THE CALF AND THE CARE OF IT.
Since the plants here recommended for the nourishment of the cow, afford the best milk-producing food the whole year round, the time of calving may be left to the option of the owner, for it will not affect the quantity of milk that the cow gives. If the milk is mostly needed in summer, the cow should calve in spring, and if it be desirable to have more milk in winter, she should calve in autumn. I might add, that if the butter, or a part of it, is to be sold, it will be more profitable to have the calf in fall than in any other season, because butter brings the highest prices in winter.
The disposal of the calf depends on circumstances, of which the owner is the best judge. If he concludes to keep it on account of the value of the breed, or for any other reason, he should raise it by hand, not allowing it to suck more than three days at furthest. For the first few days it should receive only the fresh milk of the cow; afterwards it may be fed on warm fresh milk, skim-milk, buttermilk, whey, and hay-tea, until it is old enough to subsist on solid food. Fresh milk should be the leading diet in the beginning, and should be gradually diminished in quantity as the calf increases in strength. Hay-tea is made by pouring boiling water on hay, and letting it steep for about two hours. If the calf is not to be raised, it ought to be sold before it is a week old, because the milk that it drinks before it is ready for the shambles, is worth more than the price it will bring. If a purchaser for the calf cannot be found while it is so young, it is most profitable to kill it, and bury it in the compost heap, as soon as the milk of the cow is fit to use. I simply state this as a fact, without recommending it to be done, for it is cruel work; but so is any butchering, and if the calf is to be killed, it really matters not how soon it is done. The sooner it is removed from the cow the less she will grieve for its loss.