St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1879-02-21
Two Ways of Raising Calves.

$50 you raise few calves this year,
do you ?" said, us looked into far
mer's barn-yard the other day.
"Well, yes, | raised IL few, but it
don't pay, for they won't bring us much
when they are year old, neither one
of them, lis the butcher paid me last
spring for calves six weeks old. tell
you it is time there was change in the
Government somewhere, when yearling
heifers won't bring ten dollars apiece
in the spring. There is something wrong
somewhere" said he.
agreed with him, but thought |
could give him new idea as to where
the ''change i'll Government ought to
begin. In the first place those calves
were not of any particular breed, nor
were they from his best cows. They
were such as Glanced to drop after the
price of veal had fallen so low that the
butchers did not want them. They
were allowed to suck the cows until
some six or seven weeks old, and then
were left to eat or starve i'll the orchard.
In week or two fl ON the time they
were turned out they were smaller than
when taken from the cows, because
they had lost all their fat, and had not
eaten enough to make them grow.
Then starvation brought them to eat
ing grass and they began to groA slow
ly, but were scarcely well underway
before the cold storms and cold nights
began to pinch them again. At last he
has got ready to put them in the barn
nights, where they will be expected to
feed upon bog hay and corn fodder until
next spring, if they are SO unfortunate
as to live so long.
For IA contrast let us look at the herd
of my former meighboI in Rhode Island,
who has also raised Il few calves this
year. His cows are all full bred or
grade Jerseys and well known in that
vicinity as extra mixers and first-rate
butter cows. His calves drop early
(before the cows get to pasture usual
ly,) and the heifers ale all raised, re-
CARELESS of the price of veal, unless
there appears some fault in them which
is likely to injure them as producers of
milk or butter. They are not allowed
to suck from the COWS more than two
or three days, but are learned to drink
from the trough or pail and are allowed
new milk as it comes from the COW for
few weeks, then gradually changed
to skinned milk, which is carefully
warmed to the same temperature as the
milk from the COW. AS this is not con-
sidered too valuable to feed them, they
are allowed to drink it until they learn
to prefer water. Before that time thew
have learned to eat grass and little
shorts or meal every day and have not
known day when they did not have
all they wanted to eat or drink, or a
day (unless some sickness has prevented
them from eating, which seldom hap
pens under his care,) when they have
not made growth. In cold storms
they have been kept under cover, and
they have been in the barn or shed
every night for some weeks.
This winter they will have good sweet
corn fodder, well cured, with a few
roots, and an occasional feed of early
cut clover hay, and next spring they
will come out smooth and in good,
thrifty condition, and, despite the blood
of the little Jersey which is In them,
they will be much larger and heavier
than the bog hay calves from my farmer
friends large breed of cows. The
stranger who knew not the stock from
which they came would not hesitate tC
give double or treble as much for one
OF these well-grOwn and thrifty looking
Jerseys, even if only glade, than he
would for one of those which evil not
be worth as much next spring as the
price of six weeks calf" but where
the reputation of the cows is well
known 1t is not difficult to obtain much
larger prices than that.
Yet 1t costs neighbor R. not much
more to get heifer which will bring
from twenty-five to fifty dollars at .
year Old than it does Mr.. D. to raise
tnose which would be dear at the same
time at ten dollars.
NOR dld his cows cost much more tc
begin with, as they are not registered
STOCK nor are all of them pure bred.
Can you see where the s'change il
government" the "reform,r needs tt
begin !" Young Farmer in Boston
Journal
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