728 The Fattening of Calves for Veal, [march, 



Suitable Type of Farm. — One type of farm seems to lend it- 

 self remarkably well to calf- fattening for a limited period in the 

 spring, viz., the farm on which cheeses are only made during the 

 warmer months of the year. In the early spring of the year the 

 supply of milk is comparatively small, and this, together with 

 the extra heating required by both milk and curd, makes cheese- 

 making more difficult in the early spring than in the warmer 

 months of the year. Another thing to remember is that veal — ■ 

 in Lancashire at any rate — commands a high price before Easter, 

 but the price falls considerably as soon as Easter is past. The 

 above considerations seem to favour the practice of feeding 

 calves for veal, provided that it is done at a time when veal 

 commands a high price, and that fattening is done so rapidly 

 th t the calves are kept on whole milk for a minimum length of 

 time. 



Preparation of Calf-box. — It is necessary to make some 

 reference to the preparation of the calf-box before the intro- 

 duction of the calf, because, unless this point is attended to, the 

 work may be very unprofitable owing to the calves being 

 attacked by " white scour"* or some similar disease. The box 

 should be cleaned out, the floor disinfected, and the walls lime- 

 washed. The ventilation should be thorough, in order to secure 

 a ,gentle current of fresh air through the box, Light in the 

 boxes ;will do no harm, but a great deal of good if it is 

 not too strong. If these three conditions are fulfilled, viz., light, 

 fresh air, and cleanliness, the calf may be safely introduced on to 

 a comfortable bed of clean straw. An example from the writer's 

 experience will emphasize the importance of carefully preparing 

 the calf-box. Several years ago the calves on a farm in 

 L ancashire had a " bad run." When they were about two days 

 old their eyes appeared sunken, they scoured, refused their 

 milk, became prostf-ated, and very quickly died. A number 

 of calves were lost in this way, but it v/as noticed that those in 

 a particular box remained quite healthy, while practically all 

 the others died, and as this box was better lighted and better 

 ventilated than the others it was resolved to try the effect of 

 lighting and ventilation on the disease. Windows were built in 

 the walls and arranged so that the ventilation could be regulated, 



* See Board of Agriculture Leaflet No. lOI, " White Scour in Calves." 



