THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



351 



two or three years' trausplaated plants ; and when the 

 plants are well established, say the second year, cut them 

 down within six or eight inches of the ground. The 

 following year cut them to about two or three feet, 

 according to their strength ; then the hedge is made. 

 Establishing a good bushy bottom is the principle to 

 aim at. It is a very bad practice to thrust large bundles 

 of bushes into decayed places or gaps : it makes the 

 place larger. It is far better to select strong trans- 

 planted three or four-feet trees to fill up with, and give 

 them temporary protection, and thus make up the slight 

 deficiency. Xever allow the hedge to produce timber, 

 as you very often see; for after it is cut down, besides 

 the sacrifice for one or two seasons, the old shoots gene- 

 rally throw up strong luxuriant thorny shoots, and 

 form a bad bottom in return. Should the above fence 

 not be practicable, a low bank might be made, putting 

 in plenty of plants between each layer of turf and soil ; 

 this last suggestion does not make so perfect a hedge 

 as the former described plan. 



ECONOMY IN BREAD.— No. 5. 



MAIZE BREAD. 



Sir, — Maize may be considered as nouiishing as wheat, 

 but will not rise like wheat into light bread; and maize 

 flour raised with wheat flour is neither so pleasant in tex- 

 ture or flavour as wheat bread alone. 



The maize requires first to be boiled to pulp, like rice, 

 and so made up with the wheat flour into dough. The fol- 

 lowing recipe has been much recommended : — 



MAIZE BREAD. 



To I5 lbs. of maize meal add a gallon of cold water (soft) 

 and stir it up well ; let it settle, and skim off the husk 

 which floats on the top. It should then be boiled for three 

 or four hours, if possible by steam, or the pan inserted in 

 another containing water, boiling, which will prevent its 

 burning to the bottom ; and covered, to prevent drying 

 away. If the meal be good, it will have absorbed all the 

 water that has not evaporated, and have become a thick 

 porridge; the produce of the Southern states of America 

 will take one fourth more water than the produce of Europe. 



This may be made up into dough with 14 lbs. wheat 

 flour as the rice in our List — yeast and salt added — and di- 

 vided into loaves as usual. 



This has been tried here, but did not please so well as 

 that with Carolina rice. On the other hand, the Americans 

 themselves are very fond of " Mush," a sort of maize por- 

 ridge, made as follows : — 



MUSH, AMERICAN. 



" This is made in difl"erent ways ; but the easiest mode is 

 that which resembles the making of starch or arrow-root. 

 Put five pints of water over the fire, in a pot or skillet ; 

 then take one pound of Indian meal, well sifted from the 

 bran, and mix with a little cold water so as to make a thick 

 batter ; add salt. As soon as the water boils, add the batter, 

 stir it well, and keep it stirred and boiling for at least 

 twenty minutes. 



"It should be about the consistence of hasty pudding, por- 

 ridge, or stir-about; and may indeed be made in the 

 same waj'. Take it up, and eat it with milk, butter, sugar, 

 or treacle. 



" This is the most manageable and convenient of all the 

 preparations of maize ; it is used daily in a large number of 

 American families, and considered a most wholesome diet. 

 What is not used at one meal, is cut into slices and fried or 

 heated upon the gridiron at the next meal, and eaten with 

 butter or treacle." 



This worked up into dough with flour would be much 

 like the maize bread given above, requiring, of course, more 

 water to work in the wheat flour. And the proportion of 

 maize may be much increased for those who like it. I have 

 a statement of 381bs. of bread from l4lbs. of flour with 71bs. 



of maize. But for those who object to the maize flavour it 

 is to be corrected with rice. 



Maize bread with rice, and the compound of the two 

 with M. Mege Mourics' improvement, to obtain the maxi- 

 mum excellent loaf at the minimum cost, the object of all 

 these letters, are intended to form the subjects of our next. 



I. Prideaux. 



BUTTER-MAKING IN WINTER. 



" Winter butter" has no very enviable reputation anywhere, 

 and compared with that made in June, seems an entirely dif- 

 ferent article. Of course there are reasons for this — let us 

 enumerate some of them. 



1. The character of the food is changed from green and suc- 

 culent herbage to dry hay, or, more generally, cornstalks and 

 straw. There is really very little butter in the latter. 



2. The season is changed from mil J and warm to cold, bleak, 

 and uncomfortable. There is a constant demand for fuel to 

 keep up the animal heat ; this is partly at the expense of the 

 butter product. 



3. The management of the milk becomes difficult. If kept 

 in a cellar, and a little above freezing, the milk becomes bitter 

 before the cream rises ; if allowed to freeze, the cream rises at 

 once, but is injured in quality, and will produce very white 

 butter ; if kept in the kitchen pantry, when very warm during 

 the day and cold at night, it does not rise well, and is apt to 

 be hitter and acid. 



Other reasons might be mentioned, but they will readily 

 suggest themselves to the reader. Let us see what can be 

 proposed to remedy the difficulties. 



1. Feed well — not dry food aloue — but grain and roots, as 

 a substitute for grass. Carrots, turnips, beets, cabbages, etc., 

 are all useful in keeping up the quality of the milk. Let their 

 fodder be cut, and some nutritious slops be provided, if roots 

 are not to be had ; and it is well to cut the fodder in any case. 



2. The comfort of co*s should be carefully attended to. 

 While they suffer from cold and filth, or foul air, they cannot 

 yield as good milk as when in warm, clean stables, or in well- 

 littered and sheltered yards. Water should also be provided — 

 it is the more needed when dry forage is consumed — and it 

 should be so arranged that every animal could drink at will. 

 A supply of salt is also necessary. 



3. It is difficult to get a proper temperature for raising 

 cream perfectly in winter. Some butter-makers scald their 

 milk when first drawn from the cow ; others let it stand twelve 

 hours, and then place the pan coutaining the milk in a larger 

 one filled with boiling water, and allowing it to stand twelve 

 hours longer, find the cream raised perfectly. It is said that 

 more and better buttercan be made in this way than in auyother. 



Churning in winter, as usually managed, is often a serious 

 operation. The cream stands too long generally, becoming 

 very sour and bitter ; or, it is too cold and froihs up, filling 

 the churn, but producing no butter though churned for hours. 

 Let the cream-pot sit near the fire for a few hours before 

 churning, stirring it occasionally that all may get warm alike, 

 and when it is at a proper temperature, 55°— feeling a little 

 warm to the finger— the churning will be an easy half-hour's job, 

 and the butter as yellow and hard as the season will admit of. 



We have found that cows generally gave better milk when 

 fed on well-cured corn-fodder, than on second-rate hay, and 

 with " a mess" of roots, apples, or pumpkins, woidd yield 

 milk of very fair quality. Attention to securing a supply of 

 proper food for cows, and better care of them, would go far to 

 redeem the natae of winter-butter from its present character. 



J. II. B. 



