98 
Management of Aberdeen Angus Cattle. 
cross-breds the sire at any rate must be pure and good. When 
this is the case the result of the first cross is most marked ; 
if the sire is an Aberdeen Angus, about 80 per cent, of the 
calves will be black and hornless, and will take after the breed 
generally for thriftiness and early maturity. 
Care must be taken to see that the calves continue thriving 
and doing well ; that they get a sufficiency of milk, but not too 
much ; and that their surroundings, particularly the floor and 
their bedding, are kept sweet and clean. 
The calves soon begin to pick and eat whatever is given to 
the cow, and when kept running loose some of them learn to 
steal milk from other cows. These indulgences may lead to 
a derangement of the digestive organs, and may perhaps bring 
on “ scour.” 
Scour in calves is liable to occur in the best-regulated herds, 
and it is often caused by an alteration in the quality of the dam’s 
milk ; thus it may sometimes be observed to set in when she is 
coming in use — in fact, scour in the calf may be the first inti- 
mation of her approaching oestrum. 
It may, however, be set up by some irregularity of the 
stomach due to errors of dieting ; but whatever the cause may 
be, the proper treatment is to give a full dose of linseed oil at 
once. Remove the offending material from the alimentary 
canal, and the calf will soon be all right again. 
I have just said that scour is often caused by an alteration 
in the quality of the dam’s milk, therefore in every case her 
health and the quantity and character of her food must be 
inquired into. Milk is quickly affected by changes of food ; so 
is it also by any derangement of the stomach and liver. To 
yield good milk the cow must have food that is sound and 
wholesome, and water that is pure, and her general system 
must be in a healthy condition. All these points must there- 
fore be attended to, for it is of no use to go on dosing the calf 
with medicines when its illness is due to its dam’s milk. We 
must go to the fountain-head, and the cause, whatever it may 
be, must be removed before health can be restored. Scour 
requires prompt treatment ; there must be no delay, otherwise 
the case becomes chronic, and if the calf recovers, it will only 
be a wreck of its former self. 
It may be well to follow this part of the subject a little 
further, for much of the success of breeding and rearing stock 
depends upon it. It has been truly said that “ half of the 
goodness of a beast goes in at the mouth,” and it may with 
equal truth be said that many of its troubles go in by the same 
road. If cattle have to be kept in a healthy thriving condition, 
