338 
JudRNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
April  9,  1896. 
the  best  of  them  (even  if  sound)  are  not  bred  on  the  lines  of 
English  stock,  and  leave  much  to  be  desired  in  those  qualities 
that  qo  to  make  up  ideal  horned  stock.  There  is  still  a  demand 
for  “  the  roast  beef  of  old  England  ”  as  well  as  for  home-grown 
butter  and  milk,  and  it  seems  very  advisable  that  the  work  of 
feeding  and  rearing  young  stock  should  meet  (as  it  is  in  a 
measure  doing)  with  increased  attention  at  the  hands  of  the 
farmer. 
On  a  mixed  occupation  nothing  pays  so  well  as  rearing  your 
own  stock.  Given  that  stock  must  be  had,  the  next  difficulty  is 
where  to  obtain  such  stock  ?  Buy  it  you  cannot,  except  at  a 
farm  sale,  and  then  very  dearly;  any  that  find  their  way  into  the 
markets  will  be  farm  culls,  queerly  bred  hill-siders,  or  wild 
Irishmen.  Every  spring  it  is  the  same  old  tale,  yearlings  dear, 
be  other  stock  what  it  may.  This  spring  they  have  readily  sold 
for  £9  or  £10  each,  and  even  more,  so  there  must  still  be  a  little 
to  be  had  out  of  them  anyhow. 
In  speaking  of  stock  sold  at  farm  sales  we  are  referring  to 
what  is  really  good,  honest,  and  well  bred.  Quality  is  of  the 
greatest  moment,  but  quality  must  not  take  or  usurp  the  place 
of  size.  Pedigree  is  all  very  well  in  its  way,  but  the  longest 
pedigree  in  the  world  will  not  compensate  for  a  poor,  ill- fleshed 
bullock,  nor  for  a  cow  that  will  neither  breed  nor  milk.  We  do 
not  want  a  fancy  article,  whose  value  is  problematical,  bat  a 
good,  everyday  type,  that  does  not  disgrace  Pself  in  the 
slaughter-house  or  at  the  milk-pail. 
Some  people  are  great  advocates  for  rearing  calves  with  the 
bucket,  ana  they  can  by  this  system  be  reared  well  and  cheaply ; 
but  the  very  act  of  sucking  is  good  in  itself,  as  causing  a  greater 
excitement  to  the  salivary  glands  and  regulating  the  supply  of 
milk  to  the  stomach.  Pail-fed  calves  are  often  hurriedly  fed. 
By  experience  we  have  found  that  the  best  calves  are  those  that 
have  been  allowed  to  suck.  At  the  first  blush  of  the  thing  this 
may  seem  an  expensive  method,  but  there  is  nothing  like  it  for 
laying  the  foundation  of  a  strong,  healthy  constitution,  and  the 
flesh  a  calf  puts  on  in  calf-hood  should  never  be  lost. 
It  is  really  wonderful  how  small  a  quantity  of  new  milk  is 
sufficient  to  rear  a  calf  ;  but  then  that  milk  is  absolutely  new, 
of  the  proper  temperature,  and  unadulterated.  It  is  our  custom 
(and  we  have  had  a  lengthy  experience)  to  milk  a  cow,  say, 
for  six  months,  then  give  her  two  calves  to  rear.  If  the  cow 
is  well  and  properly  fed  she  must  he  a  very  poor  one  if  she 
cannot  rear  those  two  calves.  Calves  cannot  at  first  stand 
very  much  or  very  rich  milk,  and  a  cow  that  is  popularly  known 
as  a  good  “  butter  cow  ”  may  and  often  does  kill  her  calf  by 
kindness— i.e.,  too  much  and  too  rich  food. 
