MANAGEMENT OF CALVES, 
127 
MANAGEMENT OF CALVES. 
It is almost certain for a well-bred calf to come 
small; the smaller the better, if well proportioned. 
I have seen numerous large calves, but never 
saw one that grew up to a good animal. This as¬ 
sertion can be endorsed by most of the best breed¬ 
ers in England, and in this country • in the former, 
the largest ones are generally selected and fat¬ 
tened for the butcher, at from six to eight weeks 
old. 
I have reared calves in almost every way. They 
have run with the cows the whole summer. I have 
kept them on new milk for two months, then have 
given them half new and half skim milk. I have kept 
them entirely oh skim milk and on a little new milk 
and linseed jelly. At the present time, I am rais¬ 
ing them on two quarts of new milk, night and 
morning, mixed with half a pint of linseed jelly. 
At three weeksold, I reduce the milk to three pints, 
and add another half pint of jelly. At five weeks, 
I give them a quart of milk only, and add another 
half pint of jelly. By this time they will begin to 
eat some shorts and hay. The best cow I ever 
bred, or ever had, was reared on skim milk ; and 
many who saw her in the field with her round 
swelling paunch (amongst others of a similar char¬ 
acter), thought she was nothing but a common calf, 
the whole of them looking to an inexperienced eye, 
like “ common stock,” but they all grew up su¬ 
perior animals. 
If many of the “ full-blooded,” fat, bull calves had 
been killed, to rejoice over the reform of rich men’s 
prodigal sons, this “humbuggery,” in cattle, would 
not have been so effectually established, and the 
money spent in dash and show applied to procure 
tJce best , what a different picture would have been 
drawn. So long as some men have the credit of 
being called rich, and fat their mongrel calves to 
gain a great name, and have no care beyond it, they 
little imagine the tottering foundation they stand 
upon, and how soon they must be detected ; the 
lenient hand of time will prove them but emptiness 
and vanity. They gain no superiority in this 
world, and are a laughing stock for the more en¬ 
lightened class of the community. But enough of 
this, let them gallop on, it will not last for ever. 
I firmly believe that calves brought up sparing¬ 
ly and economically, prove much better, and more 
profitable animals, than those that suck the cows. 
It is a more sure way to develop the frame, mus¬ 
cle, and milk vessels of the female. I have no 
doubt the secretion of milk is formed at a very early 
stage, and when the calf is sucking all the milk 
from a good dam, the frame is covered with fat and 
lean meat: and it appears very plausible to me 
that while this meat is increasing with the rich 
food, the vessels, for the secretion of milk,, are di¬ 
minishing, and such an animal must be extrava¬ 
gantly fed after leaving the dam, to keep up its 
condition. It is almost impossible to find food 
equal to what it had left. 
There is nothing more deceiving than a fat bull 
calf, and thousands have been most meanly disap¬ 
pointed. If he is left to chance , he gradually de¬ 
generates in appearance; his frame, muscle, and 
sinews, all grow weaker, as the flesh disappears, 
and a young animal, so reduced, is much injured in 
constitution, and often produces disease and death. 
| How often have inexperienced men purchased such 
[calves when their bad points have been covered : and 
I when poverty has exposed their true character , they 
very justly condemn both the calf and its breeder, 
and become disgusted with what is called s: blooded 
stock,” for no other reason than because they have 
been imposed upon by a large fat calf. 
A Hereford does not look so well when a calf, as' 
a Short Horn, arid I admit that a Short Horn shows 
better until after two years old ; but the third year, a 
Hereford will develop itself and come out tri¬ 
umphantly ; and no animal should go to the sham¬ 
bles, until three years old. There is no profit to 
either feeder or butcher, if killed at an earlier age, 
unless it is near a market, where butchers will pay 
a remunerating price for good veal. Cows kept on 
purpose to fat calves for market, has been a lucra¬ 
tive business. I know many farmers in England, 
who confine themselves entirely to this practice and 
feed from six to nine calves per year on each cow. 
Avlsbury market, in Buckinghamshire, is generally 
full of carts, loaded with young calves, destined for 
this purpose, and many a man gets a good living by 
keeping a horse and cart, buying them of the far¬ 
mers as soon as dropped, and selling them to their 
regular customers, who constantly attend that mar¬ 
ket. It is the largest market for such young animals 
in England, being near enough to convey them to 
London daily. There is so much grass land in 
that neighborhood suitable for the business. 1 am 
decidedly in favor of having calves crime in October, 
November, and December. At that time, skim milk 
can be kept sweet, and if they are kept in a warm 
place, they will do much better than in Sum¬ 
mer. In warm weather, your milk soon becomes 
sour, and then they will not drink it, or even if 
they do, it does them injury : it purges and weak¬ 
ens them ; their hair stands the wrong way ; they 
suck each others ears and drink each others urine, 
and frequently die of extreme poverty. If calves 
are well and economically brought up in the winter, 
and turned out to good grass in the spring, they thrive 
surprisingly, and the next winter, they will live 
on the same kind of food, as yearlings bred the pre¬ 
vious spring, and will continue to do well until they 
arrive at maturity, with proper care. A bull can 
be turned out writh them six months earlier than a 
spring calf : they v.rill come in at two years and a 
half old with nearly as much constitution arid vigor, 
and probably better milkers. I like to have heifers 
come in the first time, when they have a good bite 
of grass. If the calf is taken away at three days 
old, she will come in the second year two and a half 
months earlier, the third at the right season, and 
tha butter made from the cows, in winter, will fetch 
from three to six cents per pound more than tub 
butter. I sold mine for 18 to 25 cents, in Albany, 
when tub butter was only worth 12 b to 14 cents; 
and it is less trouble to make it in winter than in 
summer. Much more milk and butter can be made 
from hay, that is cut young, than that left to grow to 
maturity. But I will send you an article on that 
subject at some future time. Wm. H. Sotiiam. 
Black Rock , January 1st, 1848. 
Facts and not theories, or opinions, are the 
things most wanted for the improvement of agricul¬ 
ture. 
