i9io.] 



Calf-Rearing. 



747 



The number of chemical manure works under inspection 

 in 1909 was 164, as compared with 167 in 1907. In Scotland 

 the chemical manure works numbered 38, one less than in 

 1908, and the production decreased to 53,464 tons, a lower 

 figure than in any year since 1897. 



The only branch of British farming which has not up to the 

 present been exposed to foreign competition is that of milk 

 production. Attempts have been made 

 Calf- Rearing. at different times to import fresh milk 

 from adjacent parts of the Continent, 

 but the obvious difficulties in the way have proved too great 

 to be overcome, and the quantity thus received is insignificant. 

 Not only does the British farmer enjoy in this way a monopoly 

 of the trade in milk, but the trade is one which of necessity 

 increases with the growth of the population. In all prob- 

 ability there has been a reduction in the quantity of butter 

 and cheese produced, with the result that an additional amount 

 of milk has become available in a raw state, but, broadly 

 speaking, a necessary accompaniment to an extension in the 

 milk trade is an increase in the number of cows. As a matter 

 of fact there has been a small but continuous extension in the 

 stock of cows and heifers in Great Britain for several years 

 past, but in 1910 the numbers of cows, heifers, and calves all 

 showed a decline. This fluctuation is no doubt of a temporary 

 character, due to. the somewhat high prices of meat prevailing 

 in 1909, which may have led to some additional slaughtering, 

 but it certainly suggests that there is likely to be a demand 

 for cows and heifers to fill the vacancies thus caused. 



Inquiries which the Board have made do, in fact, appear to 

 show that an increasing demand for dairy cows is noticeable 

 at the present time, and farmers will do well to consider, the 

 desirability of rearing more heifer calves with a view to 

 providing for the future. 



Custom varies in this respect very greatly in different parts 

 of England. In some districts where dairy farming is largely 

 carried on all promising heifer calves are reared, but in others 

 a large proportion of the heifer calves are sold for slaughter, 

 though this depends on the state of the market. If milking 

 cows are up in price, which is usually in consequence of beef 



