The Iola register., 1880-02-27

pointment have been inflicted upon mis-
led persons. 1t has been advised that
the way to improve farm stock Is to Pur
chase some pure-bred animals nom
show herds, whose record has been
perhaps greatly magniied. Disappoint-
ment and loss have almost invarlaoly
occurred. Purchasers Of costly animals
have found them to deteriorate on their
hands, ,.and tosbe of no more value than
their common stock. This has been the
result in many cases of want of knowl-
edge of the care required to keep up the
condition of animals that have been
forced from their birth, and Of the use
of the concentrated foods upon which
they have been fed. The mania for
pedigree, which in reality meant moth
ing, and which was valueless, further
helped the excitement and has increased
the disappointment. 1t is now very
common thing for farmers to treat what
they call fancy stock very scorn-
fully, as fit playthings for wealthy
men, but profitless for the working
farmer. Time and truth will eventually
remove the false part of this impression,
but will confirm what there is of it that
is true. This idea, then, having been
exploded, something must be done to
reach the desired point of Improvement,
which has not yet been attained. And
this must be the work of the farmers
themselves, and must begin within their
own herds. Some help will be required
from without in the way of procuring
pure-bred bulls selected from good herds
with which to produce better calves. A
beginning can be made at once, at this
season, when calves are coming, by
keeping the most promising heifers in
stead of sacrificing them. One must
learn how to judge a calf. Heretofore
nothing of this branch of stock knowl-
edge has been taught by experts, al
though much has been said about the
points of a COW. But COW can speak
for herself, in a way, at least, by her
works. The pail and the churn are the
best tests, and a daily record of per-
formances is worth q hundred "scales
of points" and perfect escutcheon to
boot. A calf, on the other hand, has
nothing conspicuous by which an
ordinary observer can judge of
its promise for the future, yet it is
well worth studying the points of a good
calf. The character of the dam goes
for something, and, unless the appear
ance of the calf bellies it, this may be
taken as q valuable indication. The
head should be fine, the eye large and
bright; the neck fine and long; the
fore quarters light; the flank deep; the
back straight; the hair fine and smooth;
the teats well separated and well
formed; the skin loose, and the frame
loosely put together, with good bone
and well formed figure. A thick, short
neck, coarse head, and heavy fore quar-
ters should,condemn heifer calf to the
butcher, although its dam may have
been superior COW. A close resem-
blance in color and general appearance
to its dam would indicate in the calf the
inheritance of other good qualities, and
it is this fact which gives the only value
to the popular fancy for certain pre-
cribed colors inherited from ancestors.
Calves of this sort, preserved to rein
force the herd, should be well cared for.
After being permitted to suck the COW q
few times, it is good practice to
wean them and teach them to drink.
Skinned milk warmed to the natural
temperature of new milk is sufficient
and healthful food, and calves will
thrive well upon it. A calf may be thus
fed until three or four months old, and
at month old will begin to eat little
bran or meal, of which an ounce a day
may be given with benefit. This allow
ance may be increased one ounce q
month until the calf becomes q COW and
takes her place in the stable. When
thus fed with sufficient hay in winter
and pasture in the summer calf will
become COW, healthful, vigorous and
fully developed as to her milking ca
pacity, and, as q matter of course, will
produce calves of greater promise than
herself. It is in this way that the ex-
cellent dairy breeds have been built up
and trained from no better material to
begin with than the best of our common
stock; and the methods which have
been successful with them can not fail
to be equally effective with these