The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1897-09-15
The Raising OF the Calf and the
Growing of the Cow,

There probably never has been as
much said and written in any ten years
of the present century concerning the
raising of calves for the purpose of
dairy COWS, as had been said and writ
| ten within the past two years. AT
farmers institutes the subject comes
up in some form, in large per cent OF
them, and the agricultural press is
printing more or less every month of
someone's writings upon the subject,
and there Is seemingly as much vari-
ance of opinion as there is upon the
things that our Government should or
should not impose tax upon. 1t is
not at all strange that those who are
growing calves should disagree upon
the subject. We humans are prone to
that upon nearly all questions of i'm
portance, and we humans are also quite
gifted in jumping at conclusions, and
we not infrequently come to believe
that this way or that way is best because
it happens to suit our individual fancy
or circumstances the best, and we soon
conclude that it is best for all to be-
lieve as we do, in short become bigoted.
But to the question of calf raising
writer not long ago in an agricultural
paper stated that the Lord only pro-
vided one way for calf to get its nour-
ishment until it was old enough to eat
solid food, and that was to nurse its
mother; all other methods was viola
ton of Natures laws, and as they were
violated evil results followed. Another
man wrote that the calf never should
nurse, as it was liable to take germs
into its stomach from the act of nurs-
sing, and evil results followed in the
form of disease. One said at an insti-
tute where l was, that calf should be
fed new milk and nothing else until
old enough to wean. Another disputed
him and said that was all wrong, and a
calf thus raised would get 30 fat that it
would be worthless as cow, and SKIM
milk after the first week was the proper
food until weaned, which should be at
four months old, when wheat bran
sould be fed literally and clover hay.
Then farmer jumped up and said that
the skimmmilk was all right, but the
wheat bran and clover hay was all
wrong. That calf, if it was to be grown
into good mich cow, must have a
large digestion, and if fed upon oats,
wheat, bran or clover hay largely, that
the digestive organs never would de-
velop, and she would not eat enough
food to make a large flow of milk, and
closed by saying that the calf must
: have its food in bulky form to give its
stomach distension, and grain of no
kind for him. Straw was the best food
for this, and cornfodder and other food
of that sort.
l might 90 on with numerous other
| fh;noo hot houa hoo rd and rQQ6 nnnU
the subject; but enough for the present.
1 don't believe that any of US know as
much as we ought to know upon the
subject l know that don't, yet
think that l know more than 1 once
did, and the more l study veterinary
, science and the digestion and assimila.
ton of the food that animals eat, and
the more l study the natural habits OF
, the animal in its domesticated state,
and then view it in it's state of domesti.
cation after man has taken control OF
it, all slong the line l see that some
men have been off, and away off, in
their hasty conclusions, and have in
some instances been just IS mistaken
, myself. Taking up the opinions of the
first mentioned writer, they may be ell
right, providing calves were being
raised for the butcher, or even if q
heifer of the beef breeds to raise as q
future cow to be kept for breeding, as
beef is what they have for generations
been bred for, and there is but little
danger of the calf getting any great
surplus from it's mother. But when we
are striving to raise calf for mich
COW the matter becomes very different.
1t is cow that will give milk at least
ten months in the year that we want,
and that is something the wild or orig
inal COW never did, and rare thing
for any of the beef breeds to do now;
we, therefore, cannot wisely follow
that line of management or we will
have beef heifer instead Of mixer,
as her milk-producing properties will
be dwarfed by excessive fat. The
second man who wrote was, possibly, a
doctor, who was laboring under an at
tack of germ fever, as there are some
who are seemingly going it little wild
over the recent discoveries of the bac-
teriologist, and are disposed to attrib-
ute everything, from pain in the big
toe to earache, to specific germ. /
will pass him by, by saying that he has
bad attack who would thus conclude
that calf would be liable to contract
much disease from nursing healthy
mother. As to the next two who are
disputing, let us split the difference be-
tween them, and say the better way is
to feed the calf new warm milk for
from two to three weeks; then half
skim and half whole new milk, fed at
blood temperature, and fed twice per
day, being careful not to feed 80 large
quantity as to produce securing, and
continue that until the calf is month
old, when the whole milk can be left
out and warm skimmilk be fed until 1t
is two months old, and then warming
can be dispensed with; meantime use
little flaxseed jelly, or spoonful or
two of linseed oilmeal in a measure to
take the place of the butter fat that is
taken out of the whole milk, for just
remember that milk, in order to
digest well, must have just little
oil or fat in it, and separator milk as
| rula 1naa not contain much Rut