1892 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
363 
docile  and  easily  managed  when  all  that  old-time  ner¬ 
vousness  and  anxiety  in  regard  to  the  welfare  of  their 
calves  are  done  away  with;  while  the  calves  themselves, 
having  adopted  the  herdsman  in  the  mother's  place, 
are  firmly  convinced  that  whole  bucketfuls  of  milk  are 
stored  away  in  the  ends  of  his  fingers.  1  have  fre¬ 
quently  seen  our  herdsman  toll  a  calf  to  its  stall  by 
holding  out  his  finger,  which  indeed  is  about  the  only 
way  to  get  it  there,  for  driving  a  young  calf  anywhere 
is  a  feat  next  to  impossible! 
Raising  the  calf  by  hand  also  has  the  advantage  of 
causing  it  to  become  attached  to  its  attendant,  for 
during  the  first  four  weeks  of  its  life  he  is  the  only 
being  it  knows  anything  about,  as  it  has  been  closely 
confined  to  a  well-littered  stall  during  the  whole  of 
that  time.  Here  the  little  fellow  is  safe  from  all  harm, 
protected  alike  from  the  hot  sunshine,  cold  winds,  and 
chilling  rains;  safe  also  from  the  imposition  of  older 
calves,  and  restrained  from  participation  in  their 
rough  sports  in  which  its  tender  frame  would  be  over¬ 
taxed,  and  its  bones  liable  to  be  sprung  out  of 
joint  or  even  broken. 
The  first  meal  given  to  the  calf  consists  of  its 
mother’s  milk,  into  which  the  herdsman  dips  his 
finger  and  thus  conveys  a  few  drops  to  the  calf’s 
mouth  until  by  degrees  the  \Toung  animal's  head 
finds  its  way  into  the  shallow  milk  pan.  The 
quantity  of  milk  given  is  nicely  adapted  to  the 
requirements  of  each  calf,  the  herdsman  begin¬ 
ning  with  a  small  ration  and  increasing  it  gradu¬ 
ally  as  seems  desirable.  For  a  calf  about  four 
days  old,  of  moderate  size,  weighing  about  150 
pounds,  three  quarts  of  its  mother’s  milk  freshly 
drawn  three  times  a  day  is  sufficient.  This  ration 
should  be  continued  as  long  as  it  is  necessary  to 
milk  the  cow  three  times  a  day ;  when  she  is 
milked  only  twice,  the  calf  is  fed  twice,  receiv¬ 
ing  each  time  from  one  to  two  quarts  more  than 
formerly  at  a  single  feed. 
At  the  age  of  one  month,  if  more  cream  is 
needed  for  butter-making,  half  the  calf’s  rations 
may  consist  of  warm,  sweet  skim-milk  ;  but  when 
this  change  is  made  we  must  add  something  to 
the  skim-milk  to  make  up  for  the  loss  of  the 
cream,  which  loss  is  supplied  in  its  best  form 
by  means  of  flaxseed  jelly,  made  by  boiling  flax¬ 
seed  in  six  times  its  bulk  of  water  for  20  minutes. 
Only  a  few  spoonfuls  of  this  should  be  given  at 
first,  and  the  quantity  be  gradually  increased,  so 
that  when  the  calf  is  two  months  old  all  skim-milk 
may  be  given  which  should  contain  jis  much  as  one 
gill  of  the  flax-seed  jelly. 
At  this  time  other  foods  are  also  added,  as  corn  meal, 
fine  wheat  bran,  ground  oats  and  linseed  meal.  It  is  a 
good  idea  to  make  a  combination  of  these  foods,  in  the 
proportion  of  half  a  pound  each  of  corn  and  linseed 
meal,  and  one  pound  each  of  ground  oats  and  fine 
wheat  bran,  using  at  first  a  few  spoonfuls  of  this 
mixture  to  be  increased  by  degrees  as  the  calf  seems 
to  require  it,  until  at  the  age  of  six  months  it  is  able 
to  manage  the  whole  of  this  ration,  divided  into  two 
feeds,  with  the  addition  of  grass  in  summer  and  sweet 
clover  hay  in  winter.  At  six  months,  the  milk  ration 
is  stopped,  and  we  go  on  increasing  the  above  foods  in 
the  same  proportions  until,  as  the  calves  are  able  to 
take  it,  double  the  quantity  is  used.  The  exact  meas¬ 
urements,  however,  as  well  as  the  particular  foods 
themselves,  must  not  be  insisted  upon  ;  for  each  calf 
differs  in  some  respects  from  every  other,  and  for  this 
reason  each  should  have  a  separate  stall  with  an  in¬ 
dividual  ration  adapted  to  its  special  needs. 
