THE FARMER AT HOME. 107 



and the labor expended in the care of them, but will yie^d an annual 

 profit varying from twenty to fifty dollars each, while others do not 

 yield milk enough *o pay for their feed. The subject is of the utmost 

 importance. 



COW-MILKER. An ingenious Yankee has recently invented 

 an Indian Rubber fixture for milking cows. We have made trial of 

 it, and the result was quite satisfactory. It consists of a sack for each 

 teat, of a size to receive that organ, arid to adhere so closely to it as 

 to stop the admission of the surrounding air. Connected with the 

 lower end of the sack is a silver tube, which passes into the teat 

 about an inch. To each tube is a stopper. When the sacks are all 

 properly adjusted, the pail is placed in a position to receive the milk, 

 which, as soon as the stoppers are drawn, commences flowing in un- 

 interrupted streams till the whole has made its escape. The process 

 is hastened, if not entirely occasioned, by the pressure of the atmos- 

 phere upon the bag. The cow appeared, to experience no sensation 

 that caused her in the least measure to move or be uneasy, from which 

 it may be inferred that the insertion of the tubes caused no irritation. 

 As soon as the milk ceased to flow, the tubes and sacks were removed ; 

 and it was found by making trial with the hand no milk remained in. 

 the bag. The operation was of short duration, probably not exceed- 

 ing a minute or two for the discharge of the milk after the stoppers 

 were removed from the tubes. The conclusion was drawn that when 

 a person became familiar with applying the sacks to the teats, he 

 would milk eight or ten cows while milking one by hand. To milk- 

 men and all others keeping a large number of cows, the saving of 

 time will be of no trivial consideration. One person would probably 

 milk twenty cows in an hour. The fixture is certainly very ingenious, 

 and should be well tried. No objection to it was apparent in this ex- 

 periment ; yet it might not be an object for those who keep only one 

 or two cows. If it saves time at the rate above supposed, it is no 

 difficult matter to estimate the amount saved in a year to an indi- 

 vidual having fifty cows. 



CRADLE. In husbandry, a cradle is a frame of wood, with long 

 bending teeth, to which is fastened a scythe, for cutting and laying 

 oats and other grain in a swath. It is comparatively a modern 

 invention. The sickle was formerly used for cutting grain, but that 

 is now rarely used at all, unless on new lands where there are stumps 

 or the surface is uneven, or where the grain has become entangled or 

 fallen down. At first the cradle was a clumsy instrument, and a 

 want of skill in the use of it occasioned a slow process and also a loss 

 of grain, which prevented its immediate general adoption. At this 

 we cannot wonder, when we compare the instrument now manufac- 

 tured with that delineated in books of agriculture in past periods ; 

 and indeed that constructed and adopted in this country is said to be 

 much superior to those usually seen in England. A skilful and 



