HINTS ON DAIRYING

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Using poor Salt to season good Butter is like using poor Thread in sewing Good Cloth.

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THE HIGGIN "EUREKA" SALT CO.,

(OF LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND)

Office, 116 Reade Street,—NEW YORK.

JERSEYS—One Ton 2,000, Marpetro 3,352, Boma 4,834. Property of Beech Grove Farm, Beech Grove, Ind.

Copyrighted in the year 1885
BY T.D. CURTIS.

[PREFACE.]

It was intended by the Author to publish an exhaustive practical work on Dairying. But his time was so occupied by other matters that he was compelled to abandon the idea. Much of the following pages was written while traveling, the intervals of waiting at hotels and railroad stations being devoted to this work. But on reperusing the chapters as they appeared in the columns of the Farmer and Dairyman, and making slight additions, he has concluded to give them to the Dairy Public in their present form, believing that they may be of some assistance to the tyro, and perhaps afford a hint, here and there, to the dairyman of more experience who wishes to keep abreast of his fellows in the march of progress. This little book is not intended to supersede any other work on the subject, but to play the part of an auxiliary and present in a condensed form the pith which the reader might not have time to get from a more elaborate volume. The favor with which his "Hints on Cheesmaking"—now out of date—was received, gives the author confidence that his later effort may serve to fill a place that now remains unoccupied. Providence seems to have selected him as one of the laborers in this field of education, and he conscientiously devotes a portion of his energies to the service with envy toward none, but entertaining the hope that his mite may not be unacceptable among so many larger contributions.

[HINTS ON DAIRYING.]

[HISTORICAL.]

Dairying runs back to a period in the development of the human race of which we have no record. Man early learned to not only slay animals and eat their flesh, but to appropriate to himself the food belonging to their young—a trait of selfishness which he has not yet overcome, and even manifests by preying in various ways upon his fellows. We have in the world large classes who add nothing to its real wealth, but live and luxuriate on the fat of the earth by drawing the results of labor from the toilers through cunningly devised schemes of finance, business and government.

IN ASIA.

Away back in the dimness of antiquity, of which even tradition gives no hint, comparative philology shows us that a civilized race, now known as the Aryan race, dwelt on the steppes of Central Asia, and that the ox and the cow constituted their chief means of subsistence. They lived in simple peace and innocence, their language having no terms of war and strife. But there came a time when separation began and migration followed. They were scattered to the four corners of the Eastern Continent, and their descendants now constitute the progressive nations of the earth. The parent nation appears to have utterly perished in giving birth to the nations of the future. No trace of it is left, save the remnants of its language inherited by its children; but they furnish indisputable evidence of a common parentage.

AMONG THE JEWS.

Our earliest authentic records about the dairy are of the use of milk and its products among the Jews. We are told, in the 8th verse of the 18th chapter of Genesis, that when Abraham entertained the three strangers, "he took butter and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them." Moses, in his song, as recorded in the 23d chapter of Deuteronomy, 14th verse, says of Jacob that the Lord, among other things, gave him to eat "butter of kine and milk of sheep." Deborah, who declares in her song that "the stars in their courses did fight against Sisera," who was entertained and slain by Jael, says of the murderess (Judges, 25th verse and 8th chapter) "he asked water and she gave him milk, she brought forth butter in a lordly dish." In the 17th chapter and 5th verse of 2d Samuel, the writer tells us that David and his people, after the battle in the wood of Ephraim, were given "honey and butter, and sheep and cheese of kine," to eat. Zophar, in the 20th chapter of Job, 17th verse, declares of the wicked hypocrite, who "hath swallowed down riches," that his triumph is short, and "he shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter"—which, we infer, are designed for the righteous; and Job (29th chapter and 6th verse) bemoans the loss of his former prosperity, "when I washed my steps with butter." In the 55th Psalm, 24th verse, David says of his enemy that "the words of his mouth were smoother than butter." Solomon appears to have understood the whole business. In Proverbs, 30th chapter and 33d verse, he exclaims: "Surely, the churning of milk bringeth forth butter." Isaiah, in the 7th chapter and 15th verse, declares of the coming Immanuel, that "butter and honey shall he eat;" and again (22d verse) that "for the abundance of milk that they shall give he shall eat butter."

IN SOUTHERN EUROPE.

Chambers says: "In ancient times, the Hebrews seem to have made copious use of butter as food; but the Greeks and the Romans used it only as an ointment in their baths, and it is probable that the Greeks obtained their knowledge of the subject from the Scythians, Thracians, and Phrygians, whilst the Romans obtained it of Germany." This would indicate that the Germans at that time were engaged in dairying. But, even now, in Southern Europe, butter is sparingly used, and in Italy, Spain, Portugal and Southern France, it is sold by apothecaries as an ointment. Dairying is now extensively carried on in all the countries of Northern Europe.

IN AMERICA.

When the early settlers of America crossed the Atlantic, they brought with them their favorite domestic animals, including the family cow. But dairying for a long time, in this country, appears to have been confined mainly to producing supplies for the family of the dairyman. It was not until quite a recent date that dairying sprang into commercial importance. But, to-day, dairying cannot be considered second to any other industry as to either magnitude or importance; and it is a patent fact that, in those sections where dairying is most extensively and successfully carried on, the farming population is the most prosperous and happy.

Within the last twenty years, since associated dairying has been introduced, great progress has been made in the dairy—but not greater than in many other occupations, nor out of proportion with the growth of population. The growth of the dairy will probably never exceed the growth of population so long as the present heavy tide of immigration continues to set toward our shores.

FIGURES FROM THE CENSUS.

Let us refer to the census of 1880, and note the development of the dairy during the previous 30 years:

By the census of 1850, we had 6,385,094 cows, and produced 314,345,306 pounds of butter, and 105,535,893 pounds of cheese—a total of 418,881,199 pounds of product.

By the census of 1860, we had 8,585,735 cows, and produced 459,681,372 pounds of butter, and 103,663,927 pounds of cheese—a total of 563,345,299 pounds of product.

By the census of 1870, we had 8,935,332 cows and produced 514,692,683 pounds of butter, and 162,927,382 pounds of cheese—a total of 677,620,065 pounds of product—and this notwithstanding the war of the rebellion came in this decade.

By the census of 1880, we had 12,443,120 cows, and produced 803,662,071 pounds of butter, and 243,157,850 pounds of cheese—a total of 1,049,819,921 pounds of product.

GROWTH IN THIRTY YEARS.

This is an increase in annual product of 630,948,622 pounds in thirty years, or 212,057,523 pounds more than double the amount, in 1880, that was manufactured in 1850. History records no parallel to this anywhere on the face of the globe.

Let us put some of these figures into tabular form. We had in

We did not quite double the number of cows, but considerably more than doubled the population. The number of inhabitants was, in

The increase in 30 years is .40 inhabitant to each cow. That is to say, the population, as compared with the number of cows, was .40 larger in 1880 than it was in 1850.

PRODUCT PER COW AND PER CAPITA.

And now let us compare the product per cow and per capita. It was in

HOME CONSUMPTION VS. EXPORTS.

But it should be borne in mind that in 1850 very nearly all our dairy products were consumed at home; whereas in 1880, we exported a large amount. As the exports do not all come in the year of production, we will take the average amount of exports for 1879 and 1880:

pounds of product. If we take this from the total product

of product for home consumption, or more than five times as much as we export. This is a consumption of 17.47 pounds per capita for our 50,155,783 inhabitants, or .59 of a pound less than in 1850, when it was 18.60 pounds per capita. Does not this indicate the folly of catering for a foreign market to the neglect of our own?

FORMS OF MILK CONSUMPTION.

It is estimated by good judges that 45 per cent. of our milk product is consumed in its natural state, 50 per cent. is used in butter making, and 5 per cent. is made into cheese. The fact of there being a foreign demand for so large a proportion of our cheese, has led everybody astray, and magnified the cheese factory into the position of supreme importance.

THE PRIVATE DAIRY VS. THE FACTORY.

Let us again turn to the census of 1880, and see how the factory product compares in amount and importance with the product of the private dairy. It appears by the census of 1880 that the number of pounds of dairy products made in factories was as follows:

or considerably more than double the total factory product.

Now, let us make a comparison by values, calling the cheese 10 cents and the butter 25 cents a pound. We made in factories:

There was made in the private dairies:

In short, the product of the private dairy is between three and four times larger than that of the factory, and nearly seven times its value. Important as the factory is and is likely to become, let us not forget the private dairy nor overlook the home interest in striving for a little foreign patronage.

Notwithstanding the fault with the census that is found by some, the census is the most reliable source of statistical information about the dairy that we have.

[CONDITIONS.]

