120 



is collected, the milk is poured off, fresh cool water put into 

 the churn, and the churning continued a few moments. The 

 butter is then taken out into a wooden bowl, worked well 

 with a paddle and salted. Every vessel used is kept perfectly 

 clean, and often scalded and sunned, and none but the purest air 

 is allowed to come in contact with the cream and milk. No 

 butter is put down for market. 



The churn mostly in use, is the common sort. Lately the 

 atmospheric churn has been introduced, but it is not much 

 liked on account of the difficulty of cleaning the tin tube. 

 Churning by it can be done more easily and quickly, but the 

 disadvantage alluded to, overbalances these more favorable 

 qualities. 



5. Of Neat Cattle. — The general stock of our cattle is 

 good. About twenty years ago, Mr. John Owens, an enter- 

 prising and intelligent farmei', introduced the Patton stock 

 into this county. They were deficient in breadth of hip, and 

 in roundness of rib, but these defects were somewhat lessened 

 by crosses with stock having some Durham blood. The de- 

 scendants of this importation have become numerous, by 

 crossing with the common stock, but I regret to say that 

 little or no attention has been given to the production of 

 breeding animals. The consequence has been that whilst the 

 general stock has been much improved, the breeds introduced 

 have deteriorated. Our county must import breeding ani- 

 mals. 



I am unable to answer the question, "What is the cost of 

 raising till three years old?" I have made many inquiries of 

 our best farmers of the cost of raising different kinds of 

 stock, but no one has pursued any regular plan of feeding, 

 or took any account of the amount and cost of the food 

 given. Generally our cattle are sold when about two years 

 or two and a-half years old, the comparative profit, being 

 regarded by many, as greater at that age than at any other. 

 The cost of the first year's keeping is about two dollars, and 

 pf the second, about four. Our farmers begin to see the ne- 



