Improvement in Cheese-Makini 



591 



Bolton Show, and Balmer being unsuccessful, 

 while at the County Show Balmer took 

 first prize and Prescott second, and he 

 (Mr Aston) was first in the Local Show. 

 At Tarporley, however, one who had been 

 unsuccessful up to that time came forward 

 and beat both Balmer and himself. One or 

 two reasons might be assigned for these ap- 

 parent discrepancies. The judges at Chester 

 no doubt differed from those at Bolton, as 

 to what constituted a first-class dairy, for a 

 description of cheese held in high estimation 

 in the Manchester markets and the north of 

 England, was not so highly appreciated in 

 London and the western counties of England. 

 Another, perhaps more substantial, reason 

 was that the cheese varied exceedingly in 



value ; even those of the same dairy varying 

 from ss. to los. per cwt. No doubt the 

 cheeses which Mr Balmer exhibited at Bolton 

 were not so good as those which he shewed 

 at Chester, for at his own request he (Mr 

 Aston) cut some in each lot in the show-yard ; 

 and in his opinion those exhibited at the 

 county show were worth at least 5s. per cwt. 

 more than those which were exhibited in the 

 local society. A wish had been expressed in 

 a local paper that the merits of the factories 

 should be discussed, but all he would say on 

 that was that they should publish their re- 

 sults, so that those farmers not now making 

 fine dairies could determine whether they 

 could do better by sending their milk to the 

 factories. 



POULTRY AND PROFIT. 



WE have read with much interest a 

 popular httle book, entitled " Eggs 

 and Poultry as a Source of Wealth." There 

 are some good things in it, but we should 

 have preferred to see it more carefully 

 revised than it is with reference to the figures. 

 A glance at the introduction shews that the 

 author has not been well up in his statistics, 

 or rather, perhaps, that he has been under- 

 rating the value of eggs. We are told that 

 the sum we pay for eggs annually " is nearly 

 a million sterling." The Board of Trade 

 Returns up to the end of August tell us 

 that the amount we disbursed this year in 

 the eight months was ;!^i,377,953, in round 

 numbers at the rate of one million and three 

 quarters per annum. 



The fact that our author understated his 

 case with reference to the value of the eggs 

 we import, gives his position greater 

 strength, in recommending to the British 

 public the desirability and the profitableness 

 of devoting more attention to poultry than 

 they ever yet have done. Speaking of eggs, 

 he says not very gracefully but pertinently : — 

 " Now as this is an article which we have 



the same fixcilities for finding at home 

 as our neighbours have, the question 

 may be asked. Why need we depend upon a 

 foreign country for the supply? With articles 

 that we cannot produce at home, on account 

 of unsuitable climate, &c., such as coffee, tea, 

 sugar, spices, and wines, we can readily com- 

 prehend the necessity for resorting to foreign 

 countries for supphes. But this is not the 

 case with eggs, &c.," and so on, the writer 

 goes, not exactly telling us why we are ex- 

 celled by our neighbours, but giving good 

 advice in the matter of rearing. 



The numbers of hens in this country in 

 home steadings are by no means so many 

 as they ought to be. Poultry, as a branch of 

 husbandry, has been sadly neglected among 

 us. In every farmyard there is wasted grain, 

 when domestic fowls are not there to pick 

 it up. We are quite aware that farmers, as 

 a rule, do not care very much about them, 

 particularly those who are fond of fancy gar- 

 dens. Only a few farmers' wives are disposed 

 to give any time to look after them. A 

 little care, however — for hens are tractable — 

 a little attention daily for a short time would 