It is not every novice that can take up the business of dairying and carry it on successfully; yet, some of our most successful dairymen are comparative novices in the business. Quick observation and sound judgment are important qualities in a dairyman. These qualities are not always acquired by long experience, but are oftener the generous gifts of nature. Hence, it frequently happens that men of quick discernment step into a new business and achieve success where others have met only years of failure. Improvements in all callings are apt to be made by sharp lookers-on, who are not bred in the habits of routinism, nor prejudiced against radical innovations. They see at a glance where the plodder fails, and fearlessly apply the remedy—often a short-cut to ends that have hitherto been reached with much difficulty and hard labor. And here is where the real inventor finds his greatest field of usefulness.

PASTURES.

Sweet pastures, with a variety of nutritious grasses growing in them, are essentials to success in dairying—especially in butter making—in summer. Bitter and other mal flavored weeds must be avoided, as they flavor both the milk and the product manufactured from it. The cows must not be worried, nor over-worked in rambling over poor pastures to get sufficient food.

WATER.

Plenty of clean water must be conveniently at hand for the cows to drink. The water must be sweet and clean enough for the human stomach. Abundance of such water is more essential in the pasture—for the cows to drink while secreting milk that contains 87 per cent. of water—than it is in the daily-house, where a small amount of water will answer, if ice is used, and hence can more easily be obtained pure.

WINTER FOOD.

In winter, the food must be in proper condition, properly balanced between the nitrogenous and carbonaceous materials, and in full supply—all the cow can digest and assimilate. At least one ration a day should include sweet ensilage, roots, or other succulent food, to aid in the separation of the butter from the cream by action of the churn, it having been shown that all dry feed not only reduces the flow of milk, but makes churning slow and difficult, leaving a large percentage of fat in the buttermilk.

THE STABLE.

While in stable, the cow must also have plenty of pure air and sweet water, and not be chilled in obtaining either. Without pure air, the cow becomes debilitated and diseased, and the milk impure and unwholesome. Impure water both taints and corrupts the product. A proper temperature—certainly above freezing—should be kept up. Remember, the cow standing still cannot resist cold as she could if she were free to move about. It is cheaper to build warm stables—always providing for perfect ventilation, the air coming in at the head and passing off in the rear of the cow—and even to resort to artificial heating, than to compel the cow to burn an extra amount of carbonaceous food in her system to keep up the temperature of her body. Not only is fuel cheaper than food, but the system of the cow cannot devote to milk secretion the energy which is expending in secreting and consuming fat to maintain a proper amount of vital heat.

SHELTER.

Proper shelter in summer, from the scorching rays of the mid-day sun, and from beating storms and winds, is necessary. This should be easily accessible. Especially in early spring and late fall do the animals suffer severely from exposure to the cold winds and storms of all hours in the twenty-four.

DAIRY HOUSE.

Every dairyman should have a good dairy house distinct from the dwelling apartments. It need not, necessarily, be a separate building, but it should not be subject to the inflowing of odors from the kitchen and sitting rooms. The dairy house should be so constructed that the temperature may at all times be kept under perfect control. There should be no surrounding cesspools or other malodorous sources of taint, and the ventilation should be free without perceptible drafts or currents of air. No matter what method of setting milk and churning may be adopted, there is a decided advantage in having the dairy house, or any other workshop, separate from the dwelling apartments, so that the work of the one shall in no way interfere with the work of the other. Almost all dairymen fail, to some extent, in not having the dairy house entirely separate. It would cost but little extra; and until dairymen look upon the business as their life work and build and plan accordingly, we need not expect the best possible success in dairying.

CLEANLINESS.

Cleanliness everywhere and at all times is an absolute necessity. There is not the least danger of being too clean. The writer has never yet seen a dairy without defects in this particular. Yet, most people mean to be clean, and suppose they are. Lack of information is often the cause of uncleanliness, and habit goes a great way in making people indifferent to untidy surroundings. It is safe to copy the neat points found in every dairy, as well as to avoid the offensive ones. As Gov. Seymour once said, "cleanliness is a comparative term." It is well to keep making comparisons on this point, until no unfavorable comparisons with anybody's dairy can be found; and these comparisons should extend to the surroundings of the cows, the manner of milking, the handling of the milk, the cleansing of milk utensils, and all the processes of manipulation from beginning to end. The dairy house should not only look clean, but be, as it were, fragrant with neatness and sweetness. And it is all-important that the clothing and person should be clean and neat to a fault. A sweet temper, even is no drawback.

THE HERD.

Of course, a thorough knowledge of the business must be had or be acquired. The proper selection or rearing of dairy stock is essential to success. The cow should not only be a good milker, but give milk suited to the line of dairying pursued. If cheese making is the object, there must be a large flow of milk rich in caseine. In butter making, a large flow of milk is not essential, but there must be a large percentage of fat in it. And the breeding must be such as to keep up the status of the herd. Some depend on purchasing cows, and exercise great care and judgment in so doing. In exceptional cases, a herd may be kept up in this way. But somebody must breed and rear good cows, or soon none can be had at any price. As a rule, it may be said to be the duty of every dairyman to breed from the best blood obtainable, and to rear the heifer calves from his best cows. Unless this condition is fulfilled, the dairy as a whole must run down. It is only by constant care and breeding from the best that the present status can be maintained, and possibly a little progress made. It should be the ambition of every dairyman to constantly improve the value of his herd, and to make progress in every department of his dairy, while improving the quality of his product.

[DAIRY STOCK.]

There is no more important subject connected with the dairy than that of the selection and rearing of stock. The herd is the fountain head. If there is failure here there is failure everywhere. Many a dairyman has remained poor all his days because he spent his time and energies on an unprofitable herd. This is the first thing to be looked after. The selection of a herd is a matter of both knowledge and judgment—knowledge of the characteristics of breeds and of the requisites of a good dairy cow, and judgment as to whether the individual cow in question possesses these characteristics and requisites. We will give some of the generally acknowledged characteristics of the different breeds, first indicating, as far as we can in words, some of the points of a good dairy cow.

POINTS OF A MILKER.

The dairy cow should be deep and broad through the flank—deeper and broader than through the shoulders—but must have a comparatively large chest, giving capacity of lungs and stomach, for she must have good digestive powers and inhale plenty of fresh air. Her hips should be broad, setting her thighs well apart, and her thighs should be rather thin. This gives space for a large udder, which is indispensable, for it is unreasonable to expect a large flow of milk from an udder of small capacity. The udder should be soft and fleshless when empty, and extend high up in the rear. It should also extend well forward, and from it should extend further forward large, protruding milk-veins. If they are double and are crooked and knotty, all the better. These veins carry off the blood after it has passed through the udder and performed its part in elaborating milk, and their size indicates the amount of blood employed, and by inference the amount of milk secreted. So the escutcheon, which should extend out on the thighs and run with even edges and unbroken surface up to or near the vulva, is supposed to be some indication of the extent of the arterial system that contributes blood for the elaboration of milk. The neck should be slender, taper and thin, the horns small and slender, the face dishing or flat, the eyes wide apart and mild and intelligent in expression, the muzzle broad when viewed from the front but thin when viewed from the side, and the lips thick and strong. A long, slender tail is indicative of good breeding. A yellow skin, or one which secretes an oily yellow scurf—especially seen in the ears, along the back and at the end of the tail—is considered a sign of milk rich in fat. The skin should be soft and pliable, the hair fine, and the coat glossy. We prefer rather light to very dark colors. Our observation is that a black cow never gives as rich milk as one in which the white predominates. In other colors we have not noted such a difference. Viewed from the front, the general shape of the cow should be a little wedging—thinner in front and thicker in the rear. Viewed from the side, the cow should taper from rear to front, with the upper and lower lines generally straight, with little or no, slope from the rump to the tail.

DUTCH-FRIESIAN.

For general or all purposes, the Dutch-Friesian cow is not excelled. She may be equaled, but where is her superior? We use the name Dutch-Friesian because it expresses precisely what we mean—the black and white cattle of Friesian origin which have been bred pure in Friesland or North Holland, and not the cattle called "Holstein" in this country, which have been picked up promiscuously in the different provinces of Germany, because of their peculiar markings, but without reference to their breeding. Some of these may be pure bred, but they are liable to disappoint the honest purchaser, who buys them for and pays the price of pure bloods. The Dutch-Friesian cow is large, readily takes on flesh when not in milk, and therefore makes splendid beef. She is hardy, docile and easily cared for. No other breed equals her in yield of milk. Her milk is of average richness, and she gives so much of it that it makes her valuable as a butter cow. Microscopists say the fat globules in her milk are very small. This makes it somewhat difficult to separate the fats from the milk for the purposes of butter making. Though the fat globules are quite uniform in size, it requires a long time to raise the cream by the ordinary methods, and the separation is not complete; but this makes the skim-milk all the more valuable for cheese making, feeding, or to market. With the centrifuge, there would be no difficulty in getting out all the cream. For market, or family use, or for cheese making, the milk of the Dutch-Friesian cow, because of the slowness with which the cream separates from the milk, is superior. It is rich in caseine, and therefore very valuable for cheese making. We could not recommend any other breed with greater confidence. Dutch-Friesian grades—the result of using pure-blooded Dutch-Friesian bulls on common or other stock—make very valuable dairy stock.