Every  one  who  has  had  the  care  of  any  sort  of  live 
stock  has  noticed  that  when  feeding  animals  of  the 
same  size  and  age,  one  will  keep  too  fat,  and  another 
too  thin  on  exactly  the  same  amount  of  food.  It  is  a 
good  rule  to  give  at  each  meal  just  a  little  less  than 
the  calf  would  like  to  receive,  as  overfeeding,  or  even 
full  satisfaction,  will  produce  surfeit,  and,  frequently, 
loss  of  appetite. 
The  milk  ration,  even  after  skim-milk  is  substituted 
entirely  for  whole  milk,  is  never  increased  above  20 
pounds  a  day,  because  other  more  nutritious  foods  are 
added  ;  and  as  long  as  skim-milk  is  given  the  flax-seed 
jelly  should  be  added  to  it,  as  this,  besides  furnishing 
a  substitute  for  cream,  tends  to  keep  the  digestion 
of  the  calf  in  good  order. 
During  the  stall  life  of  the  calf,  after  it  is  20  days 
old,  a  little  bunch  of  sweet  hay  is  placed  within  its 
reach,  in  order  that  it  may  begin  to  exercise  its  chew¬ 
ing  and  ruminating  faculties ;  but  after  it  has  been  let 
out  of  the  stall  the  quantity  of  hay  or  grass  should  be 
limited,  and  the  effect  carefully  watched  until  after  it 
is  two  months  old,  when  it  can  usually  be  allowed  all 
it  wants.  Except  during  warm,  pleasant  weather  the 
calves  are  always  comfortably  housed  at  night,  and 
during  the  day  as  well  should  the  weather  prove  very 
inclement. 
The  care  of  young  calves  intended  for  dairy  pur¬ 
poses  demands  considerable  experience,  the  exercise 
of  critical  judgment,  and  a  nice  perception  of  their 
dispositions  and  requirements ;  for  while  it  is  our  aim 
to  give  full  development  to  the  muscular,  nervous,  and 
vital  systems,  yet  we  must  guard  against  making  them 
fat,  for  a  dairy  cow  should  only  know  how  to  take  on 
enough  fat  to  give  proper  symmetry  to  her  form. 
Care  should  also  be  taken  to  keep  the  calves  gentle 
.and  docile  from  the  start,  and  for  this  purpose  we 
buckle  a  leather  collar  loosely  around  each  one's  neck 
and  handle  it  every  day,  leading  it  about  or  tying  it 
for  an  hour  or  two  so  as  to  teach  it  obedience. 
T  always  like  to  be  present-when  the  little  calves 
are  let  out  of  the  stall  for  the  first  time,  the.y  are  so 
pretty,  so  clean  and  sleek-looking,  the  black  is  so  very 
black  and  the  white  so  very  white,  (for  ours  are  all 
thoroughbred  Holsteins,)  and  their  big,  soft  eyes,  un¬ 
used  to  the  bright  sunshine,  are  like  those  of  a 
startled  fawn.  They  are  afraid  of  everything,  their 
own  shadows  even,  and  yet  so  full  of  curiosity  con 
cerning  the  outside  world  that  they  rush  here  and 
there,  from  one  side  of  the  lot  to  the  other,  running 
Cross-Section  of  Bridge-Grafted  Treks.  Fig.  171. 
and  jumping,  and  exercising  their  newly  found  powers, 
until  their  sides  fairly  quiver  with  excitement  and 
exhaustion.  hortense  dudi.ey. 
Bridge-Grafting  an  Apple  Tree. 
A  SUCCESSFUL  EXPERIMENT. 
