Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1876-06-14

more improved, aud the farmers soon dis
covered the advantage Of stocking lighter
and feeding better. BY these means, the
present dairy breed have been brought to
much greater perfection Of shapes than they
even had few years ago. These shapes
are continuing to improve in proportion to
the attention paid to the crossing and feeding.
The chief qualities Of dairy COW are,
that She should give much milk that she
fatten readily; and that she turn out well in
the hands of the butcher Next to these
qualities, their docility Of temper greatly en-
hances their value. 10 improve these quail
tiles. they ought 10 be gently treated, fire.
queuuy handled from the time they are
calves. and neither hunted with dogs nor
beat or frightened
"The calves reared for dairy stock are Sc
lected from parents Of the best quality A
good calf may be reared at any season of the
year, but those that are dropped about the
end Of March or beginning of April, as they
are ready for the early grass, and attain
some size before winter, are generally pre-
ferred.
calves reared for dairy stock are not al
lowed TO suckle their dams. but are always
fed from dish. They are generally fed on
milk only for the first four, five or six
weeks, four or five quarts each meal. twice
in twenty-four hours. The milk is lessened
when the calf begins to eat grass or other
food, which they generally do when about
five weeks old If grass can be had and the
milk is totally withdrawn about the seventh
OF eighth week Some feed partly with oat
meal mixed in the milk after the third or
fourth week, and when the calf gets older
they withdraw the milk and feed it On whey
and porridge; but milk, when it can be
spared, is by far their most natural food
Whatever be the food allowed TO young
calves, it ought not to be suddenly changed.
Even when the calf has begun to eat grass,
the milk or other food ought not to be too
suddenly withdrawn. A calf must have at
tanned some age before it can thrive without
milk, and when change Of food is too
hastily introduced, the digestive powers Of
the young animal are overcome, and its
growth retarded
The dairy calves are generally kept on
the best pasture during the first summer,
and have some preference to the other stock,
in food during the next winter"
With regard to the care Of cows, we can
not give very extended extracts. The fol-
lowing notes seem specially important
"Mr Ralston of Fineyiew, who kept the
largest dairy in Scotland on the most correct
principles, never turned out his cows to grass
till it could afford them abundance of sup
ply. If drouth injured the pasture, or
when the weather was very hot and sultry,
he fed his milch cows with rye grass aud
clover in the byre (shed) during the heat of
the day time, and turned them ont to pasture
from the evening till it became warm next
day. When the pasture began to fail in
harvest he gave his cows the second cutting
of clover in the byre, or the Trimmings of his
turnips strewed on their pasture.
"But the greatest privaton to which the
dairy COWS are subjected is the want of some
green food during the winter. Tunips
seem to have been formed by nature to rem
der these domesticated animals comfortable,
and TO keep their milk vessels from being
dried up during winter. \ small quantity
OF that valuable root given daily to every
dairy COW rs far into the spring as they can
be preserved, and few potatoes in April,
would keep the COWS open in their belly
prevent costiyeness, drying up of the animal
juices, binding of their hides to their bones
and render the animal healthy, as well as in
crease the quantity and enrich the quality
of the milk during the season. 1t ought to
he the chief care of every dairy farmer tc
preserve his mich cows, not only in goot
condition, but also in a milky habit, during
the winter as well as in summer"
We might 90 ON at great length culling
scraps of wisdom from the modest book Of
this old Scotch farmer of fifty years ago. II
almost every point, he was abreast of the bes
knowledge and practice of the present day
and infinitely in advance of the average New
England daiyman as he is, half century
later. 1t is 10 be hoped that as necessit,
is the mother of invention" so the hare
times that now Cypress us will stimulate III
to more profitable practices aud sharper
study Of our business and our interests il
these matters.