332 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
April  14,  1904. 
Trade  Catalogues  Received. 
James  Backhouse  &  Son,  Ltd.,  York. — Alpine  plants,  hardy  perennials 
and  florists’  flowers. 
Barr  k  Sons,  11,  12,  and  13,  King  Street,  Covent  Garden,  London. — 
Hardy  Perennials,  Alinnes,  Aquatics,  Sj'c. 
Geo.  Bunyard  &  Co.,  Ltd.,  Eoyal  Nurseries,  Maidstone,  Kent.— 
Herbaceous  plants. 
Luther  Burbank,  Santa  Rosa,  Cal.,  U.S.A. — New  Shasta  Daisies. 
H.  Cannell  &  Sons,  Swanley,  Kent. — Floral  Guide,  1904. 
Wm.  Deal,  Feering  Hill.  Kelvedon,  Essex. — Seed  Potatoes. 
H.  k  J.  Elliott,  Courtbushes  Nursery,  Hurstpieri^oint,  Sussex. — 
Carrnatiens. 
Heinrich  Henkel,  Darmstadt. — Conifers,  Bog-plants,  Water  Lilies. 
Harlan  P.  Kelsey,  Beacon  Building,  6,  Beacon  Street,  Boston,  Mass., 
U.S.A. — Hardy  American  plants  and  Carolina  Mountain  flowers. 
John  Peed  &  Son,  Roupell  Park  Nurseries,  West  Norwood,  S.E. — 
Cantias  and  Dahlias. 
Ant.  Eoozen  k  Son,  Nurserymen  and  Seedsmen,  Overveen,  near 
Haarlem,  Holland. — Bulbs,  ^'c.  (for  spring).  Vegetables  and  Flower 
Seeds. 
G.  Sperenger,  Naples- Yoniero,  Italy. — First  list  of  plants. 
The  present  season  is  the  most  important  one  to  the  rearer 
of  cattle,  and  the  question  may  often  be  asked  of  him,  Am  I 
right  in  using  my  milk  for  purposes  of  calf-rearing  when  I 
might  po.ssibly  sell  it  by  the  gallon?  Well,  much  depends  on 
the  price  per  gallon  the  milk  will  realise,  but  we  ma3'  take  it 
for  granted  that  the  price  from  April  till  July  will  be  a  very 
small  one — 6d.  per  gallon  or  less.  It,  therefore,  is  the  business 
of  everj’  farmer  who  at  this  time  of  year  cannot  make  6d.  per 
gallon  or  more  of  his  milk,  to  consider  whether  he  cannot  profit 
better  by  using  it  for  the  purposes  of  calf-rearing. 
The  gi-eat  point  in  this  question  is  the  possibility  of  obtain¬ 
ing  a  sufficient  supplj'  of  calves  which  will  pay  for  rearing.  We 
4ire  sorry  to  say  that  a  very  considerable  proportion  of  the 
calves  dropped  annually  in  England  are  of  veiy  little  value 
for  rearing  purposes,  for  when  reared  they  cannot  be  sold  at 
a  profit.  It  is  very  different,  however,  with  a  great  number  of 
calves  which  are  produced  by  judicious  breeding.  Any  such 
animals  will  always  pay  well  for  the  food  thej'  eat.  It  is  a 
common  cry  amongst  farmers  that  they  cannot  go  into  a  market 
and  buy  the  cattle  tliey  want.  If  they  do  buy,  they  have  to 
give  more  than  they  think  they  can  afford.  It  is  ad  a  matter 
■of  supply  and  demand,  and  the  purchaser  wants  either  a  verj" 
fresh  bullock,  or  a  promising  heifer,  or  a  cow  approaching 
■calving.  The  fresh  bullock  represents  an  early  prospective  sale 
at  a  remunerative  price;  the  “  in-calver  ”  represents  a  milk 
supply  either  for  human  food  or  calf-rearing.  Here  we  strike 
a  great  bone  of  contention,  viz.,  the  value  of  milk  to  the  farmer, 
i.e.,  not  for  sale,  but  for  home  consumption,  which  can  mean 
nothing  else  but  calf-rearing ;  for  we  have  amply  demonstrated 
recently  that  the  making  up  of  butter  brings  in  no  piofit  during 
the  summer  period,  and  we  doubt  whether  it  realises  a  profit 
at  any  time. 