It  was  in  the  spAing  of  1874  that  I  found  a  Northern 
Spy  tree  in  my  orchard,  here  in  Chautauqua  County, 
N.  Y.,  ruined  by  extreme  cold  on  immature  wood. 
The  bark  near  the  ground  was  split  and  bulged  out 
from  the  wood.  It  was  the  only  tree  of  that  variety 
in  my  orchard,  and  although  nearly  six  inches  in  diam¬ 
eter  it  had  never  borne  much  fruit,  so  slow  is  this  kind 
to  get  to  bearing. 
Feeling  a  little  indignant  from  hope  deferred,  with 
my  knife  I  cut  off  the  loose  bark,  making  a  girdle 
Method  of  Bridge  Grafting.  Fig.  172. 
about  six  inches  wide  around  the  tree*  It  put  out  a 
sickly,  yellow  foliage  and  lived  through  the  summer. 
1  he  next  spring,  noticing  that  Nature  was  making  a 
desperate  effort  to  save  its  life,  and  moved  by  a  feeling 
akin  to  pity,  I  concluded  to  lend  a  hand  to  help  her 
and  try  an  experiment  in  tree  surgery.  Accordingly 
in  April  I  selected  some  thrifty  scions  from  another 
tree  and  stuck  them  in  the  ground  in  a  shady  place  to 
keep  them  alive,  but  dormant,  till  the  bark  would 
peel.  About  June  1,  I  bridged  over  the  barkless  portion 
of  the  trunk  with  nine  scions.  In  doing  this  the  dead 
bark  was  cut  away  and  an  incision  made  above  and 
another  below  the  girdle,  about  an  inch  long,  in  the 
live  bark  which  was  carefully  loosened  with  the  knife. 
The  scions  were  bow-shaped,  and  cut  slanting,  so  that 
their  cut  surfaces  were  in  line  to  fit  the  tree.  I  pushed 
the  butt  end  of  the  scion  into  the  lower  cut  in  the 
bark  and  then  bent  it  till  the  point  slipped  into  the 
corresponding  cut — see  Fig.  172.  Grafting  wax 
may  be  used,  but  I  much  pi’efer  soil  held  in  place  about 
the  girdled  portion  by  sods  or  a  box. 
Eight  of  the  scions  lived,  and  the  tree  which  was  as 
good  as  dead  for  one  year,  was  restored  to  vigorous 
life.  It  has  borne  bountifully  for  years,  and  no  one 
would  suspect  from  appearances  that  anything  had 
ever  been  wrong  with  it.  Last  fall  when  heavily 
loaded  with  apples  a  hard  wind  broke  off  the  top.  I 
was  curious  to  see  a  section  of  my  experiment  now 
grown  solid  with  17  annual  rings.  I  sawed  out  a  sec¬ 
tion,  a  photograph  of  which  is  shown  at  Fig.  171.  It 
has  been  said  at  some  of  our  farmers’  institutes  that 
trees  girdled  by  mice  are  not  worth  saving  by  “  bridg¬ 
ing”  as  they  are  sure  to  become  diseased,  hollow  and 
unproductive.  Here  is  an  object-lesson  for  teachers 
of  such  theories — 17  years  and  no  hollow;  only 
two  years  lost  under  treatment;  15  years  of 
production  with  a  promise  of  many  more  but 
for  the  casuality.  Let  those  who  say  bridging 
does  not  pay,  figure  out  the  difference  if  I  had 
replaced  that  tree  with  one  from  the  nursery,  and 
be  convinced.  I  have  in  my  orchard  several  trees 
that  have  been  saved  in  this  manner,  but  no  other 
was  left  over  a  year  before  treatment.  1  neg¬ 
lected  this  because  I  thought  it  a  hopeless  case  on 
account  of  its  great  size.  leroy  whitford. 
The  Kerosene  Emulsion. 
I’ROF.  A.  .1.  COOK  EXPLAINS  HIS  METHOD. 
