Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1916-03-07
COMING CROP Of
CALVES AND HOW
To CARE FOR THEM

u viii not be long until the calves
that viii enter the market 0s bceves
in t9i1-1s1S viii be putting in their
appearance Those OF them that arc
allowed to practice the art of dairying
without hindrance from their owners
VIII do famously: for the calf needs
no instruction in the gentle art OF
milking. II is q past master ne that.
Those that are not permitted to do
their own milking viii have troubles
and the number Of troubles they have
VIII be in inverse proportion to tho
Intelligence OF the men who own
them II is TO the intellieencc Of
their prospective owners that We now
appeal not because il ia Of any par.
tieular interest 10 as. but because #
is TO the interest Of the calves. the
owners themselves and the farming
community.
Tho growing Of calves by hand is q
science and an art The art. as all
other arts. can be acquired only by
practice. The science is acquired not
so much out OF books rs through OBJ
servation. Great calves We're grown
by hand before there were any agri-
cultural colleges or experimental sta
tions, or any agricultural newspapers
to speak Of They grew and waxed
fat and brought big money. because
the men and women who owned them
had eyes in their heads, ana knew by
observation n few things worth know
ing. Permit us to state q few Of these
things says Wallaces Farmer.
First. the unborn calf is FED through
the navel by the blood Of is mother,
which leaves very little fecal matter,
but does leave some, which aeeumu-
lates in the bowels until birth Ma
ture provides in the first milk, or
what our grandmothers called the
"bee-stlngs," a powerful aperlent and
tonic, intended to cleanse the bowels
ana give the youngstcr q vigorous
start in life, making its outlook upon
this strange world hopeful. There
fore II you want to work in harmony
with nature, give the calf the first
milk. preferably letting it do its own
milking. But II you believe that the
cows affection must remain ungrati-
fled to save you trouble. then at least
go to the trouble Of milking and feed
ing this first milk to the youngster
Don't be afraid that it will get too
much Of 1t. Nature made it on pur-
pose, and made it go that a good deal
Of 1t won't hurt but win help. You
may safely do this for about four
days. That's the first fact We OBJ
served about feeding caNes-just as
our grandmothers and great-grand-
mothers observed it before MS.
The second thing TO remember If
YOU undertake to feed this calf the
first milk, is that all it's instincts inn
pei 1t to look up for its nourishment
instead of down; and you are going to
have some trouble in reversing this
and training the cuff to 90 against in
stinct Furthermore, nature teaches
il not to drink. but to suck You will
get along faster i'm teaching the young
bossy how to eat, if You will let it
suck your finger or punch the pith
out Of a clean com cob and let it
suck the milk through that This is
really the most difficult part of teach
ing the calf.
Third. nature has prNided in tho
milk of the COW n balanced ration for
the calf. We don't mean the COW that
has been bred for excessive butter-f1t
for generations. but the wild COW. tf
you have been trying for generation
to increase the hutter-fat, you had
better ask to what extent you have
succeeded, and then water this milk
with warm water, mind you-so as TO
make the percentage of hpttor-fat not
over three per cent. Less would be
better, but be sure that the water is
warm. All young things that live on
milk take their milk at about the
same temperature as the body of the
dam Don't forget that nature is very
anxious about the life of the young,
aud YOU hadf better respect her sus-
gestions.
But, you say, / want to get some
butter out Of this COW. All right
that's your privilege; but for the first
ten DAYS thd calf has first claim
and if you cheat it out of its fun milk
and proper milk, you arc a thief a
pretty mean one-steafing from
helpless calf, and you won't escape
punishment for it.
After that you can substitute skim
milk. bat do IL gradually, taking ten
days to it. By that time your calf
viii have formed the Guiding habit
For, mind you. the young calf is not
ruminant, that is. an animal that
chews the cud 1t is simply a poten-
tial ruminant, and It's digestive APP
paratus is not yet fitted 20 take care
of any kind OF graineor hay. IT will
come to that by and by, but until it
does give it milk.
You say. How do you know that9
If you ask the calf il will tell YOU. If
you give it a chance to eat some nice
clover hay aud it nibbles at it, this
means that it is getting its digestive
apparatus in order for that sort nt
feed. If you will carelessly sprinkle
some oatmeal or cornmeal around
whore it can set at 1t, it viii nibblc
at that That's calf language. and if
you have brains in your head You
should understand it.
After While you can take off the
cream altogether if you wish but you
must replace II by some substitute.
You have reduced the fats, and YOU
must restore them in some other