BUTTER-MAKING. 255 



siipplii-'d witli dry muck, leaves, or some other good absorbent to 

 save all the voidings, and cleaned out twice a da}' or before each 

 milking. 



The question of feed is of prime importance, requiring the con- 

 stant exercise of both skill and judgment. A good feeder needs to 

 know the appetite and the capacit}' of each member of the herd. He 

 needs to be governed b}' the size of the cow, and bj- the weather. 

 Regularity must always be insisted upon. A cow should alwa3-s 

 eat up clean what is given her, and she will do it when rightly fed. 

 Good early cut clover, timothv, or second crop hay, and bright, well- 

 cured corn fodder, fed in connection with a well-balanced grain 

 ration, cannot help making good butter, other necessarj- conditions 

 being observed. I find from experience that the best results are 

 obtained from a combined grain ration, say two quarts cotton-seed 

 meal, two quarts corn meal, and two quarts shorts to cows in full 

 flow of milk. Cob meal or middlings might be substituted for clear 

 corn meal and not materiall}- alter the effect of the ration. Give 

 this ration in two feeds, morning and night. Give the cow more 

 than enough to keep her alive, for profit will only come from addi- 

 tional feed. Scant feed and scant care are the bane of a majority of 

 New England farmers. Plenty of good pure water given twice a 

 day is another important factor. It ought to be given under shelter 

 in very cold or storm}- weather. 



Let the cows be carefulh' groomed before each milAing, both for 

 health and cleanliness. Why this habit, too common among farmers, 

 of allowing their animals to besmear themselves with their own 

 voidings, when a few minutes' time each day will prevent it? The 

 milking must be done at the same hour each da}', the same person 

 always milking the same cows. The intervals between milkings 

 should be divided as nearly equal as possible. Exercise kindness 

 and patience in the tie-up — do not kick or swear at a cow, as you 

 will often be tempted to do, because she happens to kick you or the 

 pail over. Perseverance and gentleness will have far more efiect 

 than threats and blows. The milk ought to be drawn into small 

 pails and strained into cans holding three or four gallons each, 

 unless it is immediately taken to the dairy. Cleanliness must be 

 observed in every detail of the work, from beginning to end. The 

 dairy should be a separate room either above or below ground in the 

 farmhouse, or else a building by itself, where the milk can be set, 

 cream ripened, and butter made. It should be well supplied with 



