Too young Veal.

Manawatu Herald, 10 November 1894, Page 3

Too young Veal.

It has come under the notice of *~the Victorian health authorities that newly born calves are habitually sold by many dairy farmers ior human consumption. In order to seoure the maximum yield of milk from the cows, the farmers find it necessary to get rid of the calves. There are two ways of doing this — to knock them on the head or to sell them. : The latter course is found to be the more advantageous, as the animals bring from Is 6d to 2s per head. The great increase in the quantity of factory butter manufactured for export has naturally been accompanied by a corresponding increase in the number of calves. Some idea of the number cf sucklings that have to be disposed of by either one process or the other may be Judged from the fact that there are 500,000 cows supplying milk to daifteTTthrbUghoufc the colony. The flesh of newly born oalves is innutritious, and is in fact unsuitable for human consumption. Dr Gresswell states that it is known to be provocative of serious illness in the

case of aonie people, and he stroflglj ■ fc}'ond,eftrhß the 3Jile of such rheat. In this cofiheetioh rc?feren.ce may be made to tho advice given some months ago by Mr Wilson, the Cfoyernn'iefifc dairy expert, who counselled t&lry farmers hot, to kill their calves, but to feed theiii oft skim milk along with mutton fat or other suitable oils mixed with pollard o,l' other descriptions of meal. By this meand the calces .would, in three months attain a weighfc of a'i least 501 bof eatable veal. The department would undertake to freeze the carcases and place them in a cool chamber on board the mail steafiifefs for export to L inion, where they would realise about fid S lb. This would give a return of 29s for each carcase; and allowiug for all expenses, it is esfcifhatefl that the farmer would obtain a clear rettirfi !of at least 10-i per head, a vast difference when compared with the Is 6d or 2h at which they are now Sold 4 As a matter of fact, some of the farmers are following the advice given by Mr Wilsoti through these Columns* and are sending calves to the city rtfrigeratihg stores for export to London.— fixehafige, j