118 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



the price of such as usually passes for a very good article, and was 

 always spoken for in advance at that. Except that his summer 

 feed was abundant and good, the pastures being in large measure 

 of newly cleared land, and well stocked with white clover, I could 

 see no other reasons why almost all others might not produce as 

 good as he. 



What has been said upon many points in the preceding pages 

 bears with equal pertinence and directness upon the butter as on 

 the cheese dairy, especially regarding absolute cleanliness from 

 beginning to end, all through and all over; neatness, order and 

 watchfulness, to see that all is done at the right time and well, &c., 

 &c. In some respects, however, they demand not only different 

 but opposite management, as we shall soon see. 



The first requisite to excellence is good cows ; for, as before re- 

 marked, it is the cow and not the maid which makes the butter, 

 the office of the latter being to separate it from the milk, and to 

 salt and pack it. Perhaps enough has already been said on this 

 point, but I will venture to introduce one or two illustrative facts. 

 Mr. Holbert, of Chemung county. New York, made some careful 

 separate trials of the milk of twenty of the cows in his dairy. As 

 one result it was found that one of his best cows gave as much 

 butter as three of the poorest — thus : one cow yielded twenty-five 

 pounds of milk, which made ten ounces of butter ; a second, sixteen 

 pounds, which made twelve ounces, and a third, seventeen pounds, 

 which made eight ounces. While of the better cows, one yielded 

 twenty-nine pounds, which made a pound and fourteen ounces ; 

 another thirty-three pounds, which made a pound and fifteen ounces ; 

 and he says the difference in quality was greater than in quantity. 



Some years ago a very large and deep milking cow, giving from 

 twenty-five to thirty-two quarts per day, was kept with another 

 smaller one, giving from twelve to fourteen quarts daily. Butter 

 was made from the milk of both together, but the result being un- 

 satisfactory, their milk was tested separately, when it was found 

 that the milk of the smaller one produced butter of the finest 

 quality, and nearly as much in quantity as from the milk of both 

 combined ; while it was also found impracticable to get good but- 

 ter from the milk of the larger one. She was sold to go into a 

 cheese dairy, where she gave satisfaction. 



With regard to feeding dairy cows especially for the production 

 of butter, let me refer to the elaborate investigations and very 



