52 



Management of the Dairy. 



Vol. IV. 



ly such as enter into the composition of their 

 food, as none other than such as are found in 

 the plant, can be considered as applicable to 

 that purpose. It necessarily follows that the 

 atmosphere, water and the eailh are sources 

 from which the food of plants is drawn. 



That atmospheric air is necessary for vege- 

 tation has been satisfactorily explained, and 

 that a considerable quantity of carbon is ab- 

 sorbed from it. Four articles which furnish 

 nourisliment to plants, are supplied by the at- 

 mosphere, namely, carbonic acid, oxygen, ni- 

 trogen, and moisture. It has been doubted 

 how far plants are capable of absorbing car- 

 bonic acid from the atmospliere, without tlie 

 assistance of the soil on whicii they usually 

 vegetate. Plants vvhen they grow in water 

 are capable of obtaining nourishment from 

 the atiiiosphere, which is evident from their 

 increase in size. But as plants in this situa- 

 tion cannot produce perfect seed, and as they 

 gradually decay and cease to vegetate, it i.s 

 obvious that water and air alone are not suffi- 

 cient to furnish nourishment. 



The third and only remaining source from 

 w^hich plants can draw their food is the soil 

 on which they grow ; now this soil consists 

 of two parts, namely, pure earths which con- 

 stitute its basis, and the remains of animals 

 and vegetables applied as manures. The 

 use of the earthy parts of the soil is to furnish 

 a support and matrix for the plants to vege 

 tate in, and to administer the proper quantity 

 of water to promote the putrefaction of the 

 putrescent matter, and to serve as a solvent 

 to prepare the food properly qualified for its 

 reception by vegetables. 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Cabinet. 



Sir, — The handsome manner in which you 

 noticed my first communication, emboldens 

 me again ft( address you on a subject which 

 is, I conceive, peculiarly wathin my province, 

 I mean, — 



The Management of tJic Dairy. 



I have heard, that in many of the English 

 dairies, the use of large leaden pans, for the 

 reception of the milk I'or creaming, has been 

 introduced, very mucii to the convenience of 

 those engaged in that brancii of husbandry ; 

 p.nd the present communication is, to enquire 

 if any of your readers are sufficiently ac- 

 quainted with the mode of munagnment, and 

 the structure of the pans, to be enabled to de- 

 scribe them, fi)r the benefit of those imme- 

 diately concerned. 



I understand they are sometimes made 

 large enough to contain the wiiole milking 

 of the dairy : are dish-shaped, and set on a 

 stout frame of wood, sufficiently iiigh to ad- 

 mit a pail being placed under the centre ol" 

 the bottom, by which the milk is drawn oft" 



by means of a tap, without disturbing tlie 

 cream ; so that, after the milk has passed off, 

 the cream remains in the lead, to be removed 

 in the most convenient and economical way 

 imaginable. Now, to appearance, this is a 

 most valuable improvement over the present 

 tiresome and unsatisfactory process of skim- 

 ming, and if two or three objections, whicli 

 at present strike me, can be removed, I think 

 the introduction of these pans into general 

 use, would be of all things most desirable. 



In the first place, is it not to be expected 

 that the lead, especially if the milk be lefl 

 to become sour, as is often the case, would 

 conmnmicate to the milk a decidedly poison- 

 ous quality ; and would not this property be 

 increased in tlie hands of filthy and careless 

 persons'! In the next place, would there not 

 be a danger, that a portion of the cream 

 would pass away with the milk through the 

 tap, at the time of drawing off? and would it 

 be easy to know at what point to stop, when 

 all the milk and none of the cream had been 

 drawn ofi\ And again, would not the use of 

 the lead pans deprive us of the opportunity 

 of setting the milk contained in the receivers 

 into streams of water in the spring-house, as 

 is customary in very many cases, for the pur- 

 pose of keeping the vessels cool in hot wea- 

 ther? Now these are the difi^cultics which 

 at present strike me. I only hope that some 

 of your readers and numerous friends will be 

 able entirely to remove Ihem, and add such 

 a list of advantages to be derived from their 

 general introduction, as will not leave even 

 the most careless and indifierent amongst us, 

 a single argument in fli\'or of tlie present 

 very inconvenient and tiresome method of 

 skimming, which has always appeared to me 

 about the most fatiguing part of my labors, to 

 say nothing of the great loss of cream attend- 

 ing it in the hands of careless persons, and 

 on the other hand, of injury to the butter, 

 when a portion of the milk is removed with 

 the cream, in the endeavor to shim close. 

 Janet Jknkinson. 

 Biiclss CO. Penn. August 2S, IKW. 



P. S. I have the pleasure to inform you 

 my husband h;is done " 'cooning,'" and will 

 henceforth devote all liis energies to the rais- 

 ing sugar beet for the use of the dairy, and 

 has calculated that we can keep (line times 

 the number of cows, and make six times the 

 quantity of butter that we now do, on the 

 same number of acres. A neighbor has thirty 

 tons of these roots per acre this season; if 

 his do the same, leads or some other contriv- 

 ance will be necessary to contain the in- 

 creased quantity of milk which will be ob- 

 tained. 



It is better to exercise the judgment, than 

 to overload the memory. 



