California Agriculturist and Live Stock Journal. 



Treatment of Heifers. 



y' jfi'HE longer the young cow with her first 

 'Jj'f and second calf, can be made to hold 

 ^|( out, the more surely will this habit bo 

 ra^ fixed npon her. Stop milking her four 

 '%(jt months before the next calf, and it will 

 be difficult to make her hold out to within 

 four or six weeks of the time of calving after- 

 wards. Induce her, if possible, by moist and 

 succulent food, and by careful milking, to 

 hold out even up to the time of calviug, it 

 you desire to milk her so long, and this habit 

 will be lil«ly to be fixed upon her for life. 

 But do not expect to obtain the full yield of a 

 cow the first year after calving. Some of the 

 very best cows are slow to develop their best 

 qualities; and no cow reaches her prime till 

 the age of five or six years. 



And hero wo have a suggestion to make, of 

 too great importance to be overlooked or dis- 

 regarded, with reference to the time the young 

 heifer should be allowed to come in. Sup- 

 pose a heifer came in with her first calf iu 

 Winter, or cold weather, which prevents the 

 distension of the tissues of the skin, and on 

 dry food, such as she would generally have at 

 that season, and which produces at best but 

 little milk. The organs of secretion will have 

 but a slight development, compared with what 

 they otherwise would, and will adapt them- 

 selves to a small yield of milk. This will be 

 likely to become a fixed habit whicli it will be 

 exceedingly difficult to break up. Hence we 

 somtimes find external signs and actual re- 

 sults contradictory. 



The extreme importance of care and atten- 

 tion to these points cannot be over estimated. 

 There is a constant tendency to dry up in 

 milch cows; and it must be guarded agaiust 

 with special care, till the habit of yielding a 

 large qnautitj', and yielding it long, becomes 

 fixed in the young animal, when, with proper 

 care, it maj' easily be kept up. 



If gentle and mild treatment is observed 

 and persevered in, the oijeration of milking 

 ajipears to be one of pleasure to the animal, 

 as it undoubtedly is; but if an opposite course 

 is pursued — if, at every restless movement, 

 caused, perhaps, by pressing a sore teat, the 

 auimal is harshly spoken to — she will be apt 

 to learn to kick as a habit, and it will be dif- 

 ficult to overcome it ever afterwards. 



With the exception of the policy of milking 

 cows to the time of calving, which we believe 

 to be bad for both calf and cow, the above 

 from the Massachusetts Ploughman we consider 

 sound advice on the subject. 



More About Cheese. — It is important, says 

 the Afa^s. Plmightnan, that rennet enough 

 should be prepared at once for the whole sea- 

 Son, in order to secure as great a uniformity 

 in strength as possible. The object should 

 be to produce a prompt, complete, and firm 

 or compact coagulation of all the cheesy mat- 

 ter. To obtain a good quahty of rennet that 

 will effect this, the animal should be in per- 

 fect health, and the stomach should be emp- 

 tied of its contents, salted and dried without 

 any scraping or rinsing, and kept in a dry 

 place for one year, when it is fit for use, but 

 if it is allowed to accumulate dampness, it 

 will lose its strength. In Cheshire, so cele- 

 brated for its superior cheese, the contents of 

 the stomach are frequently salted by them- 

 selves, and after being a short time exposed 

 to the air are fit for use; while the well known 

 and highly esteemed Limburg cheese is mostly 

 made with rennet prepared as in Ayrshire, 

 the curd being left in the stomach, and both 

 dried together. The general opinion is that 

 rennet, as usually prepared, is not fit to use 

 till nearly a year old. 



Perhaps the plan of making a liquid rennet 

 from new and fresh stomachs, and keeping it 

 in bottles corked tight till wanted for use, 

 would tend still further to secure this end. 



To PuErFY Dairy Utensils. — Stand on end 

 in a convf nient place for use, an open-headed 

 vessel of suitable dimensions for the size of 

 the dairy, say from half a barrel to a hogs- 

 head. In this alack some good quick lime, 

 enough to make thin whitewash when filled 

 full of water, and cover to keep out dust and 

 dirt. The lime will settle, leaving a saturated 

 solution of lime over it, as clear as spring 

 water. After using the milk pans, etc., wash 

 them as other utensils are washed and rinsed; 

 then dip them in the adjoining cask of clear 

 water, giving them a quick turn, so that every 

 part becomes immersed therein ; set them to 

 drain and dry, and the purification is com- 

 plete without any scalding process, from the 

 new i^au to the old worn out one. 



The lime in the clear water instantly neu- 

 tralizes the acidity of the milk yet remaining 

 in the crack or seams, etc., of the milk ves- 

 sels, to destroy which the process of scalding 

 has been performed. 



In the case of a small dairy, or one cow, the 

 clear water may, if preferred, be dipped out 

 for the time being and poured gently back 

 again, the lime purifying the water and keep- 

 ing it good all Summer. 



kn mu\ ©ivb* 



Mud Pies. 



i'l'lXOUIl little sun-bonnftts, ruffled and neat. 



Covering tangles of sunnhiuy hair; 

 Chubby pink fingers, that busily work; 



What haveyoufouud that is beautiful there? 

 Toiling like elves iu their shadowy-wrapt caves, 



Lying so far down from sound and fz'om sight 

 That no romembrauco of daylight ean break 



O'ur the dai'k caliu of their moruingless night. 



Find you the diamond , red garnets and pearls. 



Emeralds, topazes, rubies and gold ? 

 Find you the aey at whose magical touch, 



(jem laden chambers of earth will unfold? 

 What do your merry eyes see that is fair ? 



Is it the sky that drifts soft, amber light? 

 Is it the blossom of lily and rose? 



