Beariiiff of Calves. 
147 
lick lior oHspring, and I am disposed to allow lior to do so, fi>el- 
inj? satisfied it is a vivifying process, very beneficial to tlie calf, 
and inider which it seems to be really at times endued with life 
itself, besides cleansing the skin from the viscous matter by 
Avhii-li it is overspread ; the mother also is benefited by this 
operation, obtainin<>; thus a medicine suited to her present situa- 
tion — one which nature designed for her. 
I am aware it is sometimes the practice to take the calf at 
once from the cow, in order to prevent her from knowing and 
becoming attached to it, and thereby guarding her against 
fretting, which would not only interfere witli her proper yield 
of milk, but aggravate the fever which already pervades tlie 
system ; in this case it becomes necessary to rub the calf with 
cloths and wisps until it is dry and clean. It may indeed in 
certain cases be desirable to remove the calf at once, as some 
cows, and especially those with their first calf, plainly show an 
inclination to injure it. But, as a rule, it is better to allow the 
cow to lick the calf, and so much importance do some breeders 
attach to this operation, that, when the mother shows a disin- 
clination to perform the office, salt and meal are sprinkled on the 
body to tempt her to so. 
Supposing the operation of licking or rubbing to have been 
tlulv performed, the calf should be left quiet for some time in a 
place by itself, and beyond the mother's hearing, when she will 
verv soon forget it, as it is doubtless desirable that she should do. 
The following reasons may briefly be assigned for giving the 
preference to rearing by hand rather than allowing the calf to 
*' run " with the mother, in spite of the advantages whieh the 
natural process has in promoting the secretion of saliva, and thus 
■aiding the organs of digestion. When a cow is allowed to suckle 
her calf, she will not give her milk to the hand during the time 
the calf is " on her," and seldom so kindly ever after ; neither, 
when he is removed after a few weeks, will she readily suffer a 
nursling to be foisted on her. If the cow falls ill it will then be 
too late to endeavour to substitute the pail for the mother, and 
in all probability the calf, if reared at all, will prove an imthrifty, 
unpaying animal ; again, if a cow bring up two calves at once, 
the fastest sucker will have an undue share of the milk ; lastly, 
rearing by hand is the most economical method as guarding 
against all irregularity or failure in the supply of food, which 
may be regulated to suit the object in view — diluted, mixed, 
increased, or decreased, according to the age of the animal, so 
as both to promote growth and make the process of weaning 
almost unfelt. 
The cow herself should never be hurried or overdriven, as any 
increase in the ordinary respiration produces a heat in the milk 
L 2 