Dutch-Friesian Bull, MOOIE, 26 D.F.H.B. Property of the Unadilla Valley Stock Breeders' Association, Whitestown, N.Y.

Dutch-Friesian Cow, JACOBA HARTOG, 2 D.F.H.B. Property of the Unadilla Valley Stock Breeders' Association, Whitestown, N.Y.

[THE JERSEY.]

Perhaps as widely separated from the Dutch-Friesian cow as any breed is the Jersey. She certainly is the smallest of all as the Dutch-Friesian is the largest—unless we except the Shorthorn and Hereford. The Jersey gives a small mess of milk, but it is very rich in fat, and the fat readily separates from the milk, leaving the skim-milk very blue and poor. It is not generally considered very rich in caseine, and it is therefore as poor and worthless as skim-milk well can be. But, considering size, the Jersey is conceded to yield more butter than any other breed. The cream globules are said to be very large and very uniform in size. Hence, they not only readily separate from the milk, but churn easily. The Jersey is out of the question as a beef animal, there is so little of her carcass; but we never heard complaint of the quality of the meat. But lack of beef qualities we do not consider a very serious objection in a dairy cow. We get our profit from her in the dairy. We cannot reasonably expect all good qualities in one animal or one breed. Nature is nowhere thus partial in her gifts. We find some good quality predominating in every one of the several breeds, and we must select accordingly to suit our line of dairying and our circumstances. The Jersey is a fawn-like, beautiful animal, with a mild eye and intelligent face, but usually has a quite angular frame, as a consequence of her excessive dairy qualities. She is rather tender, and cannot bear the exposure and harsh treatment that some of the breeds can. But no animal ought to receive such treatment. Kindness and comfortable quarters are due to all domestic animals, and such care, with proper feed, is the most profitable to the owner. The Jersey will not stand harsh usage; but for the man of refined taste and good judgment, who wants a nice thing and to turn out fancy goods, she is most decidedly the cow, and will not disappoint him. Solid colors and black muzzles are the fashion in Jerseys, but we are not aware that there is any practical merit in these. They have been bred down in size, to suit the taste of the English Lord, who wants them as pets on his lawns. This is rather against than in favor of the Jersey as a dairy cow, as it must of necessity reduce her capacity for converting food into milk and cream.

THE GUERNSEY.

There are but few of these animals as yet in this country, but the few that have been imported and bred here have proved very satisfactory and promising. They are pale red or buff red and white. The colors are about in equal proportions, though the red may predominate. They are considerably larger than the Jersey and possess all the good qualities of the latter. Indeed, there is pretty good evidence that these breeds have the same origin, and that the Jersey is the Guernsey bred down in size and bred also for solid colors. The Guernsey is just as beautiful in face and form as the Jersey, and we think rather hardier and possesses more capacity. For all practical purposes, we should be inclined to give preference to the Guernsey, which has no rival in her line, except the Jersey. This breed can lay claim to some beef qualities, because of its size. It is destined to become a popular favorite in the butter dairy and as a family cow.

THE AYRSHIRE.

This breed is a great favorite with many. It is small—scarcely larger than the Guernsey—and is remarkably nimble and hardy, thriving on scant feed and in rough pastures where some of the other breeds would starve. The Ayrshires are red or red and white and give a large flow of milk, fairly rich in caseine and in butter. The breed has its phenomenal cows, both as milkers and as butter makers. The cream globules of the milk are quite irregular in size, and hence do not readily separate from the milk by ordinary methods of cream raising. But this fact makes the milk all the better for family use, for marketing and for the cheese factory, or for both butter and cheese from the same milk. The Ayrshire, like the Dutch-Friesian, may be called a good general purpose cow. The greatest objections to this breed have been its nervousness and its small teats; but both of these may be overcome by gentle treatment and careful breeding—indeed, have been overcome in many cases. For rough, hilly pastures, there is no better cow than the Ayrshire. But although she can stand some hard fare, she responds quickly to gentle and generous usage. Well-selected and well-bred Ayrshires make a splendid dairy herd.

THE SHORTHORN.

This has long been a popular breed, and there may be said to be a strong popular prejudice in its favor. Its undisputed, and perhaps unequaled, beef qualities have been its strongest recommend. It was, however, originally a milch breed, and some families of the breed are still hard to excel for the dairy. But it is quite difficult to select and maintain a milking strain, so long have the Shorthorns been bred for "beef and beauty," and so effectually have the milking qualities been bred out of them. In some of the beef families, the cows do not give milk enough to support their calves. Yet, many dairymen cling to this breed and keep unprofitable dairies because they can get a good price for the old carcass as beef when the cow is no longer tolerable in the dairy herd. This is short-sightedness, and holding beef for market too long and at too great a cost. The profit should be in the dairy products, where a dairy herd is kept, and beef should be altogether a subordinate consideration. The Shorthorn is usually red or roan, and occasionally red and white, though we always suspect other blood—Ayrshire, for instance—in the spotted animals. As a rule, we do not consider the Shorthorns as really profitable dairy cows, though there are many exceptions where a milking strain is cultivated. But there is no disputing their value for beef.

Guernsey Bull, "LORD FERNWOOD." Property of L.W. Ledyard, Fernwood Farm, Cazenovia, N.Y.

Guernsey Cow, "COUNTESS OF FERNWOOD." Property of L.W. Ledyard, Fernwood Farm, Cazenovia, N.Y.

[THE DEVON.]

This is one of the choicest and most reliable of the dairy breeds. They are uniformly red, of fair size, have a sprightly appearance, and reproduce their like more certainly than any other breed that we know. As has been said, they are so prepotent, uniform, and distinct from the other breeds that they may be called a race of cattle. Their history runs back hundreds of years, until it is lost in tradition and uncertainty. But origin and history are of little consequence, since it is the living fact—the cattle themselves—that we have to deal with. The cows give a good sized mess of milk—large milkers have appeared among them as among other breeds—and their milk is very rich. It is not as rich as the Jersey's and the Guernsey's milk, but there is more of it, and it approximates the richness of the milk of these breeds more closely than that of any other. Hence, they are excellent butter cows, and justly favorites among those who are the most familiar with them and know how to breed them. Healthy, hardy, and easy to keep, they are adapted to almost any circumstances, and are excellent as butter or family cows, while the males, owing to their activity and endurance, make splendid oxen—both useful and fine looking. They make fine beef and a fair amount of it. They would be useful animals for crossing on the common stock and grades of the Northwest, where the climate is rigorous and both butter and beef are objects of importance. As workers, they would be very useful there. They will stand as much hardship as any breed we have, and as much as any breed ought to, but will do better under favorable than under unfavorable circumstances. Like all other breeds, they respond readily to kind and generous treatment, it being a universal law that want and abuse are sources of loss in the keeping of stock, the best results always following the best treatment. They will do well on level, hilly or rough pastures, because of their nimbleness and endurance: while the certainty of their breeding makes it perhaps less difficult to perpetuate their good qualities than is the case with any of the other breeds. In short, they are the most prepotent and uniform of all, give a good-sized mess of very rich milk, are easy to keep, hardy and active, and fill a sphere which it would be difficult to fill without them. We do not know how their milk appears under the microscope, but we judge from the characteristics of these animals that the butter globules are above the average size and very uniform. Hence the cream rises readily, is easily churned, and makes a rich-colored, fine-flavored butter. It is a little remarkable that the breeders of these cattle have not succeeded in getting up a "boom;" but the probability is that no strenuous and persistent effort has been made in this direction. Their superior merits are unquestioned and unquestionable.

THE AMERICAN HOLDERNESS.