Is it the lark that sings on her flight ? 



Is it the brown thrush whose musical strains 



From the green hedges and thieki t-nooks thrill? 

 Is it the field, blossom-dotted and fresh? 



Sparkling river or diadem hill ? 

 No, your wise heads bend thoughtfully down. 



O'er the soiled hand tliat so busily Hies, 

 Holds not a thought of earth's beauty and joy — 



Making and caring for only mud pies. 



Qiieer little pics, sprinkled over with stones, 



Criiiisou, and yellow, and speckled with blue; 

 Trace-worked with broken twigs, powdered with 

 saud; 



Soiled leaves and blossoms, yet wet with the dew; 

 Crimped, pinched and scalloped, indented with holes 



Where little lingers pressed heavily down; 

 Bits of green mosses and delicate ferns. 



Over these homely pies daintily strewn. 



Ah! little children, not you alone 



Gathering the grime, while the good and the true 

 Bid souls come up into heavenly light, 



Tells of grand <leeds that they grandly may do. 

 Others than you till the earth day by day. 



Working unconscious of glonfied skies; 

 Blind to the beautiful, blind to the true. 



That all-transffguring over them lies. 



What the Baby Saw in the Class. 



Mamma had gone and Aunty held him be- 

 fore the mirror to quiet his cries. In an in- 

 stant his face was ratliant with smiles while 

 the tears rapidly i-olled out of sight. His hair, 

 like rings of gold, clustered about his head 

 glistening in the sunshine, and he was a picture 

 to behold. 



For full ten seconds gazed baby on his own 

 reflected image with -wide open eyes. Then, 

 chancing to move his hand, he noticed the 

 same movement in the baby in the glass. He 

 glanced first at his own chubby fist, then at 

 the reflected one, as if comparing them. Un- 

 able to comprehend the meaning of it all, he 

 came back to himself and burst out crying 

 anew, dealing Aunty a heavy blow with the 

 little doul>l(>d-up "fist, one eye all the while 

 upon the other baby, who quite startled him 



by doing the very same thing. In a moment 

 the cry was checked, infantile indignation was 

 awakened and a btow was aimed at the head 

 of baby in the mirror. 



Here is a les.^on for babies of an older 

 growth, thought I. Seeing yourself as others 

 see you is both profitable and instructive, 

 since it teaches a larger charity for others. 



Nell Van. 



Bad Boys Make Bad Men. — An aged sea 

 captain, who had spent a long life upon the 

 ocean, said to a lady, " On ship board I can 

 tell in a very short time what any suilor 

 was in his boyhood." It was because "the 

 boy was father to the man." He added, "I 

 find invariably that a bad boy makes a bad 

 man." When he saw a reckless, profane, 

 vicious "son of the deep," he at once con- 

 cluded that he was little better when a lad. 

 Now this is just what might be expected. It 

 is just wh;it is seen in other things. Poor 

 wool or cotton makes poor cloth. Poor cloth 

 makes a poor coat. Poor farms produce poor 

 crops. Poor timber makes a poor house. 

 And so wicked children make wicked men and 

 women. 



It is said that the Emperoi Nero of Korae, 

 when a little boy, dehghted to torture and kill 

 flies, and would pursue the little creatures 

 hour after hour to pierce them aud see them 

 flutter and die in agony. As he grew older 

 he exhibited the same cruel disposition to- 

 wards men. When made emperor he ad- 

 vanced in cruelty at a fearful rate; killed his 

 own wife aud ordered his mother to be assas- 

 sinated. Nor was this all. He finally ordered 

 the city to be set on fire, just to see how it 

 would look. And when it was burning, he 

 seated himself on a high tower and played 

 upon his lyre. Was this strange'? Is not a 

 cruel boy hkely to become a cruel man? Kill- 

 ing men in manhood is only a further devel- 

 opment of killing files in childhood. 



To Boys and Yoctno Men. — You are the 

 architects of your own fortunes. Eely upon 

 your own strength of body and soul. Take 

 for your motto self-reliance, honesty and in- 

 dustry, for your star faith, perseverance and 

 pluck, and inscribe in your banner, "Be just 

 and fear not." Don't take too much advice; 

 keep at the helm, and steer your ship. Strike 

 out. Think well of yourself. Fire above the 

 mark you intend to hit. Assume your posi- 

 tion. Don't practice excessive humility ; you 

 can't get above your level — water don't run 

 up hill — put potatoes in a cart over a rough 

 road and the small potatoes will go to the bot- 

 tom. Energy, icvincible determinatit>n, with 

 a right motive, are the levers that rule the 

 world. The great art of commanding is to 

 take a fair share of the work. Civility costs 

 nothing and buys everything. Don't drink; 

 don't smoke; don't swear; don't gamble; don't 

 steal; don't deceive; don't tattle. Be polite; 

 be eenerous ; be kind. Study hard ; play hard. 

 Be in earnest. Be self-reliant. Bead good 

 books. Love your feUowmen as yourself; 

 love your God; love your country, and obey 

 the laws; love truth; love virtue. Always do 

 what your conscience tells you to bo a duty, 

 and leave the consequence with God. 



About So.— The habit of taking strong 

 drink is hke a river. An occasional glass is 

 of little account, men say, and they take it. 

 Then they drink oftener. The river grows 

 broader and swifter, but they do not think of 

 this. They drink yet oftener, aud after awhile 

 the little stream of habit has grown to be a 

 wide, roaring torrent, and a little farther on 

 is death. 



Dewdbops at night are diamonds at morn; 

 so the tears we weep here may be pearls in 

 heaven. 



The Sckntific Americayi thinks that people 

 with bad colds ought not to kiss babies, as 

 diptheria might easily be imparted in that act. 



