446 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
J ant. 23 
Live Stock and Dairy 
FEEDING CALVES. 
There has been a good deal written on 
the subject of calf feeding, and it is well, 
for who knows all there is to know 
about the subject? Nearly every farmer 
has his own method, which he follows 
with some degree of success. As condi- - 
tions are seldom, if ever, identical there 
is probably no one method the best, but 
each has its place. I have had consid¬ 
erable experience in feeding calves dur¬ 
ing the past few years, raising from 20 
to 40 each year, but not always with the 
best of success. Scours has been the 
worst enemy to guard against. The host 
way to cure calf scours is not to have it. 
This disease can in nine times out of 10 
be traced to overfeeding. It must be 
remembered that a young calf is a very 
greedy animal. His stomach and diges¬ 
tive organs cannot stand overworking, 
which is caused when he is fed oniy 
twice per day, and about all he cares for. 
This year I am feeding somewhat differ¬ 
ent from the usual way, and more care¬ 
fully, as I consider my calves extra good 
ones. The result has been so satisfac¬ 
tory that I decided to write of my 
method of feeding and care for the bene- 
fic of my fellow farmers. 
The calf is taken from the dam when 
about one day old and placed in a light, 
warm, dry place, where he is left to him¬ 
self for about 12 hours, when he is fed 
two quarts of milk warm from the cow. 
The milk is placed in a clean pail. Don’t 
use a sour one, as it will give the calf a 
bad impression the first thing. Back the 
calf Into a corner of the pen. It is 
usually best to get astride his back, as 
he can then be held in place better than 
when the feeder is at one side. Take 
the pail of milk in one hand, dip the 
other in the milk and place to his nose, 
when he will usually begin to suck. If 
he doesn’t place the fingers gently in his 
mouth. There are very few calves that 
will not then suck almost at once. Then 
draw the hand downward until the milk 
is reached. He will usually follow down 
the first time, and seldom fails to after 
two or three trials. As soon as he gets 
a good taste of the milk there is no 
trouble save to get his head into the pail 
the same way whenever he lets go the 
fingers. Don’t try to force the animal. 
It is seldom successful. When the calf 
takes his milk in this way without very 
much fussing, and knows how to put his 
head down, which is usually about the 
third or fourth feed, gradually work the 
fingers from his mouth and leave him to 
drink. It is, however, sometimes better 
not to let him have the fingers at all the 
third or fourth feed, but keep the pail of 
milk in front of him, when, after a little 
fussing, he goes at it and drinks. The 
young animal’s education is then well 
under way, and he soon eats readily. 
For two or three weeks I feed two 
quarts of whole milk direct from the 
cow night and morning. Noontimes I 
feed from one to two quarts of skim-milk 
warmed to about the same temperature, 
if possible. Milk that is partly cooled 
may be used, but must be fed in much 
smaller quantities than when warmed. 
At the age of two or three weeks they 
will eat some good hay, which should be 
fed in such quantities as will be eaten 
up clean. It is well to feed just after 
feeding milk, as it will prevent sucking 
where two or more have but one pen. 
The whole milk may now be gradually 
replaced with sweet skim-milk. It takes 
one or two weeks to make the change. 
Then begin to increase the feed. Here 
is where care and watchfulness count. 
As soon as there is any indication of 
scours decrease the feed for a day or 
two, and then don’t increase again until 
you are sure the calf’s capacity to take 
more warrants it. By following the 
above method of feeding my calves are 
in good order, not fat, and are growing 
nicely. When feeding myself I often in¬ 
crease the feed before the calf is as old 
as stated above, but extreme watchful¬ 
ness is necessary. By keeping a careful 
eye on them one can feed just about all 
they will stand right along. It is, how¬ 
ever, much better to underfeed than to 
overfeed. This is especially true during 
the first three months, which is the 
critical part of the animal’s life. 
Colebrook, N. H. b. a. c. 
SOME CHICKEN NOTES. 
