586 



FARMERS' REGISTER— DAIRY MANAGEMENT. 



and drying the vessels. The churning-rooni 

 should be provided with a boiler, of dimensions 

 suited to the number of covvsemployed, tor warm- 

 ing water, milk, and whey; and must contain suf- 

 ficient space for conveniently pcribrming all the 

 operations of the dairy, whether it be devoted to 

 the manufacture of butter or cheese. Where a 

 dairy is confined to the sale of milU, two apart- 

 ments will sutfice, one for containing the milk as it 

 is brought in, and another ibr serving it out, scald- 

 ing, fuid keej)ing the utensils. As these, how- 

 ever, are rarely to be found in the common dairies, 

 it will be the more iiecessaiy to pay the strictest 

 attention to order and neatness in those which do 

 not possess so many conveniences. Should the 

 temperature of the milk-room become atfected by 

 the carrying of newly-drawn milk into it, it may 

 easily be reduced to tlie proper degree, by suspend- 

 ing a small quantity of ice at a considerable 

 height fi-om the floor; and if, during winter, the 

 colcl should become too great, and that it is not 



1)rovided with a stove, a barrel of hot water close- 

 y stopped, or a lew hot bricks, placed on the floor 

 or table of the milk-room, will readily counteract 

 its effects. But on no account whatever should a 

 chafing dish with burning coals be used, as it will 

 certainly impart a bad taste to the milk. 



The utensils of a dairy comprise pails, sieves, 

 coolers, churns, creaming-dishes, cheese-vats, 

 ladders, and presses; all of which are so familiar 

 to every dairy-woman that it would be only waste 

 of time to describe them. To these shoidd be 

 added a Fahrenheit's thermometer, which should 

 be suspended in a central part of the milk-house. 

 Wood is the material usually employed, and, with 

 requisite care, nothing can be more sweet or pro- 

 per; but they require the closest attention in 

 scouring and scalding every time they have been 

 used, as the smallest drop of milk left in them, or 

 the least taint of acidity or mustiness, will infalli- 

 bly spoil the next milking. Wherever the size 

 and shape of the utensils will admit, earthenware 

 vessels, properly glazed, will therelbre be found 

 less troublesome: but lead, copper, or brass uten- 

 sils, as well as earthenware vessels glazed with 

 lead, ought on no pretext whatever to be used; for 

 the acid which is contained in milk that has been 

 long exposed to the air, combines with these me- 

 tals, and forms a poisonous compound Avith them, 

 which, though perhaps not absolutely deleterious 

 in any serious degree, has yet been found to im- 

 part a disagreeable flavor to the milk. Cast-iron, 

 though it does not form a poisonous compound 

 with the milk, is by no measis unexceptionable, 

 because it does form a compound that may, in a 

 considei'able degree, affect or change the taste 

 and quality of dairy products. Of all metallic 

 dishes, those invented a few years since by Mr. 

 Baird, of Shott's iron^vorks in Linlithgowshire, 

 are perhaps liable to the fewest objections, as the 

 tin with which they are coated is acted upon by 

 the acid of milk in a very slight degree. These 

 vessels are made of cast-iron softened by anneal- 

 ing in charcoal, so that they will not break by an 

 ordinary fiill, turned smooth in the inside, and laid 

 over with a coat of tin to j^revent the iron from 

 coming in contact with the milk. These milk 

 dishes are coming into very general use; and their 

 invention is one of the greatest improvements in 

 dairy management. They are kept more easily 

 clean than wooden vessels: and their superior 



power of conducting heat cools the milk so rapidly, 

 that the Scottish farmers' wives, who have given 

 them a fair trial, affirm, that they throw up one 

 third more cream from an e(iual quantity of milk. 

 It has been latel}' found that slate makes very 

 good milk coolers, and in some of the midland 

 counties the common flag slate is employed for the 

 purpose. 



All dairy utensils ought to be most carefully 

 scoured, first with hot water, and afterwards 

 rinsed, with cold, and ke])t in an airy place, in 

 order that every possible degree of acidity may be 

 removed. Should one or two scourings he insuffi- 

 cient, they must be repeatedly cleansed until they 

 become entirely sweet, as tlie slightest taint or 

 acidity may cause material loss. 



The churn in most common use is that denomi- 

 nated the plunge-chiirv, the structure of which is 

 too well known to require any description. It is 

 made of any size, fi-om ten gallons to near a hun- 

 dred, when worked by hand; but in large dairies, 

 where the system of churning from the whole milk 

 is adoj)ted, it is frequently wrought by horse-pow- 

 er, and is then much larger. The tedious manner 

 in which it operates, has occasioned the invention 

 of many others, among which the barrel-churn 

 has been most generally adopted, in consequence 

 of the superior ease with which it is worked; 

 there is, however, a prejudice against it in many 

 dairies, where it is supposed that it does not ex- 

 tract the butter so well as by the old, though more 

 laborious method; but the contro.rj' is asserted by 

 its advocates.* 



Of the management of m,ilk and cream, and the 

 making and preservation of butter. 



The quality of cows' milk greatly depends on 

 the nature of their food, which likewise materially 

 affects the quantity they will yield; though this 

 last circumstance is, in some measure, regulated 

 by the manner of milking them. It will, there- 

 fore, be necessary to be very cautious in choosing 

 milkers, because, if a cow be roughly handled, it 

 is not only painful to her, but will also cause her 

 to withhold her milk, whereas, if it be gently 

 drawn, she will yield it freely; and it is of impor- 

 tance that it be drawn to the last drop, for it will 

 otherwise decrease at each succeeding meal. As 

 it sometimes happens that cows are ticklish, they 

 should, on such occasions, by no means be harsh- 

 ly or severely treated; and if the udder be hard 

 and painful, it ought to be fomented tenderiy with 

 luke-warm water, and stroked gently, by which 

 simple expedient she will be brought into good 

 temper, and yield her milk with pleasure and free- 

 dom. It is also proper to feed the cows at the 

 time of milking, for, while eating, tliey give out 



* We oiiiit here the description of two improve- 

 ments on churns, because of the want of the necessary 

 explanatorj' cuts, which would be more costly and in- 

 convenient than the object would be worth. It is 

 enough to state that the churns supposed by the au- 

 thor to be best, and therelbre selected for particular 

 description, are 1st, one of our own country, manu- 

 factured by Messrs. Wright and Co. of Philadelphia, 

 and 2nd, Mr. W. Bowler's churn, for which was award- 

 ed a premium by the Society for the Encouragement of 

 Arts. — Ed. Far. Reg. 



