Calves, when they are to be reared, are generally fed principally on milk for the first thirteen weeks, after which they are fed partly with hay tea, which the dairy-maids make them suck through their fingers, till they are old enough to eat grass; but the rearing of calves is rather too difficult a task for you to undertake from any directions that I could give you; and, as for the management of those poor calves which are to be fattened and then sold to the butcher, I am sure you would not wish to know any thing about it.
Some people are very partial to goat's milk, as it is remarkably rich and sweet; but _goats_ are rather troublesome creatures. In the first place, the female goats are very capricious, and will not only seldom permit a stranger to milk them, but will often refuse to give down their milk even to those to whom they are accustomed. They are also very troublesome from their being much more partial to branches of trees than grass; and if they can ever contrive to get into a shrubbery, which they will do if possible, they will destroy nearly all the shrubs in an incredibly short space of time. Besides this, some goats are very fond of butting at children or any persons who may appear weak and delicate; and, even though they may not be able to do any serious mischief, they may cause considerable alarm. Many persons are very fond of the flesh of kids, but it is more eaten abroad than in England. When goats are kept, they do best in flocks, and they should have access to shelter, both in winter and summer, extremes of heat and cold being alike prejudicial to them; and the house in which they are kept should have a paved floor, and no litter.
Wherever there are cows and a garden, _pigs_ should be kept; as skim-milk and buttermilk, with the refuse of a garden, are almost sufficient to maintain a pig. Pigs are unlike most other animals, as they fatten soonest on sour food; they should, however, be kept clean, and in many places, I am told, the cottagers rub them with a broom. Sows are very apt to destroy their young when they are littered with long straw, as the pigs sometimes hide themselves in it for warmth, and are trodden upon accidentally or smothered by their mother. A sow ought, therefore, to be littered with short straw when she is expected to produce young. Pigs are greedy creatures, and, when there are several together, the master pig generally puts his foot in the trough while feeding, so as to prevent any other pig coming near him till he has done.