A  cow  we  remember  whose  milk  was  exceptionally  rich  was 
also  a  kicker  and  very  difficult  to  milk,  so  she  took  a  stranger 
calf  as  well  as  her  own.  One  speedily  died  of  cheese  on  the 
stomach — i.e.,  the  milk  being  too  rich,  formed  a  hard,  curdy 
mass,  and  could  not  pass  away  ;  the  other  we  saved  from  a  like 
untimely  end  by  prompt  measures.  Then  the  experiment  was 
tried  of  allowing  her  to  feed  three  instead  of  two,  and  the  result 
was  eminently  satisfactory.  In  after  days  we  always  provided 
this  cow  with  three  calves  to  rear  up  to  the  time  they  were  four 
months  old ;  then  they  were  weaned,  two  other  young  ones 
given  that  had  a  like  period  of  four  months’  suckling,  only  to 
be  succeeded  by  two  more.  Thus  we  reckoned  that  this  cow 
could  and  did  easily  bring  up  seven  calves.  There  cannot  be  a 
much  cheaper  system  than  this 
Calves  up  to  a  fortnight  old  require  very  close  watching. 
There  is  so  much  danger  that  the  milk  may  be  richer 
than  is  suspected,  and  a  calf  is  far  more  easily  killed  by 
too  much  than  by  too  little.  The  symptoms  usually  are 
diarrhoea,  or  “  skit,”  brought  on  by  indigestion.  The  cause  of 
the  diarrhoea  must  be  removed — that  cause  is  curdled  milk. 
Give  a  dose  of  cholera  mixture,  followed  directly  by  one  of 
castor  oil.  The  mixture  imparts  a  little  life  and  vitality.  The 
oil  is  almost  certain  to  remove  the  obstruction  if  taken  in  time, 
hence  the  need  of  prompt  measures. 
In  feeding  a  calf  that  has  been  brought  from  a  distance  the 
greatest  care  must  be  taken  not  to  overload  the  stomach  at  the 
first  meal  A  pint  of  milk  is  ample,  to  be  followed  up  in  three 
hours  with  a  more  liberal  allowance.  Bought  calves  often  travel 
great  distances,  and  are  drugged  to  save  the  bother  and  expense 
of  feeding  on  the  journey;  and,  we  are  sorry  to  say,  we  have 
found  some  calf  dealers  very  unscrupulous  men  “  Once  bit 
twice  shy.”  When  the  calf  is  a  month  old  a  little  hay  or  linseed 
cakf*,  or  a  cut  root  or  two,  may  be  given  it  to  play  with,  and  it 
will  soon  begin  to  eat  of  its  own  free  will.  An  older  calf  put 
with  young  ones  acts  as  a  teacher.  We  had  intended  to  com¬ 
plete  this  outline  of  a  calf’s  career  in  one  paper,  but  so  many 
thoughts  crop  up  thait  cannot  well  be  omitted  that  we  think 
it  wiser  to  say  more  at  a  future  date. 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM 
The  weather  continues  showery,  not  to  say  wet,  whilst  the  tempera¬ 
ture  has  fallen  and  rimy  mornings  are  followed  by  high  winds  and  storms 
of  rain  and  sleet.  Drilling  (except  on  very  dry  soils)  is  at  a  standstill, 
the  land  being  quite  unfit  as  a  seed  bed  at  present,  both  too  cold  and  too 
wet.  There  is  still  another  fortnight  of  what  may  be  called  legitimate 
spring  seed  time,  so  it  would  be  well  to  wait  for  finer  weather  rather 
than  make  an  unworkmanlike  sowing  now.  We  are  rapidly  getting  the 
manure  out  of  the  yards,  some  going  on  direct  for  Potatoes,  the  rest  into 
hill  for  Swedes. 
It  is  rather  cold  for  turning  cattle  out,  but  out  they  must  go,  as  straw 
is  nearly  used  up  ;  fortunately  pastures  have  made  a  fair  start,  and  with 
warm  nights  grass  would  soon  be  plentiful.  Sheep  are  doing  well  on 
Swedes,  of  which  we  have  still  a  month’s  supply  ;  fortunately  so,  for 
those  who  are  obliged  to  face  present  markets  are  in  many  cases  making 
little  if  anything  more  than  the  animals  were  worth  in  October  ;  we 
have  even  heard  of  losses  of  4s.  or  5s.  in  price  alone,  so  that  when 
casualties  and  keeping  are  reckoned  the  adverse  balance  becomes  very 
serious.  This  is  doubly  disappointing,  for  the  boom  in  wool  had  raised 
very  high  hopes  as  to  the  great  things  flocks  were  to  do  for  us  this  year. 
