Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1902-01-30
ne Dairy Calf.

The Dairy Calf.
Now, suppose this is a heifer calf
descended from a good dam and bet
ter sire, and we place it in the hands
of the dairyman who can make out Of
it all that nature intended it to be.
1t should never be stunted for a mo-
ment from the time it is dropped until
it goes into the dairy. A few hours
after it is born, if it cannot stanG,
gently support and proceed to give it
it's first milk. Nature has provided
that the first milk taken from the
mother is the best food for it, but we
must be the judge Of quantity. safe
way is to take a pint of milk and an
equal quantity of water, and never
give this at a temperature less than SO
degrees. | will not take time to tell
how to teach the calf to drink, only
put two fingers into its mouth instead
of one, as the milk will flow more
freely between them; and bring to
bear all your good nature and some of
your Joblike patience, and success will
be the result. The reason why water
is added to the milk is because by
high breeding We have increased the
quality of Guernsey and Jersey milk
until it is not safe to feed to the young
calf.
| am of the opinion that nine-tenths,
perhaps all, of the cases of calf
cholera are caused by bad manage
ment, and not an epidemic, as many
say. Some of the farmers around
home, we among the number, have
lost many calves from this disease
simply from the lack of knowledge Of
proper treatment. | feel safe in say
ing that there will be no trouble if the
milk nose, squeeze or clean the milk
off when it is through drinking.-E. B.
Sharpless in The National Stockman.
Fall and Winter Eggs.
Unless we make some preparations
now we need not expect to get many
eggs a little later on when the price
jumps up so as to return good profit
on them. good supply of earth, or
preferably sand, should be gathered
for floor covering, while we have a
chance to get it in good condition. If
the hen house is a close one, this
material must be reasonably dry, or
| the moisture ocCasiOned will be a pro
life source of colds and roup, although
no poultry house should be kept tight
| ly closed all the time except in the
coolest weather. This soil stored Up
| for winter use will answer to spread
on the dropping boards and mix with
| the manure, and also to keep in a box
for the hens to roll and work in, but
when used for the latter purpose
prefer to have it slightly wet, as the
hens seem to like to walIow IN it best
when in a moist condition.
Leaves make a very good litter for
| the hens to work in, and now is the
time to lay in q few loads of them
which should be done, unless we have
other material for this purpose in
abundance, for it is a settled thing
that unless some way is provided to
give the hens exercise, our winter egg
yield will surely be light. This matter
of exercising laying stock has been
written and talked about until it would
seem that there was no further use for
discussion on the subject but just
| take a little walk, after the cold
weather sets in, around among your
neighbOring farmers who keep from
| so to 100 fowls, and see how they
prOide exercise for them. When call
| ing on some of our well-to-dO farmers
! last winter, l observed that not one III
| six had anything on the floor for the
| fowls to work over in the shape of lit
/ ter. Some of them had good stock
| comfortable buildings, and several had
put up an open scratching shed, but
! not a leaf nor a straw in it for them
to scratch over. These people seem
to fully understand the Importance Of
! exercise. and admit that some material
! should be supplied for this purpose,
| but for some reason or other they don t
| take enough interest in the hen bus
! mess to go ahead and provide these
! cessities.-Practical Poultryman.
Facts About Boiling Water.
| 1t may seem presumptuous to sug-
gest that few people know how to boil
water, but such is the case. The boil