Losing Little Chicks. —I have no¬ 
ticed in the late numbers of The R. N.- 
Y. that some of its readers have been 
losing chicks raised in brooders. I 
know how that goes, for more than once 
out of 200 chicks I have not been able 
to raise more than three or four. I used 
to blame the feed, but I am sure now 
that the principal cause was not keeping 
the chickens warm and dry. This 
Spring I have had splendid luck, both 
in hatching out and raising between 400 
and 500. I have not lost more than 10 
or 12; some of them the cat killed and 
two were killed accidentally. The first 
feed we give to our chicks is pinhead 
oatmeal, and infertile eggs chopped up 
fine, shells and all. They also get what 
I call Dutch cheese once a day mixed up 
with meal; once a week a feed of lean 
meat chopped fine. I do not let them 
out of the brooder house until they are 
10 days or two weeks old; after that 
time they can run out whenever they 
want to and get no further care, only 
to see they have plenty to eat and a 
warm place to run into when they get 
cold. I am the only one in this neigh¬ 
borhood who uses an incubator and 
brooders. I find on inquiry from several 
who raise quite a few chickens in this 
vicinity that they all report good suc¬ 
cess, both in the way the eggs hatched 
out and also in raising the chickens. 
A Hen Account. —We keep about 125 
hens. They run at large part of the 
time but in Summer are kept in the 
yards, one of which is in grass. The 
feed is principally wheat and buck¬ 
wheat with feed of oats and corn occa¬ 
sionally. In the morning they get a 
mash composed of bran, meal, ground 
oats and middlings, mixed with milk. I 
have milk before them all the time. I 
do not feed any meat or bone, but they 
have crushed shells before them always. 
We do not keep any males as we buy 
all our eggs for hatching. We send the 
eggs to Buffalo once a week. They are 
stamped and put in pasteboard boxes, 
one dozen in a box; then the boxes are 
sealed up and we guarantee every egg 
with our stamp on it. We have been 
selling to one man now for 10 years, 
and in that time we have not had a 
single complaint about our eggs not be¬ 
ing good. Our hens are a mixed lot, but 
most of them are White Leghorns. We 
received last year from February, 1900, 
to March, 1901, $348 for eggs and chick¬ 
ens sold during that time. This does 
not include eggs that we sold at home 
or chickens that were sold to Italians. 
Our expenses during the same time were 
$197.16. This includes amount we paid 
for eggs for hatching, oil for running 
incubator and two brooders, egg boxes 
and labels for same. This is not so 
good as some of your readers tell 
about, but as our other work is not 
neglected in any way caring for the 
hens, we are satisfied with the result. 
We have beside a big lot of manure to 
the good. 
Erie Co., N. Y. 
The Best Breed of Poultry. 
Farmers are after the money there 
is in the poultry business; therefore 
they want a money-making breed. They 
want a fowl that will lay a goodly num¬ 
ber of eggs and yet give them a fair pro¬ 
fit when marketed. The market de¬ 
mands, first of all, a yellow skin and 
legs; second, a medium size; third, no 
black pin feathers, and last, no feather¬ 
ed legs. Next comes the question; 
“What breed is there that meets these 
demands? Is it the Brahma? Hardly. 
Those feathered legs, and its slow 
growth, disqualify it. Is it the Lang- 
shan? No; the blue skin stands in the 
way. The Leghorn? It might be if it 
were not for its small size. Could it be 
the Cochin? That breed has yellow legs 
and skin, but its feathered legs dis¬ 
qualify it. Is it the Wyandotte or 
Plymouth Rock? It certainly is; that 
is, one of each variety, namely, the 
White. In either the White Wyandotte 
or the White Plymouth Rock we have 
yellow legs and skin, plump medium 
size, no feathered legs, or black pin 
feathers. Then, as they meet the de¬ 
mands of the market, and lay 200 eggs 
in the year, of course they are the 
money-making breeds; in other words, 
the best breeds for the farmer. Each 
breed lays well and reaches the highest 
price in the market. They do not take 
so long to mature as the heavier breeds, 
and are a better table fowl than those 
of a lighter weight. The breed that can¬ 
not meet both demands is surely not the 
fowl for the farmer. These two breeds 
roll the dollars in, in two ways, while 
the others but one. The farmer may 
now choose for himself. e. l. k. 