In  a  late  number  of  The  Rural  New-Yorker 
the  kerosene  emulsion  is  referred  to,  and  recom¬ 
mended  very  highly,  as  it  well  may  be,  for  it  is 
one  of  our  very  best  insecticides.  But  I  was  sorry 
to  notice  that  it  recommended,  without  comment, 
the  formula  given  out  by  the  Department  of  Agri¬ 
culture  for  its  preparation.  The  fact  is  that 
this  Riley-Hubbard  formula  works  well  if  the 
kerosene  is  not  cold — quite  cold — and  one  has  soft 
water  with  which  to  make  it.  If  the  kerosene  is 
cold — as  it  is  apt  to  be  now  that  this  substance 
is  found  to  be  excellent  for  ridding  our  stock  of 
vermin,  so  that  it  will  be  used  much  in  winter — 
it  will  not  emulsify  at  all.  Last  fall  an  agent  of 
the  Entomological  Division  of  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  was  sent  from  Washington  to  the  Michigan 
Agricultural  College  to  experiment  in  this  matter.  He 
was  a  very  competent  man,  and  I  think  had  as  much 
experience  as  any  one  in  making  emulsions,  yet  he 
utterly  failed  to  get  an  emulsion  the  first  two  trials. 
We  then  warmed  the  oil,  and  seemed  to  get  an  emul¬ 
sion  ;  but  I  do  not  wish  to  recommend  the  farmers  to 
warm  the  kerosene,  especially  as  another  formula 
always  works,  no  matter  how  cold  the  oil  is. 
Again,  the  agent  in  question  tried  many  times,  using 
the  water  from  our  artesian  well,  several  other  wells 
in  the  vicinity,  and  even  river  water,  and  every  sample 
when  diluted  proved  faulty,  as  the  oil  very  soon  separ¬ 
ated  from  the  other  liquid.  It  seems  strange  and 
unfortunate  that  Dr.  Riley  has  not  found  time  or  has 
not  thought  of  publishing  the  results  of  these  trials, 
as  they  are  what  our  practical  men  should  know.  A 
careful  scientist  tells  me  that  he  thinks  that  in  at  least 
half  of  the  United  States  the  water  is  as  strongly 
impregnated  with  lime  as  is  the  water  here.  This  ex¬ 
plains  why  so  many  fail  in  using  the  formula  as 
advised  by  the  head  of  the  Entomological  Division  at 
Washington.  Several  entomologists  at  experiment 
stations  have  been  greatly  troubled.  Many  have  not 
had  any  trouble,  as  they  used  soft  water  and  made  the 
emulsion  only  in  warm  weather. 
Dr.  Riley  has  not  forgotten  the  experiments  here, 
for,  in  his  late  bulletin,  he  says  that  in  using  hard 
water,  we  should  use  concentrated  lye  or  bicarbonate 
of  soda.  If  these  were  a  cure,  it  would  seem  a  wrong 
policy  to  recommend  them,  when  we  have  a  formula 
that  always  works  and  is  simple. 
A  Better  F’ormula. — The  formula  which  I  recom¬ 
mend  has  always  worked,  so  far  as  I  have  tried  it,  and  I 
have  made  hundreds,  yes,  thousands,  of  samples  under 
all  possible  conditions.  The  oil  may  be  ice-cold,  the 
water  of  any  kind,  and  the  substances  used  are  in  every 
farmer’s  house.  I  dissolve  one  quart  of  soft  soap — one 
pint  will  do  well,  or  one-fourth  of  a  pound  of  hard 
soap  in  two  quarts  of  boiling  water — then  remove  from 
the  fire  and  add  one  pint  of  kerosene  oil.  The  mixture 
is  now  stirred  violently  by  forcing  it  back  into  itself 
by  use  of  a  force  pump  or  syringe.  This  hard  stirring 
is  absolutely  necessary.  It  cannot  be  done  with  a 
stick.  In  these  days  every  farmer  must  have  a  spray¬ 
ing  pump  ;  one  of  the  cheap  ones  costing  but  SI  does 
Well.  It  takes  about  three  minutes  to  emulsify  the 
oil,  and,  when  complete,  the  whole  looks  like  rich 
cream.  In  case  we  use  whale-oil  soap,  the  diluted 
emulsion  will  separate  somewhat  after  some  weeks. 
Other  soap  is  as  good,  and  is  always  on  hand,  and  so 
t 
