No. 85. J 225 



milked are released at once in a like manner, by means of a sliaftj so 

 that one or more ma}' be confined or released separately, without in- 

 terfering with the general arrangement. When standing on the milk- 

 ing floor, the fore feet are several inches highest, which brings the 

 bag forward from the hind legs, so that it is easier of access, and 

 makes her give her milk down more freely. None are allowed to 

 milk, unless able to milk quickly and thoroughly, which is done at 

 five o'clock in the morning and evening. When a cow's bag is hard 

 and feverish, it is washed with strong brine, or salt and water made 

 cold with ice. This is a sure remedy. The best preventive is tho- 

 rough milking. Whey is fed morning and evening, through flush 

 of feed, after souring twenty-four hours. Wheat bran is mixed to 

 prevent cows from scouring. Strict regularity is observed in feeding 

 at all times.^ Bran and roots are fed daily till grass gets heart enough 

 not to scour the cows. Nothing is fed but whey from the first of June 

 to the first or middle of July ; the feed then increased as grass di- 

 minishes. If cows are allowed to shrink in milk in July and Au- 

 gust, and their feed then increased after being with calf, they will not 

 come back, but run to flesh. I feed with a view to keep up a uniform 

 flow of milk from the first to the last of grazing. 



Manufacture of Cheese. 



Calves' rennets only are used, after being dried one year. There are 

 less animal properties in them than in new rennets, and will not make 

 cheese swell in warm weather, and on shrinking, leave them like ho- 

 ney comb, full of holes, with a rank flavor. 



Calves, whose rennets are designed for cheese making, are not al- 

 lowed to suck sick cows, or those giving bad milk, but are fed a plenty 

 of good milk, from five to ten days old ; twelve or fifteen hours after 

 sucking, when the gastric juices are most abundant and pure, the ren- 

 net is taken out and stretched on a bow ; as much fine salt is added as 

 will adhere without draining, and hung in good air to dry. Milking 

 is done in tin pails ^ strained through a large tin strainer into a tin vat, 

 where it is not skimmed nor moved till the cheese is made. The pails 

 are set into a common sap bucket, which being light and smaller at 

 bottom than top, a little press on the pail will fasten the bucket to it 

 so that it carrier with the pail without any inconvenience. A light 

 tap on the bucket will drop it, and leave the pail clean and not bruised. 

 A tin vat, large enough to hold the whole milk, is set within a larger 

 woodvatj with one inch space between the sides and bottoms of the 

 two, to admit water, which is cooled by ice and heated by steam, 

 which water cools the milk to take out the animal heat, warms it to 

 receive rennet, remains and heats whey and scalds curd. It is dis- 

 charged by a cock to pass off" into a tub, and scalds bran or meal for 

 slop feed, when it is required. Scalded feed is required daily when 

 cows are milked, on hay feed. A large reservoir is built of stone and 

 cement to contain 50 hogsheads of rain water from buildings, to dis- 

 charge by a cock into the above described space into a steam genera- 

 tor or into a tub, or any other place in the lower rooms, where it is 

 desired. A pump affords water to this apparatus in case of drouth. 



[Senate, No. 85.] P 