North Cohocton, N. Y. 
Varieties of Ducks. —Our correspon¬ 
dent F. E. W. made some statements re¬ 
garding Pekin ducks which were ques¬ 
tioned by R. D. B., on page 335. This 
writer claimed superiority for the In¬ 
dian Runners. The matter was referred 
to A. J. Hallock, of Long Island, a high 
authority, who writes: “As far as my 
experience goes your statements in re¬ 
gard to the Pekins are correct. Indian 
Runners will not thrive in confinement. 
When a Runner weighs two pounds, a 
Pekin the same age will weigh four. I 
have never compared the Pekins with 
the other varieties mentioned. This has 
been a very hard season on poultry on 
account of so much rain and cloudy cold 
days. I have hatched 24,000 Pekins and 
lost but five per cent; this does not look 
as if Pekins were not hardy.” 
J. B. 
Ice House Notes.— Failing to procure 
easily all the sawdust that I needed, I got 
a load of shingle-mill sawdust mixed with 
shavings from the edger. The Ice kept so 
much better than usual that the next year 
I used more than half of the finer sawdust 
with most pleasing results. The cement 
cow stable floor and manure pit are fine- 
very fine. Next comes the cellar and a 
walk to the road which, thanks to Mr. 
Barney. I can do with my man all right. 
E. D. R. 
Shoo Fly is the Original Stock protector of 
1885. There are many imitations no equals “I 
have tised thirty (30) gallons annually the past 
seven vears on my herd - it is effectual and 
cheap.”—H. W. Comfort, Failsington, Pa., Ex- 
President of Pennsylvania Dairy Union— Adv. 
KENDALL'S SPAVIN CURE 
When you write advertisers mention The 
R. N.-Y. and you will get a quick reply and 
“a square deal.” See our guarantee 8th page 
Breeders’ Directory 
Olanchard’s White Leghorng.—The leading 
strain of heavy layers. Eggs for hatching from 
Onest stock. Hl.clr.free. H. J. Blanchard,Groton.N.Y 
WvdndottGs Scotch Collies 
• Best of both. Handsome booklet free. 
BEAVER HILL FARM, 
BEAVER, Pa 
For Sale—Two reg. Guernsey Bull Calves, about 8 
and 8 months old. A. CULBERTSON, Knox, Pa. 
Two Grandsons of Exile, sire of 86 
tested cows. Solid Color, two and four months old. 
Handsome. J. A. HERR, R, D. No, 4, Lancaster, Pa. 
FeGISTEBED GUERNStY Rui.L MoRTON, 
ayearold last December, son of Imported Durell from 
Kllertlle Farm. JA8. B. CRANE, Somers. N. Y. 
HIGH-CLASS 
Registered Jersey Cattle. 
ROBT. F. SHANNON, Pittsburg, Pa. 
JERSEY BULLS 
—Have on hand a 
few selected Re¬ 
gistered Jersey Bull Calves, from two to lour months 
old, from great milk and butter-produclngdams, and 
of the most approved breeding. Improve the quality 
of your milk and butter output by taking advantage 
of this offering. We breed for quality and quantity. 
Will make price low: delivered to vour station. Don t 
miss this opportunity. Correspondence piomptly 
answered. WHITE OAK BIDGM STOCK FARM, 
East Orange, N.J. 
123 HOLSTEINSCS 
DELLHURST FARMS. Mentor. Ohio. 
CAD QAI C—PurebredHolsteln-Frleslans Two 
< Ull wALC Registered Balls ready for service. 
Also Bull Calves. All of above from best famiUes. 
W. W. CHENEY, Manlius, N. Y. 
Holstein-Friesian Bull 
ready for service, and a fine lot of Bull Calves. Best 
of breeding, and from deep producing families. 
