Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1874-08-07
CALVES RAISED ON SOUR MILK.

In May visited the farm of f. A. Leach
in Irasburgh to see yearlings called the
best in town. found them large and thrift.
ty; 3 we're full-blooded Devons, aud the
others were grades. On inquiring how
these calves were raised, was told that the
calves never sucked the COW at all, being
taught 70 drink, the FIRST milk given being
taken lren their dam. New milk is given
the naik ua5b such time MS It is good to set
for butter then skinned milk that has set
"a hours befbEo skimmiug is warmed to the
temperature Of nav milk; and about quarts
given to each calf, twice day. during three
,hs cream is all risen and rsSperIy ripeued
TO- skim off with the least wsotyy the milk
is sour aud is fed to the .salves~at lower
temperature, and finally through the late
summer and fall thamilk is not warmed at
all, but fed the same as to the pigs, thick or
thin as it happens, the same quantity being
fed until the cows give so little in the early
winter that the milk feed naturally stops.
Toward the last water is added to make the
same quantity until they finally obtain drink
at the trough in the barnyard. All the time,
down to this very day, the calves have been
kept in a 20x70 feet shed aud small yard,
and were fed every day through summer aud
fail with hay.
How they were wintered will be Of inter-
est to the stock raiser. Two sheep were
kept with them, and to the lot was fed evory
day a peck Of oats and as much low land
hay as they would eat this hay is not con-
sidered very good. Mr.. Leach told me he
was offered S25 each for four OF these calves
last fall. 1t is reasonable to expect such
heifers to come in at two years old and be
profitable cows. 1t is customary in Ver-
mont to rear calves on skinned and sour
milk nearly all farmers wean the calves
when from four to six months old, and turn
them into the pasture. However, hay and
milk often give the best result in continuous
growth.
Mr.. Leach has two farms one Of $50
acres. through which the river runs and
gives him the advantage of its annual irri-
cation on many acres OF meadow, and the
tillage land is we'll manured and naturally
good soil. His other farm, of l25 acres,
stretches back from his village residence, and
is under a course Of Improvement that will
increase its value. The popularity Of his
farming is that his dependence has always
been upon butter making At II years old
his father died and left no property, but by
diligence he accumulated little by little M
I'll IL years ago he began farming with S4O0
and COW and three hcifers he has chang
cd his residence three times and made some
gain in the rise Of farms where he has lived.
lie now has "a COWS, and favors the Devon
breed. lie never made n cheese, never
bred colt, aud never shearod sheep until
last year, but with cows and their products
has gained in property SO that $4,000 is a
fair estimate OF its value.
The week previous to my call, eleven COWS
yielded 81 lbs. Of butter in 7 days, their
feed being hay aud two quarts of meal dali
ly, the meal made in this proportion 2
bushels of oats to one bushel of corn on the
ear. The meal is scalded in bucket with
hot water and cooled by adding cold water,
so that each COW has about a pailful.
learned other items such as large expert
ence in dairying and general farming is sure
to give the observing farmer. These facts
concerning COWS and calves successful farm
er considers important. f.. Jameson,
ia Boston CHltiDatOr.