This is a new breed, and its reputation is mainly of a local character. But it is not without its representatives in most of the Northern and Northwestern States, and its fame has traveled quite extensively, considering the quiet and unpretentious manner in which it was originated and has been bred. In some particulars it is the most uniform of the breeds, even more uniform than the Devon. Especially is this true of the quality of the milk, which is as uniform throughout the herd as if it were drawn from a single cow, the quality varying, where the keep is the same, only with the age of the cow, and the lapse of time since calving. The yield of milk, though not excessive, is large and very rich—almost equal to that of the Jersey and Guernsey, and quite equal to that of the Devon. It churns easily, and the butter completely separates from the buttermilk, rendering a second churning of no avail. Three hundred pounds per cow a year of high-colored and fine-flavored butter is a fair average for a herd. Few, even of selected herds, of other animals equal this. We are not aware of phenomenal milkers among the Holderness cattle, unless all can be called such, their chief characteristic being uniformity. They breed, it may be said, perfectly true to type, so that all are excellent. The reason for this uniformity is plain, and is found in the origin of the breed in the closest possible inbreeding for thirty years. They originated from a cow with calf which was bought by Mr. Truman A. Cole, of Solsville, N.Y., of a drover who had just purchased it at auction in Knoxboro, N.Y., where a herd of pure-bloods, because of the death of the owner, had been sold under the auctioneer's hammer. The cow dropped a bull calf, which was bred to its mother, then to both mother and sister; and this system of close inbreeding, even sire to daughter, as well as brother to sister, has been continued down to the present time, or for thirty years, as before stated. This has fixed and intensified the qualities, and at the same time secured the greatest possible uniformity and really established a breed, separate and distinct from all others. This is the way in which all the valuable breeds have been established, and this is the first persistent and successful effort at establishing a purely American breed that has ever been made. While carefully watching results and selecting for breeding purposes, Mr. Cole has steadily refused to be turned from his course, or to change his purpose of establishing a uniform butter breed, and of testing the fallacy of the popular notion about the injurious effects of inbreeding. His thirty years of the closest inbreeding have shown no such disastrous effects, but, on the contrary, have produced only good ones. There is no failure in form or constitution. The only marked external change, save in securing the greatest uniformity, has been in the gradual change of color. The original animals were pale red and white, the white being along the back from the shoulders to the tail, down the hind-quarters, and along the belly to the shoulders. This distribution of the light and dark colors has remained essentially the same, but the light red gradually turned to dark red, then to brindle and finally to black. The later bred animals are all black and white. But the calves, when first dropped, are still red and white, the red changing to black when the first coat of hair is shed. This is probably one of the most remarkable cases of inbreeding on record, as the breed is also one of the most remarkable. All who have tried this stock are remarkably well pleased with it, and calves readily sell for $100 a head with a demand greater than the supply—and this without any newspaper advertising. The breed is endorsed by Mr. Lewis F. Allen, former editor of the Shorthorn Herd-Book, and author of a work on cattle that stands second to none as authority. This endorsement has appeared in print over Mr. Allen's signature, as have the favorable opinions of many other good judges. In the latest edition of his book on the Cattle of America, he says:

"I never saw a more uniform herd of cows, in their general appearance and excellence, which latter quality they daily prove in the milk they produce. * * Compared with ordinary dairy herds, the uniformity in yield testifies to their purity of breeding and management."

American Holderness Bull, LEWIS F. ALLEN, at 16 months. Property of T.A. Cole, Solsville, N.Y.

American Holderness Cow, ADELAIDE 17th. Property of T.A. Cole, Solsville, N.Y.

Col. Weld, who saw these cattle on exhibition at the New York State Fair, held at Utica in 1879, said of them, in the November number of the American Agriculturist;

"The cattle of this 'Cole-Holderness breed' are of good size and fair form as beef animals. * * * They are deep-bodied, with large udders and teats, with excellent escutcheons, great swollen and tortuous milk-veins and skins as yellow as Guernsey's. The interior of their ears was almost like orange-peel. The butter made from their milk * * * showed admirable color and keeping qualities. * * * Could we test the various breeds of cattle, with the view of determining with accuracy which is the most profitable dairy cow for all purposes—butter, cheese, veal, and ultimately beef—giving to each its fair weight in the scale of excellence, I would not be surprised if Mr. Cole's breed would win the distinction of being the most useful of all."

INBREEDING.

A word here about inbreeding will not be out of place. It may be disastrous, or it may be beneficial. So also may be crossing or grading. The evil as well as the good qualities are developed and intensified. Like begets like. Couple animals having the same bad points, and these points will be increased and strengthened. Couple those with good points, and corresponding results follow—that is, the good are increased and strengthened. But if one animal has one point to excess, so as to become a deformity, and the other is deformed by lack of this same point, it is both safe and advantageous to breed them together, as the result is likely to be a medium between the two. So, whatever the manner of breeding—inbreeding, crossing or grading—the good or evil results depend altogether on the characteristics of the animals coupled. Inbreeding intensifies and fixes the qualities, be they good or bad.

SWISS.

There have been a few importations of Swiss cattle, which are short-legged and strong-boned, and hence well adapted to hilly regions. Some of these have made splendid butter records—from 500 to over 700 pounds of butter in a year. We should have great hopes of them for the mountainous sections of our country; but as yet importation and breeding of this stock is not extensive enough to permit of their availability to any considerable extent for dairy purposes.

POLLED.

The polled or hornless cattle are great favorites with some of the Western people, and an effort is made to get up a boom on them. But they not only lack in numbers, but in the essential quality of a large flow of milk, or of a very rich one. The best information we can get does not indicate usefulness for the dairy. Neither do they excel several of the other breeds for beef. Their chief recommend appears to be their destitution of horns, which in our eye is far from a mark of beauty. It gives them a sort of bald, unfinished look that is anything but pleasing. We prefer, for looks, short, well-turned horns. But of course, without horns there is no hooking, but pushing is by no means avoided. Besides, in some cases we have known a lack of horns to make it difficult to fasten the animals in stanchions or with ropes. This may not be true of the cows; but we were cognizant of an instance on the New York State Fair grounds where a polled bull was constantly getting loose. His neck was so thick that he could slip his head through any place not tight enough to choke him. As to disposition, we presume the lack of horns would not make the bulls any more amiable. However, we have nothing to say against this kind of stock, and would advise all who like them to keep them. If horns are objectionable, it is easy to prevent them from growing on any stock by removing the first appearance of them on the calf. This can be done without much pain to the calf and without much trouble to one who knows how to do it. It, as we understand, requires no great skill, and can hardly be said to come under the head of cruelty to animals. It is nothing like as painful as castration.

HEREFORDS.

The Herefords are having quite a boom in the West, but it is not as dairy stock, but as superior for beef. We have seen no strong claims put in for them for dairy purposes. The few we have seen did not seem to indicate any great dairy qualities, nor have any of the numerous portraits we have seen published borne the marks of dairy stock. But the claim of beef qualities we believe is well founded. Their great rivals in this line are the Shorthorns.

COMMON STOCK.

We have not mentioned the so-called "Native" stock as a dairy breed, because it is not a breed, but a mixture of breeds—crazy-quilt stock. We would not be understood as considering it of no value for dairy purposes, for when carefully selected, a dairy herd of common stock may be very valuable. Great milkers and great butter makers are not uncommon among them; but there is such a mixture of blood in their veins that there is no guarantee of their producing their like. They originally sprang from the best animals that the early emigrants could select to bring over with them from Europe. But they were subsequently cross-bred so promiscuously that no trace of the original blood can be discovered with any certainty. They were also subjected to great exposure and hardship, with scanty food, which had a greatly deteriorating tendency. But, perhaps worst of all, there was no careful selection of males for breeding purposes, nor any attempt at judicious coupling for improvement, or for even the maintenance of the existing status. In short, the entire treatment and all the surroundings had a deteriorating influence and a tendency to the production of scrubs. If we were to take all the existing pure-blood stock and breed it together promiscuously, while at the same time subjecting it to harsh treatment and neglect, it would not require a very long period to reduce it to the same mongrel and scrub condition in which we now find the common stock of the country. Yet some of our common stock make excellent crosses, when pure-blood males are used. But no improvement or valuable results could come from using common stock bulls on pure-blood or other cows. The male has the controlling influence, and to the constant use of pure-blood males must we look for the improvement of the common stock of the country and for the maintenance of the existing status of the pure-bloods; and not only must we use pure-blood males, but keep up a constant and careful selection of the best. Neither should we trust to cross-bred or grade bulls for breeding purposes; for the progeny will inherit the traits of ancestors on one side or the other, and hence will lack in uniformity, both in appearance and in quality. When we use a grade bull, the result is just the opposite of what it is when we use a pure blood. With the latter, we get half-bloods, then quarter, then eighths, sixteenths, thirty-seconds, and so on, toward pure blood; but with a half-blood grade bull, the first offspring from common stock has only one-fourth pure blood, the next cross has only one-eighth, the third one-sixteenth pure blood, and so on—reducing the purity in the same ratio as the use of pure blood improves it—if we continue to breed from the grade male offspring. If we always use a half-blood male, there may be a slight improvement in the blood. But the improvement is too slow and the benefit too uncertain to make the use of a grade bull advisable when a pure blood can be had.

BREEDING DAIRY STOCK.

Having briefly glanced at the characteristics of the different breeds, it will not be out of place to say a few words about breeding and rearing dairy stock. There are three things to be considered:

1. Selection.

2. Coupling.

3. Care.

SELECTION.

