736 



F Ai{ M E R S ' R E G 1 :5 T E R. 



[No. 12 



they are seldom alloived to lie in the field durinfr 

 the night, hut thou2;h ihey are proiecled as much 

 as possihle from cold, their house? are at all sea- 

 sons kept well aired and cooi. 



The cows are oiill<(>d twice a-dav, and the pro 

 duce converted chiefly into sweet milk cheese, 

 that is, cheese made^of the entire nalk aa taken 

 from the cow. In such a situalion as this, as to 

 climate and soil, it is probahly inipossihle to make 

 cheese. havi no; ihe fine flavor of that of Glocester 

 and Wilts; but for some year's past the produc- 

 tion ot a rich, mild and fia!at.ihie chees>- has been 

 -attained. Any person doi^irous of knowina; the 

 details of the most approved mode ol cheese- 

 makinuf, in this part of Sroiiand, is affain referred 

 to JVlr. A)'ton's work. It may be sufficient here to 



spriniT litter is disposed of As many of her 

 second liiler ate ke[)i as are necessary for killm<r 

 in winter and sprinir, and ftir the consumption of 

 liie whey of 1 he ensiiintj season. Tliose intend- 

 ed for the laiter purpose ure allowed to have pitrs 

 ^bout the be<rinnintr of July, when they are ten 

 nionths old. The havin<r pio-g does not seem to 

 affect their (jrowth, and tht>y are disposed of about 

 the end of November. In this way the litters 

 have more than redeemed tlie cost of rearing the 

 mothers. ^ 



I'enccs. 



A consideralile extent of new fences have been 

 made, chiefly hedges. Haviuir an unlimited com- 



noiice one or two peciiiiariiies. The milk is not niand of freestone at hand, stone fences would 



allowed to coo!, but thicke'ned as taken fi'om ih 

 ■cow. If the milk be allowed to stand till the 

 cream separates from it, the cream can never 

 again be completely blended with it, or retained ir. 

 the curd when set, and liie cheese js poorer, and 

 this, without great care in the manaixement, to a 

 considerable extent. The had qualities of cheese 

 may be produced in d variety of ways; but there 

 is a certain raukness of flavor which it is conceiv- 

 ed is the effect of the pasture, at least it could be 

 attributed to no other cause here. This has been 

 uni/urmiy overcome b^v throwing.into the pail be- 

 fore each cow's milk is drawn info it, about the 

 hall-full of a tea-spoon of saltpetre. On tfiis sub- 

 ject, however, it is more easy to speak as to re- 

 sults, than to slate precisely their causes, Ir 

 would conduce much to perfeciinnf the art of 

 cheese-making, were a series of experiments com-' 

 pieied for ascertaining the general principles on 

 which depends the great variety in its products 



have been both the most immediately useful, and, 

 in the end, perhaps the cheapest, but they are not 

 so handsome as hedges, and do not aflbrd so much 

 shelter. On a thin and adhesive soil, it is very 

 difficult to rear and preserve quick fences. A mix- 

 ture of beeches and thorns is what has been used, 

 but ji-om the experience had in attem|)iing to fill 

 up gaps in old hedges, crabs are recommended as 

 decidedly superior to thorns for all tenacious poor 

 soils, and in such soils beeches will make a fence 

 and atibrd shelter where no other tree will. The 

 plants were placed from ten to twelve inches asun- 

 der. This distance is quite close enoush ihv tlie 

 purpose of a fence; and it is obvious, that the more 

 plants that are put into a given space, the less 

 chance there is of their thriving, especially if the 

 ground be unfavorable. In such a situation it is 

 very material to avoid cutting them till ihey have 

 gained some strength and size; and, unless where 

 ver}' luxuriant, they have not been brought into 



The average produce of each cow, exclusive | *^"'i^^l'e with the pruning knife till at least alter three 



of her dung, has been £6 17s. and the pasture 

 allowed to each not less tlian three acres. The 

 deductions are obvious, such as the dairy imple- 

 ments, the dairy-maids' wagesduringthe pasturing 

 season, and interest of tlie value of the stocli^ 

 From the way, however, in which the latter is 

 managed, there is no deterioration of it, as unless 



years old. 



Farm accounts. 



A Parmer cannot know with accuracy wherein 

 the system pursued by him is judicious and pro- 

 fitable, and wherein defijctive, without keeping 



, - ' .. ,. , „,,.' — I accurate accounts of liis receipt and expenditure, 



on the supposmon of a constantly falling market. Keeping accounts, however, is too generally neg- 



the cows should be of as much value when sold as 

 when taken into the dairy. In a situation unfa- 

 vorable for tillage, and especially on small firms 

 the dairy is certainly a profitable mode; of hus- 

 bandry. Its success depends on constant atten- 

 tion and minute care, and on a small firm it is 

 managed by the farmer's wife and I'limily. while 

 the offal goes a great way towards their suste- 

 nance. 



4, Pigs.— They are peculiarly valuable in con- 

 nexion with the dairy. The breed is small, and 

 they do not exceed fourteen or fifteen stones im- 

 perial weight at a year old, but they are very har- 

 dy and remarkably easily fed. Duriiig the cheese- 

 making season, they get whey alone, on which 

 food they become quite fiiit. In winter they have 

 boiled potatoes. A breeding sow is kept. Her 



a cow in the morning, and the same in the evenint^. and 

 as much sweet hay as she will eat up clean five limes 

 a day; and without much expense, lier butter will be 

 a? rich and of as fine a flavor as can be produced in 

 winter. Should the peculiar flavorof the turnip be de- 

 tected, which is not lil^ely, a small quantity of salpetre 

 put to the cream will take it oil'. 



lecled, though besides its economical usefulness, 

 it would be found an additional source of" inierest 

 in every opera! ion. The account kept for this 

 farm, though simple, is sufficiently coniprehensive. 

 It is balanced once a-year, so as to show the 

 amount of the annual return. There is an inven- 

 tory with the value of the whole stock. The 

 amount of this inventory is the first entry on the 

 debtor's side of the account, and it is followed by 

 every item of expenditure during the year. The 

 other side contains the receipts. When tlie ac- 

 count is to be closed, it is debited with debts due 

 by the firm, and vviih a per centage on the capi- 

 tal invested in the different kinds of slock, and it 

 is credited with the amount of the inventory of 

 the whole stock, as then taken — including debts 

 due to the fiirm. In making up the inve.ilory, 

 instead of valuing anew every article of the im- 

 plements and working cattle, ten per cent, is de- 

 ducted li-om the previous value, for deterioration, 

 and balancing five per cent, is charged on the 

 capital invested in live stock, in seed, and in the 

 produce on hand. If to know the returns and ex- 

 penditure in any department he required, the in- 

 fbrmation is easily taken liom this account, and the 