We  are  supposing  that  a  farmer  was  able  to  offer  milk  on 
rail  from  March  to  July  at  6d.  per  gallon;  would  buyers  be 
numerous?  AVe  are  afraid  not.  AA'ould  it  not  be  better  to  rear 
•the  calves  which  can  be  produced  on  the  farm  or  bought  from 
neighbours?  There  is  one  objection,  and  only  one,  to  this 
sj'stem  of  the  summer  rearing  of  calves,  viz.,  that,  so  many 
farmers  attempting  it,  the  competition  is  .so  keen  that  there  is 
little  or  no  profit. 
Some  maj’  think  so,  but  we  notice  that  the  price  of  yearlings 
is  most  encouraging  to  the  holders  of  them,  and  if  there  is  a 
class  of  farm  stock  which  at  farm  sales  realises  satisfactorv' 
prices,  it  is  the  young  cattle  from  twelve  to  eighteen  months 
old  ;  therefore,  a  farmer  can  afford  to  give  a  good  price,  for  a 
good  calf.  Until  the  reaction,  which  may  soon  occur,  it  behoves 
milk-.sellers  to  work  warily,  and,  as  it  were,  from  hand  to 
mouth.  Milk  has  been  very  scarce  this  winter,  and  correspond¬ 
ingly  good  to  sell,  but  as  soon  as  cows  go  out  to  grass  the 
supply  will  be  immensely  increased,  and  unless  some  of  it  is 
diverted  into  other  channels,  it  is  inevitable  that  prices  must 
fall. 
We  have  found  that  a  calf  can  be  reared  on  a  very  small 
quantity  of  milk,  especially  if  it  feeds  iLself.  W^e  have  had 
heifers  which  gave  hardly  enough  milk  to  be  worth  milking, 
but  would  bring  up  one,  or  in  some  cases  two,  calves,  and  keep 
them  in  thriving  condition.  A  calf  begins  to  eat  grass  or  hay 
when  it  is  ’four  weeks  old,  and  the  milk  from  the  cow  soon 
becomes  but  the  foundation  of  the  daily  ration,  the  calf 
graduallj'  increasing  its  diet  of  grass  or  similar  food.  It  is  vei\v 
much  the  same  witu  band-reared  calves.  The  daily  allowance 
of  milk  may  be  gradually’  les.sened  until  at  three  or  four  months 
it  is  entirely  dispensed  with,  and  if  other  calves  can  be  obtained 
a  second  batch  may  be  reared.  As  we  have  said  before,  the 
obtaining  of  well-bred,  payable  calves  is  the  chief  difficulty  we 
have  to  contend  with,  and  it  is  an  excellent  plan  to  establish 
communication  with  a  reliable  agent  in  one  or  more  of  our 
great  towns,  for  dairymen  rarely  rear  calves,  and  when  one  is 
born  it  is  quickly  sold  to  the  first  customer.  An  agent  who  can 
be  relied  on  to  bring  the  offspring  of  none  but  good  dairy  cows 
of  size  and  weight  may  easily  supply  all  the  calves  which  even 
a  very  extensive  farmer  may  require. 
A"eal  has  been  very  scarce  and  dear  this  Easter  (we  have 
heard  of  Is.  2d.  per  lb  being  charged  for  nice  cuts),  so  it  would 
appear  calves  are  none  too  plentiful.  As  we  wrote  a  week  or 
two  since,  there  have  been  too  many  barren  heifers  this  season. 