C. K. RECORD, Peterboro. N. Y. 
F or sale—T horoughbred 
HOIiSTKJN-FBIKSIAN OATTLK 
of the best families. Also, 30 high-bred Balls at 
reasonable prices. Write the MAPLES STOCK 
FARM, Binghamton, N. Y., Wm. Rood, Prop 
C HENANGO VALLEY STOCK FARMS, Greene N. 
Y.—Dutch Belted and Jersey Cattle; Dorset and 
Ramboniliet Sheep; Poland-China, Jersey Bed and 
Suffolk Pigs. Land and Water Fowls. Hens' 
Eggs, 60o. per dozen: 10 kinds; standard bred. 
n|Pn VO|||BCO—Best quality and breeding. 
UCIl Awllllfilv Imported sire. Ohio Farm, 
Le Roy, Ohio. M. L. & H. H. BKNUAM. 
Reg. P. Chinas, Berkshirea 
and O. Whites, Gholoe Pigs, 
8 weeks old, mated not akin. 
Bred Sows and Service Boars. 
Pouttrv. Write for hard ttmei 
prices and free oironlar. 
HAMILTON k CO., Bosenvlok, Chester Co., Pa. 
2000 
FBRBBTS. First-class stock. Boms 
Trained. New price-list free. 
N. A. KNAPP. Rochester, Lorain Co., 0 
Scotch Collies for Sale 
From litter sister to Shep of Hope Farm. Sable and 
white. Price. 810. C. F. HAIGHT, Mlllbrook, N. Y 
■ flnely-bred Lord Britain and Fashoda 
I I II I Does, at following prices: Does scoring 
■ w# aotoO't points, $3; Does scoring Ot to 94 
points, $4; Does scoring 94 points or better, 15—laid 
down at your door, express paid. A few very choice 
bucks at very low prices. All stock scored by P. E 
Crabtree or by one of his graduates. 
D. W. TALLMAN, Longmont. Colo 
Aewton'i IIcaT«, Oough, Dis¬ 
temper and IndtgtibtioB Cure. 
A veterinary sjHJcittc for wind, 
throat and stomach troubles. 
Strong recommends. per 
can. Dealers, mail or Ex.paid, 
^'•wton Horse Kemedr Co. 
( Y) Toledo. Ohio. 
The old reliable remedy for Sparins, Rlngbonen, Splint., 
Cnrbi and all forms of Ijimeness. It cures without ablem. 
isli because It does not blister. Price $1, Six for $5. As a 
liniment for fa mi ly use it has no equal. Ask y our drug¬ 
gist for Kendall’s Spavin Cure, also “A Treatise on 
the Horse,” the book free, or address 
IHL li. J. KEX HALL CO.. Eiiosburg Falls, Vt. 
Newton’S fJOW TIB 
Improved . 
Bolds them firmly, drawl 
them forward whralyl^ 
down, puslms 
standing. 
of head, keeps thenmean 
E O. NEWTON CO. 
Batavia, Ill. Catalogue Fm 
on 1^11 itiM a ot Rpininls »nd poultry, (ilxan 
internally it driyes out worms. Cures all cuts, wounds, sores, ^ 
Non-potoonous. Endorsed by leading vetFrinsrlanfc 
vtoer^free. Zenner DUlufectant Co. 100 Bates St. Detroit, lUelu 
Cure Barren A nimals 
THE LOSS SAVED IS CLEAR PROFIT. 
Others Cure their Animals, WHY 
Thousands of cows, mares, sows, etc., 
breeding In the past 20 y ears. The best 
in the world are our patrons, why not you? A BOR 
TION • Every cow that aborts should be treated wltn 
this remedy. You cannot T^at- 
proUt by the experience of expert 
ment by mall. $1.10. Other remedies just as reliable. 
Ask for circulars any way. my 
MOORE BROS., Veterinary Surgeons, Albany, N.i 
Cattle Comfort 
KEEPS CATTLE COMFORTABLE IN FLY TIME 
Sold by Merchants and the Seedsmen. 
Send for Pamphlet to 
Uammond’8 Sing Shot, Plahkill-on-Huclson, N. Y. 
