Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1879-08-01

Except among regular cattle-breeders, but
few calves are being raised at present We
know many farmers who will give away pure
Alderney calf rather than take the trouble of
rnising it, A writer in an exchange says that
at least two good calves can be raised from
the skinned milk of each COW kept, and that
the entire expense of keeping the cows can
be paid for from this source, leaving the but
ter as clear profit As few village residents
are 80 situated as to raise their calves he add
vises dairymen to procure these calves, rs
they are generally of good stock and can be
had for almost nothing He gives his plan of
raising them as follows: At the season of the
year when we can turn ON grass a calf will
need but little milk after it is three months
old, if it has been taught to eat aud if it
can be had, a second calf can take its place
believe l have improved on the plan recon-
mended at the Cleveland cOnvention-thRt of
feeding oil meal. l use instead the faxseed
aud have never seen any i'll effects from it.
think the oil meal is valuable largely for the
oil it contains, and that if il was all extracted
it would be little better than bran or meal.
can see little sense in selling haxseed at 81 10
bushel, and paying $50 a ton and freight for
oil meal, and these are the present quotations
Perhaps l cannot do better here than to de
scribe in detail how l manage calf to raise it
oil skim milk and make it as good as IA new
day or two, 80 as TO fill itself well with it,
mothers milk, as the calf needs the purgative
qualities which such milk contains. | then
separate il and shut it in a close, warm pen,
ont of sight of the mother, and let it go with
out food for twenty-four hours. This may
seem cruel, but it is difficult TO make calf
drink until it is hungry, l then feed it new
milk for about ten days, or until it learns to
drink well and takes start TO grow. / then
l.lN IL Al.
the skim milk tablespoonful of haXseed.
This seed We put in cup, pour boiling water
over it, and let it stand until it iells. BY the
time the calf is two weeks old we have him
on IA full diet of skim milk and haxseed, and
use IA little more than spoonful at a meal.
We gradually increase the ha1seed until at
eight or ten weeks old We feed gill at feed
or half pint day. BY the time the calf is
four or six weeks old, We begin feeding shell
corn, and when 1t gets so that it will eat four
large ears of corn a day We slack of the fax
seed. If it is summer, the calf should run on
grass but if winter, keep a little good hay or
corn fodder where the calf can reach it from
the time it is four weeks old. l believe corn
fodder is best, and next TO this rowen OF
seoOnd-crop hay. If you are wanting 10 raise
all the calves you can, or are short of milk,
your calf will grow finely after it is ten weeks
with but little milk. A quart of milk might
and morning with water and a gill of fax
seed, and n liberal feed of shell corn and fod
der in winter, or pasture in summer, will keel
it thrifty. / have a calf now Just three
months old that will eat six ears of corn anG
quite bundle of fodder day, and / am sat
isfied that it would remain thrifty if We gave
it no more milk. If We had been asked one
year ago how TO feed skim milk TO get the
greatest profit from it, should have answer
ed at once, Feed the pigs" but this year
experience has convinced me that unless hog
bring near five cents pound, or you car
grow stock to sell at fancy prices for breeders
there is more money in feeding it to calves
have noticed for years that no stock bring
propOrtionately such high prices or sells a
readily at farm sales, as weaned calves, and
think that where there is good stock 10 begil
with, aud good care, there IN more profit il