THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



Voi>. 11. 



MARCH, 1835. 



No. 10. 



EDMUND RUFFIN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR. 



Extracts from the last edition of the " Complete Grazier." 



ON THE ECONOMY AND MANAGEMENT OF 



THE DAIRY. 



Of the situation and buildings proper for a dairy. — 

 Dairy utensils. 



[Continued from page 558, Vol. II.] 



A dairy ought, if possible, so to be arranged, 

 that its lattices may never tront (he south, south- 

 west, south-east, or west; — a northern aspect is 

 the best; but there should be openings on two 

 sides of the building — the north and east, if possi- 

 ble — in order to admit a free current of air. These 

 lattices, which are in every respect superior to 

 glazed lights, may be covered in sunmier, with 

 gauze wire, or with oiled paper, pasted on pack- 

 thread stretched for that purpose, so as to admit 

 the light, whenever it may be necessary to exclude 

 the cold or wind.* 



The situation, for the sake of convenience, 

 ehould be near the cow-house, as well as the 

 farm-house; but care should at the same time be 

 taken, that it be so lar removed as not to be ex- 

 posed to the effluvia of the cow-house, stables, or 

 I'arm-yard; as any bad scent might laint the milk. 

 and give an unpleasant flavor to the butter. It 

 frequently happens that the dairy adjoins the cow- 

 house; but in that case, at least no communication 

 should be left between them. 



In its construction, as it is of material impor- 

 tance that the heat be of one uniform temperature, 

 of from fifty to fifty-five degrees of Fahrenheit's 

 thermometer, double walls and a roof have been 

 recommended, leaving a space of one or two feet, 

 or more, between the wall and the lath and plas- 

 ter. IVlr. Marshall, to whose practical skill our 

 pages bear ample testimony, advises the walls to 

 be constructed six feet thick, one foot on the in- 

 side to be of brick or stone, the outside to be of 

 sod, and the intermediate space to be closely filled 

 with earth. The roolj which should be of thatch, 

 should be at least three feet thick, and should pro- 

 ject completely over the walls on each side; and 

 as all these materials are non-conductors of heat, 

 he is of opinion, that a dairy thus built, would, if 

 provided with double doors, preserve thedegree of 

 heat above mentioned, throughout the year. If 

 sunk a few feet below the surface of the earth, an 

 equal temperature would be still further ensured; 

 but then it should be strictly ascertained that the 

 ground is perfectly free from damp: dryness and 

 ventilation beina; the most important objects in its 

 construction. The dairy should be neatly paved 

 with stone, or, if this cannot be procured, with red 

 bricks, laid on a gentle descent, and the joinings 

 should be well cemented together, lest any water 

 should staiinate. It will likewise be proper daily 

 to wash the pavement during summer; but great 

 care should be taken to dry it immediately, as 

 damp promotes the putrefaction, or turning, of 

 milk; and as dairy-houses cannot be kept too cool 

 at that season, it will be of great advantage to 



* Lattices in dairies are exempted from the tax on 

 windows, but not glazed lights. 



Vol.. II.— 13 



build them, if possible, near a cold spring or rivu- 

 let. 



If a small current could be conducted through 

 the premises, or water were, by means of a pipe, 

 so introduced as to fall from some height on the 

 pavement, and run off in a constant stream, with- 

 out stagnating, it will be of great advantage, as it 

 will contribute much to preserve the air continual- 

 ly pure, fresh, and cool. But as the milk itself, 

 when brought in warm, will naturally tend to raise 

 the temperature of the milk-room too high, it is re- 

 commended to have an ice-house attached to the 

 dairy, especially where the advantage of a current 

 of water cannot be obtained. This should be sur- 

 rounded with double walls, with an interval be- 

 tween them like the dairy. The place for holding 

 the ice should be formed of upright posts, lined 

 with wattled work of wands or close rail work, 

 leaving a path all round, of two feet and a half in 

 width; and round this is to be formed a gutter to 

 carry off the w'ater dropjjing from the ice. This 

 mode of constructing an ice-house, is not only the 

 cheapest, but also far preferable to the common 

 practice of making cellars under ground, which 

 are both more expensive, as well as liable to 

 mould and rottenness. The structure of such an 

 ice-house, attached to a dairj', would prove much 

 less expensive than is commonly imagined; and 

 by its utility in that, and other respects, would am- 

 ply compensate the cost. 



In winter, on the contrarj-, it is equally impor- 

 tant that the requisite degree of heat should be 

 constantly maintained. If the building, as com- 

 monly is the case, form part of the house, it will 

 generally be found sufficiently warm without the 

 addition of artificial heat; but, in very cold wea- 

 ther, in detached dairies, unless they are construct- 

 ed as already described, it is difficult to preserve 

 the proper temperature without the aid of' a stove. 

 The expense is of no consideration, when put in 

 comparison with the advantage; but great atten- 

 tion is required in its management, for if too much 

 vrarmth be admitted, it will be as injurious as too 

 little, and it will be useless if neglected during the 

 night, for if the dairy be allowed to become too 

 cold, the injury done to the milk cannot be repaired 

 by afterwards warming it. 



As the greatest cleanliness is requisite in the 

 various departments of the dairy, a v\'ell-arranged 

 building should have separate apartments in order 

 to perform its business properly. A butter dairy 

 oun;ht to comprise three; one for receiving the 

 milk, another for performing the operation of 

 churning, and a third for containing and cleaning 

 the various utensils. For a cheese dairy, four 

 rooms will be requisite, viz. a milk-room, as be- 

 fore, another for making and pressing the cheese, 

 a third for salting it, and a fourth (which may be 

 commodiously placed as a loft over the others") for 

 storing and preserving them until brought to mar- 

 ket. The receiving-room, however, should not 

 communicate with the others by interior doors or 

 windows, for the milk would be injured by the 

 heat and steam arising from them; and an open 

 shed, fbnned by the projecting roof of the build- 

 ing, will generally be found sufficignt lor scouring 