By selection, we mean not only the selection of the breed adapted to the line of dairying pursued, but the selection of the individual animals to breed and rear animals from, and especially the bull to be used on the herd. This male should have a good pedigree—that is, be the lineal descendant of animals known to possess the qualities desired in the future herd. This is all-important; for however well-formed and comely he may be, he will transmit the qualities of his ancestors as surely as like begets like. This fact can never be safely ignored. Milk and butter qualities, in a dairy herd, must take precedence over beauty of form, however desirable the latter may be. The cows to rear stock from should be selected, as far as possible, on the same principle. Pedigree is not of as much consequence in a cow, so far as practical results are concerned, though it helps insure certainly in the quality of the offspring when that of the cow, as well as of the bull, is right. But we may safely venture on raising the calves of a good milker, as the probabilities are that the offspring will inherit the qualities of the sire, while it may also inherit the qualities of the dam, though she be of the most mongrel or mixed blood. If there is failure, however, it need not go beyond that one animal—unless an attempt is made to use a grade bull on a nondescript dam, in which case prepotency is weakened and mongrelism may show in the offspring. But grade bulls should never be used when it is possible to have the use of the right kind of pure blood, which is always stronger than mixed blood, and hence a pure blood sire is pretty sure to transmit the qualities of his herd and family, in a great degree, even when coupled with a cow of uncertain blood. In breeding, the one bull makes half the herd, and when used on common stock, the offspring will always be half-bloods the first generation. The second generation they become three-quarter bloods; the third seven eighths; the fourth fifteen-sixteenth, and so on, constantly approaching, but never reaching, purity. For all dairy purposes, however, they become practically as good as pure-bloods. But if the breeding is the other way—that is, if a scrub bull is used on pure-blood cows—the degeneration to the scrub status is in precisely the same ratio that we have just given for improvement when pure-blood males are constantly used. By using grade bulls, there is also a constant deterioration of blood, but not as rapid as when scrub bulls are used. The only safety is in using pure blood males. With these well selected and all other conditions maintained, the status is certain to be preserved, if improvements, in consequence of better care and selection, are not secured.

COUPLING.

Proper coupling, or rather the coupling of proper animals, has received little attention, and is now confined generally if not exclusively to professional breeders. But it is a subject to which the dairymen can as well as not pay attention with good results. By coupling proper animals, we mean having regard to individual points and qualities, never coupling those having the same defects, either in form or quality. For instance, to illustrate, a cow high on the rump may be safely bred to a bull low on the rump, or vice versa, the result, in all probability, being an offspring with a level rump. This is breeding together opposite extremes, depending on the one to correct the other. But if we breed two sloped rumps together, or two humped rumps, the result would be to exaggerate and intensify or strengthen this deformity in the offspring. So of quality or disposition. A nervous cow bred to a nervous or irritable bull, would be pretty sure to drop a calf that would be more nervous than either sire or dam. But if one of the parents is dull and sluggish and the other irritable and sensitive, the offspring might be an improvement on both. Again, a cow lacking in the quality of richness of milk, though giving a large flow, should not be coupled with a bull descended from a family having the same peculiarity of large flow lacking in richness. But if there is richness on one side and abundance on the other, the coupling of the two might reasonably be expected to result in improvement in the offspring, which might inherit both the large flow and the rich quality. Bad points and qualities are inherited as well as good ones. Hence, the constant aim and care must be to avoid developing what is objectionable as well as to develop what is desired. It must be constantly borne in mind that like begets like. All the trouble attending inbreeding, crossing or grading comes from not properly regarding this fact. Where inbreeding is followed, the only disadvantage arises from the fact that all the animals are likely to have the same defects of form, quality and constitution. But where these are all right, the advantage is that inbreeding fixes the features and qualities and secures the establishment of them in a type or breed. But crossing or grading animals having the same failing will prove just as disastrous as would inbreeding. But crossing may be done in a way to develop good qualities, and these may afterward be fixed by careful selection and inbreeding of offspring. This subject of breeding is one of great importance, and yet little understood. Many things pertaining to it are yet to be settled, though great progress has been made during the last few years, and public attention is being drawn to it as it never was before. It will be found that man can become master of the situation, and may, by observing certain fundamental conditions and varying only the details, breed domestic animals of almost any form, disposition, and quality, that he may desire.

CARE AND KEEP.

Better care and keep, however, are the key notes to improvement. Higher conditions and better surroundings lead to improvements which may be developed into fixed traits by proper selection and coupling, provided the improved environment is maintained. The status can be maintained only by maintaining the conditions. This is what we mean by care. Under this head, we include all that pertains to the health and comfort of the animal. Judicious care is of prime importance not only in breeding but in securing the best results in dairy products. Proper food and drink and enough of it, with shelter, kind treatment, regularity and the most thorough system, must be provided, or corresponding failure, for any and all abuse, neglect or mistake, is sure to follow.

[FEEDING STOCK.]

The question of feeding stock is yearly rising into greater prominence and importance. Formerly, it was thought that anybody who could throw out coarse fodder and hay to cattle knew enough for all practical purposes about feeding, and that any sort of a shelter, or no shelter, if the animal survived, was sufficient. Better ideas are beginning to prevail. Few men now think they know all that can be learned about feeding stock, and those who know the most are the most anxious to learn. A thorough knowledge of feeding requires a knowledge of physiology and biology, with the chemical composition and nutritive qualities of the different kinds of food. Added to this must be the practical knowledge gained by observation of the effects of the different foods on different animals under various conditions. And when all is known that can be, there will still be room left for the exercise of the best judgment of the feeder as to the conditions and requirements of the animal fed, and as to the quality of the foods available and the quantity and proportions of each.

CARBONACEOUS AND NITROGENOUS FOODS.

It is pretty well known what the constituents of the animal organism are, and what elements of nutrition are required in the food for the sustenance of the animal. Of these primal elements—some twelve or fifteen in number—it is found that, practically, when foods combined contain two of them in proper proportion, the rest are generally present in sufficient quantity. These two are Carbon and Nitrogen, and the foods containing them in relatively large proportion are respectively called carbonaceous and nitrogenous. All foods contain these elements in greater or less proportion. The proper proportion for feeding is found to be about one of nitrogen to five or six of carbon. If the temperature of the weather is low, the proportion of carbon may be raised to eight, and even ten, where little exercise is had—as, for instance, milch cows standing in a cold stable. But, in hot weather, when cows are giving milk, the carbon may be reduced to four and even three—that is, so that there shall be one part of nitrogen to three or four parts of carbon. The carbon is heat and fat producing, and some class it as motor producing, but we think this is a mistake, save so far as heat is essential to motion. We think nitrogen is motor producing as well as muscle producing—or, in other words, that the element which produces the organs of motion also fills them with energy, for the exercise of which heat is essential. We cannot have motion, or even life, much below the normal temperature of about 98 degrees Fahrenheit. At all events, it is found necessary to feed nitrogenous food to all animals that are working hard, to supply the waste of muscle—and we think also to replace the expended energy. Dr. J. Milner Fothergill, in his work on the "Maintenance of Health," published by G.P. Putnam's Sons, says: "The effect of the nitrogen upon the brain is to evolve nerve force freely, and this rules and regulates the actual force which takes its origin in the respiratory foods consumed. These respiratory foods furnish the force itself, but the nitrogenized foods furnish the manifesters of force." It appears to us that the nerve force, which he says is evolved, is all there is of it, save the requisite conditions afforded by heat. Dr. Houghton says: "The hunted deer will outrun the leopard in a fair open chase, because the force supplied to its muscles by vegetable food is capable of being given out continuously for a long period of time; but in a sudden rush at a near distance, the leopard will infallibly overtake the deer, because its flesh food stores up in the blood a reserve of force capable of being given out instantaneously in the form of exceedingly swift muscular action." Dr. Fothergill goes on to say: "Nitrogen is the essential factor in all explosive compounds, from gunpowder to nerve force. It endows the consumer of it with energy and enables him to discharge his force quickly and rapidly." Again, he says of the race-horse: "His food affects his speed and endurance, and without his nitrogenized food he would cut a poor figure at a race, because without it he could not discharge his force fast enough."

WHAT IS CARBON?

It is pure in the diamond, nearly pure in coal, and is the principal constituent of all woody fiber—also of oils, fat, starch, sugar, etc. Nearly all the visible organic world is composed of carbon. It appears to be very plentiful, but of our atmosphere it composes only about four-ten-thousandths, while oxygen, with which it unites to form carbonic acid gas for vegetation to feed on, composes one-fifth and nitrogen four-fifths. Really, we have little trouble in securing carbonaceous foods. The only difficulty is to get them in a digestible form. Only what is soluble can be digested and assimilated by the animal organism. Hence, great care must be taken to get food in a proper condition for animal nutrition.

WHAT IS NITROGEN?