Thousand-heads  sown  now  will  make  valuable  food  for  sheep  in 
October  and  November,  and  give  Turnips  a  little  more  time  to  ripen  ;  on 
rich  soils  the  latter  are  sometimes  slow  in  coming  to  maturity  if  the 
autumn  be  wet  or  sunless,  then  the  great  value  of  Cabbage  and  Kale  for 
the  autumn  Bheepfold  is  fully  realised. 
We  do  not  drill  Mangolds  till  the  end  of  the  month,  but  where  there 
is  little  or  no  risk  of  damage  done  by  spring  frosts  the  sooner  they  are 
sown  the  better.  The  Mangold  Wurtzel  is  a  plant  that  requires  time  if 
large  and  heavy  roots  are  required. 
On  low-lying  carrs  of  peaty  soil  May  1st  is  quite  early  enough  for 
Mangolds,  as  frost  is  very  destructive  to  the  young  plants  if  they  get 
their  noses  out  too  soon. 
OUR  LETTER  BOX. 
Field  Carrots  ( Steward ). — Two  pounds  of  Carrot  seeds  per  acre 
might  be  sufficient  if  the  drills  were  very  wide  apart,  and  every  seed  was 
in  its  proper  place  :  but  5  or  6  lbs.  would  be  safer  to  produce  a  full 
plaut  and  finer  quality.  If  too  thin  they  grow  coarse,  especially  on  rich 
land.  A  good  strain  of  Altrincham  is  as  good  as  any  for  the  field  ; 
but  for  washing  for  market,  or  if  the  soil  be  rather  shallow,  Scarlet 
Intermediate  is  perhaps  the  best.  Lucerne  will  have  attention  in  a 
future  issue. 
METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS. 
Camden  Square,  London. 
Lat.51°  32' 40"  N. ;  Long.  0°  8/  0"  W.:  Altitude  111  leet. 
Date. 
9  A.M. 
In  the  Day. 
ej 
S 
cc 
1896. 
March 
and 
April. 
|  Barometer 
i  at  32°,  and 
Sea  Level. 
Hygrometer. 
Direc¬ 
tion  of 
Wind. 
Temp, 
of  soil 
at 
1  foot. 
Shade  Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
Sun. 
On 
Grass. 
Inchs. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
Inchs. 
Sunday  .. 
29 
29-786 
39-0 
37-1 
N. 
43-7 
43-0 
36-1 
68-6 
30-2 
0-U50 
Monday  . . 
30 
30-045 
40-6 
88-4 
N. 
42-8 
51-2 
32-2 
92-9 
24-9 
— 
Tuesday  . . 
31 
30-213 
42-6 
39-0 
N. 
42-6 
51-7 
35-4 
97-9 
26-9 
0-010 
Wednesday 
1 
30-069 
48-8 
46-1 
N.W. 
43-4 
51-9 
42-7 
74-6 
32-1 
— 
Thursday . . 
2 
30-198 
43-4 
37-6 
N. 
43-0 
49-6 
33-7 
8S-5 
250 
0-010 
Friday 
3 
30-152 
44-0 
40  4 
N.E. 
42-8 
52-2 
37-8 
75-0 
28-2 
— 
Saturday  . . 
4 
30-214 
43-6 
41-4 
N.W. 
43-0 
53-6 
35-4 
65-2 
26-4 
0-084 
30-097 
43-1 
40-0 
43-0 
50-5 
36-2 
78 -2 
27-7 
0-164 
REMARKS. 
29th. — Dull,  damp  morning ;  rain  from  noon  to  3  p.m.,  fair  after,  and  fine  night. 
30th. — Bright  sun  almost  all  morning ;  generally  cloudy  in  afternoon,  with  spots  of 
rain  ;  bright  night. 
31st. — Brilliant  early  and  in  afternoon,  cloudy  between. 
1st. — Overcast  with  drizzle  early,  and  spots  of  rain  in  morning  ;  fair  afternoon  ;  clear 
night.  2nd. — Brilliant  till  about  11  A.M.,  generally  cloudy  after. 
3rd. — Fine  day,  sunny  at  times.  4th. — Overcast  day,  raining  from  3.30  P  .M. 
Cooler,  in  fact  temperature  about  the  average.  Frost  on  grass  on  every  night  but 
one.— Gh  J.  Stmows. 
