during the day, and the daily allowance 

 of milk given at two meals instead of three often causes 

 acidity, wind, and indigestion in the stomach, and, as a result, 

 diarrhcea (scour). 



On the third day the use of the fingers is discontinued and 

 the calf is made to drink from a small pail, and by this time 

 it takes greedily two quarts at each meal. At the end of a 

 fortnight half the new milk is discontinued, and the meal now 

 consists of one quart of new milk and three pints of separated 

 milk, with a cream substitute. Three cream substitutes have 

 been used with most satisfactory results, viz. : — 



(1) Boiled Linseed.- — Put 2 lb. linseed to soak over night in 

 three gallons of water, boil and stir the next day for twenty 

 minutes, and five minutes before the boiling is finished add 

 \ lb. of flour (previously mixed with enough water to prevent it 

 being lumpy) to this gruel to counteract the laxative tendency 

 of the linseed. This will keep sweet for many days, and may, 