It is almost pure in the albumens; both vegetable and animal. It is nearly pure in the white of egg. Hence, nitrogenous foods are quite commonly called albuminoids. It exists abundantly in all the proteins—as cheese or caseine, fibrin or lean meat, albumen, etc. Nitrogen, in its free state, appears to be an innocuous gas, diluting the oxygen and preventing it from rapidly oxydizing or burning up everything. As before said, it constitutes four-fifths of our atmosphere, but does not appear to be directly appropriated by either vegetables or animals. As food for either, it must be in combination with other elements—especially carbon—and yet it is very difficult to make it unite with other elements, and hard to maintain the union when it is once formed. Its disposition is to break these unions and seek an idle state of freedom. Hence it is that, when held in durance, its constant tendency to free itself makes it the motor force in all animal organisms, and the terrible energy in all explosives. It is secured in the form of ammonia in rain, by a process called nitrification it unites with the soil, and it exists in all decayed animal and vegetable matter in a form suitable for plant food. Men and animals get it by eating vegetables or by eating one another. It is a very abundant and important element, yet very difficult to obtain in an available form for plant and animal food. Fortunately, but comparatively little of it is needed.

COMPOUNDING RATIONS.

By referring to the feed tables furnished by the analysts of this country and Europe, the farmer can learn the constituents of foods. Then, knowing the ration required, he can take different foods and compound in the right proportions aimed at in feeding, whether for work, for growth, for fat, for bare maintenance, or for milk. We give the German standards for feeding animals:

Per Day and Per 1,000 lbs. Live Weight.
			Nutritive digestible sub.
	ANIMALS.	Total organic dry substance.	Albumi-noids.	Carbo-hydrates.	Fat.	Total Nu-tritive sub.	Nutritive ratio.
		lbs.	lbs.	lbs.	lbs.	lbs.	lbs.
1.	Oxen at rest in stall	17.5	0.7	8.0	0.15	8.85	1:12
2.	Oxen moderately worked	24.0	1.6	11.3	0.30	13.20	1:7.5
3.	Oxen heavily worked	26.0	2.4	13.2	0.50	16.10	1:6.0
4.	Oxen fattening, 1st period	27.0	2.5	15.0	0.50	18.00	1:6.5
	Oxen fattening, 2d period	26.0	3.0	14.8	0.70	18.50	1:5.5
	Oxen fattening, 3d period	25.0	2.7	14.8	0.60	18.10	1:6.0
5.	Cows in milk	24.0	2.5	12.5	0.40	15.40	1:5.4
Growing Cattle—Per Day and Per Head.
	Age.	Average live weight
	Months.	per head.
	2 to 3	150 pounds	3.3	0.6	2.1	0.30	3.00	1:4.7
	3 to 6	300 pounds	7.0	1.0	4.1	0.30	5.40	1:5.0
	6 to 12	500 pounds	12.0	1.3	6.8	0.30	8.40	1:6.0
	12 to 18	700 pounds	16.8	1.4	9.1	0.28	10.78	1:7.0
	18 to 24	850 pounds	20.4	1.4	19.3	0.26	11.96	1:8.0

SAMPLE RATIONS.

Dr. Wolf gives an illustration of the standard for a milch cow, by saying that 30 lbs. of young clover hay will keep a cow in good milk; and that this contains of dry organic substance, 23 lbs., of which is digestible—albuminoids 3.21, carbohydrates 11.28, and fat 0.63. This is .71 lb. albuminoids more, and .22 lb. of carbohydrates less, with .13 lb. of fat more, than the standard. Then he takes the richest and best meadow hay, of which 30 lbs. contains of organic substance 23.2 lbs., having digestible—albuminoids 2.49 lbs., carbohydrates 12.75 lbs., and fat 42 lb. This is almost exactly the feeding standard.

As will have been seen by what has preceded, the German standard ration for a milch cow is 24 lbs. of dry organic substance, containing 2.50 lbs. nitrogenous food, and 12.90 lbs. of carbonaceous food. To secure this, Dr. Wolff recommends for every 1,000 lbs. of live weight:

Prof. S.W. Johnson's ration for the same purpose is:

The following milk rations are recommended by Prof. E.W. Stewart:

The following are given by the same author as milk rations:

FATTENING RATIONS.

The following rations are recommended by Prof. E.W. Stewart for fattening cattle. The rations are for 1,000 pounds of live weight:

WORKING RATIONS.

The following are rations for oxen at hard work, as given by Prof. Stewart:

DIGESTIBILITY OF FOODS.

The following table, copied from Prof. Stewart, gives the digestibility of a few of the more common foods:

ELEMENTS OF FOOD.

We give the names of a few foods, with their relative amount of nitrogenous and carbonaceous elements:

ENSILAGE.

Major Henry E. Alvord, of Houghton Farm, N.Y., gives the following as the range and average of analyses by a large number of eminent scientists:

REMARKS.

It is safe to always feed cotton seed meal, bran, or linseed cake with corn fodder, or fodder corn, or ensilage. And it will always be found to work well if corn meal is fed with clover hay. Corn ensilage with clover hay will constitute a proper feed. To avoid waste, and secure the best results, we must learn to balance the nitrogenous and carbonaceous foods. Our greatest difficulty in feeding, as in manuring the soil, is to secure enough of the nitrogenous elements. These are what we have mainly to look out for, the carbonaceous foods usually being over abundant.

Not only must we proportion the elements of food properly, but we must prepare the food so that it will be in a proper condition. It may contain all the elements, but in consequence of being in a bad or wrong condition, the animal cannot digest it. There is plenty of carbon in coal, but who would expect the animal stomach to digest it? So there is nitrogen in saltpeter and gun-cotton, but they are not in a suitable condition or form for digestion, and hence have no food value. Most raw vegetables are indigestible in the human stomach, but cook them, and thus put them in a proper condition, and they become nutritious foods.

There are few, if any, perfect foods. Every food needs to be supplemented with something else. Hence it is that both men and animals want variety. Summer pasture, composed of mixed grasses, makes the best food for all kinds of stock. Meadow hay, cut at the right time and properly cured—provided there is a mixture of grasses—makes a proper food for winter; but even this needs to be accompanied by roots, ensilage or something of a juicy nature, as a relish, if for nothing else, and as an aid to digestion.

In a state of nature, roaming free, animals select and balance their rations according to the cravings of appetite. But when domesticated, they have no such freedom of choice, except perhaps in a few of the summer months. In winter, they must take what is given to them. It is our duty, therefore, to give their food a proper balance of elements as far as possible; and in thus conforming to the laws of nature, we shall find both the greatest economy and the greatest profit.

[HANDLING MILK.]

It is a comparatively easy operation to milk, if one knows how. The process is about as simple as that of Columbus in making an egg stand on end, but it requires skill, practice and a muscular hand to do it well. Grasping the teat so as to fill it with milk, and then tighten the thumb and fore finger so as to prevent a return of the milk to the udder as the rest of the fingers are gently but firmly closed, so as to give a downward pressure and expel the milk, is not likely to be done by the novice the first time trying. But ordinarily, the performance of this operation is soon achieved by any one who wishes to learn, though it is declared by some that they "never could learn to milk." Substitute "would" for "could," and we think the truth is more nearly approximated. Still there is a great difference in milkers, as well as in cows, the man or woman with a good grip in the hand having decidedly the advantage, both as regards ease and expedition—and it is quite important that the milk should all be quickly and continuously drawn from the cow after the milking is begun, and while the cow is in the mood of "giving down."

KEEP QUIET.

If a cow is suddenly disturbed, so as to get excited, or gets tired and out of patience, the flow of milk may be prematurely stopped. If this disturbance is continued from time to time, the effect will be to permanently lessen the flow, or "dry up" the cow. Anything that irritates a cow, while being milked, reduces both quality and quantity. Hence, milking should be done in a quiet and orderly manner. Treat the cow very kindly and gently, so as to gain her confidence, and be as careful as possible not to hurt her teats by unnecessarily tearing open any cracks there may be, or pinching any warts, and be sure to not dig your finger-nails into the teats.

REGULARITY.

It is a good plan to milk cows regularly in the same order, taking the same one first, and winding up with the same one every time. Regularity of hour in commencing the milking of the herd is an advantage, in securing the best results, since animals as well as men are greatly the creatures of habit, and when the time comes around the cow will desire to be milked and all the functions of her system will concur in this desire.

KEEP DOWN THE FOUL ODORS.

The milking should be done in a sweet, clean place—either a stable kept scrupulously clean, and plaster or other deoderizer freely used, or in a row of stanchions in an open shed, with barely a roof to keep off storm and sunshine, and no filthy deposits allowed to accumulate around it. The milk, as fast as drawn, should be removed from the place of milking, lest it absorb odors from the droppings, the breath, or the exhalations from the cow's body—or even from the sweat and grime of the person and clothes of the milker—for milk is extremely sensitive to these influences. It is much more so than is popularly supposed, and should be put in a sweet atmosphere as soon as possible when drawn. Fine fancy goods, with the most delicious and delicate flavor, cannot be made from milk that has been exposed to the influence of a foul atmosphere.

KEEP OUT THE DIRT.