The  mo.st  successful  calf-rearers  we  know  do  not  run  their  young 
animals  on  gra.ss,  but  on  seed  pastures  among  their  sheep.  They 
sow  a  considerable  quantity  of  ryegrass  amongst  theii;'  clover. 
This  is  most  useful  for  the  lambs  in  spring,  and  in  summer 
makes  excellent  food  for  reared  calves.  Of  course,  calves  require 
a  supply  of  water,  which  is  oftener  absent  than  present  in  an 
arable  field;  but  the  quantity  required  for  a  dozen  calves  is  not 
large,  and  a  water  cartload  once  a  week  will  be  sufficient,  except 
in  the  very  hottest  weather. 
Perennial  ryegrass,  which  sheep  generally  allow  to  run  to 
seed,  makes  capital  picking  for  calves.  It  must  not  be  for¬ 
gotten  that  the  use  of  a  little  corn-cake  or  similar  food  will  be 
found  profitable,  both  during  the  rearing  period  and  later.  It 
may  be  dispensed  with,  but  its  cost  will  undoubtedly  be  repaid 
by  increased  thriftiness,  and  the  consequent  saving  of  time  and 
money  afterwards. 
Work  on  the  Home  Farm. 
AA’e  are  now  favoured  by’  drying  winds  with  heavy  showers, 
and  although  it  is  very  unpleasant  weather  to  be  out  in,  tne 
effect  on  the  land  is  all  that  can  be  desired.  The  surface  is  in 
a  fine  state  where  the  land  has  not  been  moved,  and  we  see 
many  fields  being  sown  or  drilled  with  a  fine  cloud  of  dust 
behind  the  drill  or  harrows.  AA’^e  are  nearly  through  with  our 
spring  sowing,  but  the  generality  of  farmers  will  be  very  late 
in  completing  this  work. 
Incidentally,  we  note  that  a  great  many  oats  are  being  sown, 
and  the  area  under  this  crop  promises  to  })e  a  large  one.  The 
question  of  bedding  for  hoi'ses  and  cattle  has  something  to  do 
with  this,  for  there  being  so  little  wheat  sown,  farmers  have  to 
consider  the  question  of  litter,  and  oat  straw  is  a  better  sub¬ 
stitute  than  barley  straw  for  the  wheat,  which  is  considered  by 
some  almost  indispensable.  Barley  straw  makes  good  enough 
bedding,  but  is  not  so  lasting  as  the  others.  For  thatch  wheat 
straw  must  be  pi'ovided,  and  we  shall  have  to  be  very  economical 
of  our  old  stock  if  we  are  to  have  any  thatch  at  all  for  1905. 
Many  farmers  are  turning  their  cattle  out  during  the  day 
to  harden,  bringing  them  into  shelter  at  night.  AA'here  the 
grass  land  lies  some  distance  off,  this  entails  much  trouble;  but 
the  animals  must  lie  comfortable  if  they  are  not  to  lose  ground. 
This  is  especially  the  case  with  yearlings  in  "ood  condition. 
Every  grazing  pasture  should  contain  a  comfortable  and  roomy 
shed  capable  of  accommodating  every  head  of  cattle  in  the  field. 
Much  money  that  has  been  spent  on  fancy  buildings  might  have 
been  invested  to  better  purpose  on  sheds  in  the  fields.  Thev 
are  always  useful  for  horses  in  winter  if  they  are  not  so  much 
required  in  summer,  but  in  very’  hot  weather  when  the  gad-fly 
is  about,  cattle  can  hardly’  be  driven  out  of  the  shed  if  there  is 
one. 
An  immense  acreage  of  Potatoes  is  being  planted.  Notwith¬ 
standing  disaster  from  disease  and  flood,  the  crop  must  have 
paid  well,  or  farmers  would  surely  hold  aloof  from  further 
planting.  AA^e  tried  a  dish  of  one  of  the  new  varieties  the  other 
day  with  very  little  satisfaction  to  ourselves,  so  we  will  mention 
no  names. 