So, also, great care should be taken to keep out all hairs, dirt and filth of every kind. If permitted to get into the milk, filth cannot be entirely strained out, and hence some of its odors and flavors will linger in the fats of the milk and appear in the product manufactured from it. The indispensable necessity for clean utensils has already been mentioned. Filth from this source will not only affect odor and flavor, but is quite likely to contain the germs of ferment which will multiply in the milk and product, and cause disastrous results. With a clean can, clean pails and clean hands, begin the task of milking by brushing off all loose materials from the cow's side that may rattle down into the pail, carefully brush and clean the udder and teats, and then place the pail between your knees in a way to prevent the cow putting her foot into it, or upsetting it, if she should move about nervously, or be suddenly startled—which should not be permitted if it is possible to avoid it.

LET OUT THE COWS.

As fast as milked, it is best to let the cows go. This gives more room, reduces the generation of heat in the stable or milking place, and lessens the amount of droppings and consequent bad odors rising from them. Those left will soon understand this and not get uneasy.

A LICK OF MEAL.

If the cows have been prepared for milking by giving them a lick of meal, or a little dry hay, when they come into the stable, it will be found to have a good effect. It will also cultivate a willingness to come home at milking time and take their respective places in the stanchions. It pays to please and satisfy a cow. She will deposit her appreciation in the pail.

CARE OF MILK.

When the milking is over, the milk should be taken as directly to the place of manufacture as possible. If it must be kept over night, see that it is well stirred and properly cooled to 70 degrees Fahrenheit, before leaving it. Do not put on a close cover, unless the milk is thoroughly cooled. It is far better to deliver it directly to the cheese or butter maker, who knows how to care for it, and has facilities for doing the work—or, at least, ought to have. Very much depends on having the milk delivered in good condition. If it is not, no after care and skill can make a perfect product from it. True, if all right when delivered, it may be afterward injured or spoiled, but it is not likely to be. It is therefore the duty of the patron to do his part of the work all right; then he may with some reason blame the operator if the result is not right. But butter and cheese makers are too often expected to turn out first-class products from second or third class milk—a task impossible to perform. With good milk and proper facilities, there is no valid excuse for failure.

The first object is the production of good milk. This is of prime importance. Without it, the after product must of necessity be inferior. The next object is to preserve the milk in its best condition, all through the handling, in order to reach the best results. Milk is often spoiled in the handling. Hence care and judgment must be exercised to maintain the proper conditions to the end.

COMPOSITION OF MILK.

Few understand the delicate and complex nature of milk. It is a compound of many ingredients; and if any one of these is disturbed, it affects the whole. Their union is very weak and unstable, and liable to be broken by many influences. To give a clearer idea of the composition of milk, we copy the following diagram, prepared by Dr. E. Lewis Sturtevant, Director of the New York Agricultural Experiment Station:

[1] Includes, albumen and whatever else is coagulable by acetic acid.

[2] Not found in all milk.

Here are between twenty and thirty different constituents, in various proportions. Their combination is effected through the organism of the cow, the ultimate work being performed by the udder, where it is no sooner completed than reaction begins and change is the result.

DETERIORATION OF MILK IN THE UDDER.

The longer the milk remains in the udder, the more it is impoverished by absorption of some of its ingredients. This is specially true of the fats, which are taken up by the absorbent vessels of the udder and carried into general circulation. For this reason, the first milk drawn—which is the first secreted, and therefore remains in the udder the longest—is the poorest milk drawn, and that which is last secreted and last milked (the strippings) is the richest. Hence, the longer the interval between milkings, the poorer the milk for butter making. Three milkings a day will give better results than two.

DO FATS EXPAND BEFORE CONGEALING?

If milk is to be set for cream, the sooner it is put to rest and the less heat it looses before setting, the better for the separation of the cream. If cooled down much, the cream will rise more slowly and separate more imperfectly. In cooling, the fluids and semi-fluids condense faster than the fats, and hence become relatively heavier, and settle as the fat globules rise, by virtue of the law of gravitation. The theory has been broached by Mr. H.B. Gurler, of DeKalb, Illinois, that in sudden cooling, the fluids and semi-fluids are not only condensed, but the fats expanded, thus increasing the difference in specific gravity in both directions. In this way, the rapid rising of cream in sudden cooling he thinks may be better accounted for. His idea is based on the fact that water, just before congealing, begins to expand and continues to expand as the temperature lowers. Fats consolidate at a much higher temperature than water, and he thinks the same law of expansion may intervene in both cases. So far as we are aware, it is not known whether fats do actually expand before and after reaching the point of congelation or not, and we shall feel an interest in having the question positively settled by the scientists. If it is a fact, it introduces a new element into our philosophy, and will help in the solution of some points not yet satisfactorily determined.

EFFECTS OF FALLING TEMPERATURE.

It is a fact that cream rises best in a falling temperature, very slowly in a stationary one, and little or none in a rising temperature. Hence, in cold weather, when milk cools very rapidly after being drawn from the cow, it is the practice of many good dairymen to raise the temperature of the milk to 100 degrees when set. In this way, they get a quicker and more complete separation of the cream as the milk cools down.

It would be a good idea to have, in all butter factories, apparatus for setting milk so constructed that the temperature of the mass of milk can be gradually and evenly raised to 100 degrees, or even slightly above; for it is difficult to deliver warm milk in a good condition especially in hot weather—if it has to be carried any considerable distance, while in cold weather, it is sure to get considerably reduced in temperature, both in milking and on the road to the factory. Hence, it seems almost absolutely essential, if the best results are to be attained, to have some means of properly raising the temperature of the milk at the factory.

COOLING AND AIRING.

If milk is to be sent to the factory, for either butter or cheese making, where the distance is half a mile or more, it should be aired and cooled—especially if it is to be shut up in a tight can. This cooling should be done as speedily as possible after milking, to avoid taint or souring. If the milk is kept over night, such airing and cooling are absolutely indispensable. The mode of doing this must vary with conditions and circumstances; but, whatever method may be adopted, we would by no means recommend putting ice directly into the milk. The effect cannot be to improve flavor or keeping quality.

PROTECTION FROM THE HOT SUN.

By no means should the can of milk be exposed to the direct rays of a hot sun, either on the platform waiting for the delivery wagon, or on the wagon. Give it shelter and shade of some kind, in both cases. If a woolen blanket is wet in cold water and wrapped around the can, the rapid evaporation from the blanket will keep down the temperature. Everything that can be should be done to preserve milk in its normal condition.

TREATMENT OF NIGHT'S AND MORNING'S MILK.

The night's milk and the morning's milk should never be mixed before starting for the factory, but kept in separate cans and so delivered. The effect of mixing will be seen soon enough at the factory, and often much too soon in hot weather. If the morning's milk were made as cool as the night's, the effect of mixing would not be so speedy and disastrous. But it appears to be an immutable law, that reducing the temperature and then raising it hastens decomposition. A low temperature only retards decomposition; it does not prevent it, unless very low and it is continued. As soon as the temperature is raised, decomposition sets in with accelerated rapidity, as if to make up for lost time. Hence, we have always looked upon low temperatures in the dairy as objectionable. As low as 60 degrees but not below 50 degrees is the limit which we prefer. We think this range more effective for long keeping than a lower one. Certainly, dairy goods made and kept within this range will not go to decay so soon as in a higher temperature.

RECEIVING.

In receiving either milk or cream from the patron, it is essential not only that justice be done in the weight or measure, but that the patron should be satisfied of this fact. The agent sent out to gather cream should be an honest man, in whom the patrons as well as the employer have confidence, and should understand his business and do it in a workman-like manner, so as to inspire confidence. He should also be versed in the various tricks that may be resorted to by patrons to deceive and cheat, and be on his guard, quick to discern any suspicious surroundings or indications. As much depends on his judgment and observation as on his honesty—especially if any of the patrons are disposed to be dishonest, as is sometimes the case where it would generally be least suspected. The later device of not only measuring cream by the gauge, but of testing its yield of butter by churning a sample, is not only a guard, to considerable extent, against fraud, but more closely approximates justice by getting at the actual quality of the cream, on which depends its value. There is no associated system yet devised—save that of churning every patron's cream separately and weighing the product—that secures exact justice to all. Nature does not appear to have furnished standards of commercial measure or value for the purpose of indicating mine and thine in mixed transactions, or in speculative exchange. We have only relative and approximate guides, by which justice, in a business sense, is by no means secured.

TESTING.

Where milk is delivered at the factory, we have as yet no standard test of value. All the receiver can do is to see that it is in a normal condition—neither sour nor tainted, nor containing bad odors. For this purpose, the smell must mainly be relied on. Hence, healthy and keen olfactories are a great aid here, as in some other cases. If one catches the fumes when the can cover is first removed, or as the milk runs into the weighing can, he is pretty sure to detect any very positive bad odor. The eye, to one of experience, is almost certain to detect any great variation. Even slight watering is seen by some from the peculiarity of the reflection of light from the surface—especially when in motion. Much water shows from the "thin" appearance of the fluid. Where the smell or appearance are cause for suspicion, or there is any other cause, a sample may be saved and such tests as are at hand may be applied. The so-called lactometer will show whether the specific gravity is below or above the normal standard. The cream gauge will give the percent of cream at a given temperature. If, afterward, a sample right from the herd, taken so as to know that it has not been tampered with, shows better quality by these two tests, it is pretty conclusive evidence that the milk from which the factory sample was taken was not in a normal condition. If the herd has been subject to no change of feed or conditions between the times of taking the two samples, any jury would be safe in bringing in a verdict against the defendant for watering, skimming, or otherwise tampering with his milk, as the facts in evidence might indicate.

BAD MILK.

Sour or tainted milk, to any perceptible degree, ought not to be received at the factory. One such mess will injure, if it does not spoil, a whole batch. The sour milk is likely to lead to a sour, leaky batch, and the tainted milk to huffy if not floating curd, and porous, quickly off-flavor and decaying cheese. We have little patience with those who deliver such milk, and none with those who attempt to devise means to work it into palatable cheese and thus to get it into the unsuspecting stomachs of the consumers. It is too much like making omelets of rotten eggs. This is especially the case with tainted milk. The first stages of souring are not so objectionable, so far as wholesomeness is concerned. Sour milk may make good pot-cheese to which we do not object, but it will not make good American cheddar cheese. To attempt to work it into this is the worst use it can be put to.

WEIGHING.

All possible precautions should be taken to avoid mistakes in weighing and giving credit. A hasty comparison of each mess with that of the previous one delivered by the same man will indicate any marked departure from weight and serve as a check against error. It is well to always announce the weight to the patron, who then has a chance for comparison with his average or previous messes. He will be pretty likely to mention any marked variation, especially if it is against him. Some patrons like to have a pass-book, in which the weight of each mess is entered. This is a little trouble to the receiver when in a hurry, but it is a complete check against errors of entry on the factory book, and against the forgetfulness of the patron, who may get the impression that he has delivered more milk in a given time than he has been credited with. Everything that guards against error or misunderstanding will be found to pay and give satisfaction to honest men. An honest factoryman not only wants to be right, but to appear right and have the confidence of his patrons. A dishonest one will want to appear right, and it is well to take such precautions as will make him what he appears. See that the weighing can is properly balanced, that the scales are true, and that the weights are correct. An honest man will bear watching, and it is absolutely necessary to watch a rogue. Where the milk is sold to the factory, of course all interest in the matter with the patron ends when he gets his milk correctly weighed and his money for it. Where the pro rata system is carried out, this interest extends to the weighing of the cheese, its marketing and the division of the proceeds.

KEEPING MILK.

When the milk is in the cheese vat, it should be stirred and aired at night until the temperature is down to 70 degrees, if it is to stand quiet; if an agitator is used, which is preferable, no further attention need be paid to the milk but to see that the supply of cold water is ample and continuous. As to mixing the morning's with the night's milk, it appears to be preferable to working up the two milkings separately.

BUTTER MAKING.

There really are but four systems of setting milk for cream, notwithstanding the numerous inventions and devices. These are: 1. Cooling in water; 2. cooling in air; 3. shallow setting; 4. deep setting.

DEEP SETTING AND WATER COOLING.

Deep setting, whether in pails or pans, is always accompanied with water and the use of ice. In many instances, however, where running water is abundant, ice is dispensed with, and the pails are set in pools or tanks, while the pans have water run around them, if not under them. Under-cooling, however, is pretty well understood to be a disadvantage, unless the vessel containing the milk is submerged in water or nearly so. Ice is a good deal used, and the milk rapidly run down in temperature. Some think this is the better as well as the quicker way, if not the only way to get all the cream. Our only objection to this rapid cooling is that it runs the temperature too low, and, in our opinion, injures the keeping quality of the product.

EFFECT OF TOO LOW COOLING.

If run below 40 degrees, or the point where water begins to expand, all cooling below that point lessens the difference in specific gravity between the water and the fat globules, and operates diametrically in the opposite direction to what is desired. The aim is to condense the water, which is a good conductor, and leave the fat globules, which are poor conductors, unchanged or but slightly contracted. In this way, the heavier fluid settles and drives the light particles of fat upward to rest on the surface. But, if we go below 40 degrees, we produce the directly opposite effect and retard the rising of the cream. For quality, we prefer the slower cooling in water, and think the longer time given will secure all the cream available and in a purer condition.

BUTTERMILK FLAVOR.

If more cream or butter is obtained by rapid cooling, we think it is because more particles of caseine are entangled in the cream and remain in the butter when churned. This would of course make more weight for market, but of inferior quality and sooner to go off flavor. But where the butter is consumed fresh from the churn, this does not matter so much; and if the particles of caseine give the butter a slight buttermilk flavor, it pleases some palates that have been educated to like it. We, however, prefer the sweet, delicate flavor of cream butter, free from caseine or lactic acid. But, if one has a special line of customers, he must please them, whatever the demand may be. If the butter is thrown on the general market, and there is liable to be delay in getting it into consumption, it cannot be made too pure, nor retain its rosy flavor too long.

SHALLOW SETTING AND AIR COOLING.

Generally, in shallow setting, whether in large or small pans, cooling the milk in air is depended upon. Formerly, an underground room, or one in a shady place, was the only appliance usually resorted to for cooling. But, of late years, some method of artificially cooling the air by the use of ice is generally adopted. In some cases, the milk room is made small, with low ceiling and double walls, so that a cake of ice near the ceiling does the cooling. Usually, however, some sort of refrigerator construction is resorted to, so that cool air from the ice-house, or ice placed above the milk room, is introduced to regulate the temperature and keep it steady. We prefer cooling in air, though it may take a little more space and time. By this method, extremely rapid cooling and low temperature are avoided, and no violence is done to the milk or cream. Deep setting, it is true, exposes less surface to the air; but if the milk is not submerged, the surface is likely to be cooler than the air above, and to condense the vapor in it, which falls with all its impurities on the surface of the cream. Any foulness or bad odors are thus absorbed and go into the butter product. While submerging obviates this objection and keeps out all impurities from the air, it also prevents all escape of bad odors by evaporation. Whatever that is objectionable may be in the milk is retained there. By setting in open air, which should of course always be pure and sweet, the air, being cooled down and used as a medium for cooling the milk, takes up the exhalations of moisture and odor from the milk, and thus purifies it. The colder medium is always the condenser and absorbent, and it is only when the milk gets colder than the air above it that it condenses the moisture in the air and absorbs its odor. This will never occur where cold air is the cooling medium. The milk theoretically can never get cooler than the air, while practically it remains a degree or two warmer than the air.

OXYDIZING CREAM.

There is another advantage in using the air as a cooling medium. In shallow setting, more surface is exposed and the air, coming in contact with the surface, imparts to it a portion of its oxygen, which mingles with the oils and develops that fine butter flavor so much relished by most and which is a peculiarity of fine butter. Again, slow cooling gives more time for this oxydation to go on, and thus "ripen" the cream for churning without souring it. This leaves all the fine flavor in it, unmixed with flavors resulting from acidification. But, where milk is set deep for creaming—and especially where there is no exposure to the air, as is the case in submerging—no butter flavor is developed, and the cream has to be kept until sour before it is properly oxydized. There is not a full development of butter flavor proper, but development of flavor resulting from the mingling of lactic acid with the oils. But without this exposure and acidification, the butter is insipid and comparatively flavorless. Any subsequent exposure to the air soon throws the butter off flavor, the oxygen mingling with the fats alone while the cream is rising and still sweet. This development of flavor by oxydation is not mere theory; it has been scientifically demonstrated at Cornell University, New York, if not elsewhere, and must sooner or later be generally accepted and butter making proceed on a more rational and certain basis. But it is hard work to get people out of old ruts, or to overcome fixed habits and prejudices. Really scientific butter making, in which every step will be thoroughly understood and deliberately taken, is a thing of the future. It will come in time, and then our descendants will wonder why we were so stupid and slow as not to see and adopt the simplest principles when they were thrust into our very faces. But mind and judgment are matters of growth, the same as everything else in this universe of being.

SKIMMING MILK.

So many improvements or inventions have been introduced in the setting of milk for cream that the term "skimming" has become almost a misnomer. In both deep and shallow setting, arrangements have been made in several of the patent pans and cans for drawing out the milk from the bottom and leaving the cream. Glass gauges are set in the vessels so that the exact depth of the cream can be seen, and the milk drawn down close to the cream or a small amount of the upper portion of the milk left with the cream. In skimming with a skimmer or dipper, many aim to take the upper portion of the milk, on the theory that the separation is less perfect toward the top than it is lower down. Especially may this be done where a dipper or skimmer without holes is used. It is claimed by some careful experimenters and close observers that this adds to the quantity of butter yielded without deteriorating the quality.