i.lJI < J| l |»MH^iii».iiJUl.m»«ICT 



THE FARMERS' liEGISTEK 



Vol. VIII. 



NOVEMBER 30, 1840. 



No. 11. 



EDMUND RUFFIN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR. 



HOLSTEIW DAIRIES. 



From the Journal of the English Agricultural Society. 

 " The pride and boast of ilie Holsieiner is his 

 diiiry ; and the lame of Holstein butter, whicii, il 

 we except that made in Holland Proper (or Delf- 

 land,) may well claim to be the best in the world, 

 not only justifies his preference, but may render a 

 sketch ot" those peculiarities of management, by 

 which the Holsiein dairy system is more especial- 

 ly distinguished, neither uninteresting nor useless 

 to the English farmer. These may be chiefly 

 classed under four heads, viz. : the buildings and 

 utensils; the time of milking, and number of 

 hands employed ; the management of the milk ; 

 and the mode of working, salting, and packing 

 Ihe butter. 



The buildings indispensable to a large dairy 

 (which varies li'om 100 to 400 cows) are, a milk 

 cellar, a butter cellar, a churning house, (and 

 closely adjoining the horse-raill, by which the 

 operation of churning is invariably effected,) a 

 cheese room and a kiichen, in which not only the 

 various utensils are washed, but the food cooked 

 lor all the persons immediately engaged in the 

 dairy-work; to which must commonly be added 

 their sleeping and eating apartments, as, on large 

 estates, the whole of the establishment is usually 

 kept apart from the mansion house. The size 

 and site of the milk cellar are esteemed matters 

 of first rale importance : it oughtto li-ont the north ; 

 be shaded from the southern sun by rows of trees 

 — elder being especially selected fur this purpose, 

 and indeed placed if possible near the windows, 

 on account of their influence in keeping off the 

 insect tribes; and a thatched projecting roof is 

 preferred, atlbrding greater protection from the 

 heat : while, in choosing the site, peculiar care is 

 taken to place the dairy beyond the reach of every 

 thing calculated to generate bad odors, or in any 

 way taint the atmosphere. The size of the milk 

 cellar must necessarily be regulated by the num- 

 ber of cows : but it sfiould always be calculated 

 to contain the produce of lour miikings; and as 

 the milk dishes usually occu|)y a space ol two feet 

 square, the produce of 100 cows, giving on an 

 average 8 quarts per day, (a large average lor 

 the cows of this country throughout the year,) 

 woulil fill 50 milk dishes at each milking, and 

 would require a ground surface of 500 square leet, 

 as the milk dishes are invariably placed on the 

 floor, the amouut of each milking a liiile apart ; 

 and there must unavoidably l)e spaces left, to ena- 

 ble the dairy maids to go through their various 

 operations of skimming, sieving, and removing 

 cream, &c. The floor, though sometimes flagged, 

 is more generally of brick, neatly filled, so that no 

 water may lodge in the joints; and always gently 

 inclined, with a grated opening at the lower end, 

 to facilitate the mopping and washing of the floor, 

 whicli IS never omitted to be done twice a day, 

 notwithstanding that every avoidable impurity is 

 carefully guarded against, and evury drop which 

 may fall at the time of the milk being strained, is 

 instanily wiped up. A great improvement hus 

 Vol. VIII. -si 



been recently made in some newly arranged dai- 

 ries, by dividing the floor into compartments with 

 brick ledges, from 3 to 4 inches high, between 

 which the milk dishes stand ; and the cornpart- 

 menis (the lower exiremi'y of which is fitted wiih 

 a small sluice) being filled, by means of a pump, 

 with cold water twice a day, the milk is preserved 

 so cool as to prevent all approach to acidity for 

 several hours longer than when placed on a dry- 

 floor: thus affording, even during the summer sol- 

 stice, sufficient time for a complete separation of 

 the milk and cream, without which the tijll propor- 

 tion of butter cannot be obtained. For efJectuat- 

 ing the same desirable result, ice is frequently 

 resorted to in sultry weather, either by dropping 

 a piece of pure ice in each milk-pan, or by placing 

 a paillLiI in the dairy, which, by givingofi its cold, 

 sensibly lowers the atmospheric temperature. 



It is considered necessary that the milk cellar 

 should be surdc from 3 to 4 leet in the ground ; ba 

 from 16 to 18 leet high (the best have an arched 

 roof, as being more conducive to coolness thnn 

 boards) ; and be llirnished with two rows of win- 

 dows, (and, if possible, on three sides, north, east, 

 and west,) to secure a thorough air. The lower 

 range consists of wooden trellis work, provided in- 

 side with gauze frames to exclude insects, and out- 

 side with hanging shutters, which can be lowered 

 and elevated at pleasure. The upper range is llir- 

 nished with glass sashes when light only is requi- 

 site, which are exchanged lor gauze frames, wlien 

 more coolness is desirable. The butler-cellar also, 

 must be light, airy and cool ; being likewise sunk 

 in the ground, and the same precautions adopted 

 as in the milk cellar, to secure an abundant current 

 o! pure air. In it the butter, when carried Iroiu 

 the churning house, is worked, salted, and packed; 

 and the filled butter casks ranged on clean boards, 

 somewhat eleveted above the floor, to admit a free 

 passage of air, aie weekly turned and wiped. 



Next in order comes the churning house, which 

 dillers in no respect from similar arrrangements in 

 England, excepting that, of late years, the perpen- 

 dicular movement of the churn staff' has been ex- 

 changed for the rotatory,* which is found to ciiurn 

 in a shorter time, and with less risk of producinir, 

 even in hot weather, what is called Oiling. 



The cheese room is never admitted near either 

 milk or butter cellar, and is, in newly arranged dai- 

 ries, placed as far as may be from them. In lacf, 

 as cleanliness forms the great object of the Hol- 

 stein dairy eyste.m, the closest aiieniion is paid to 

 guard against every itnpurity, and to remove eve- 

 ry thing from the vicinity of the dairy which coukt 

 by possibility exercise a sinister influence on the 

 very susceptible substances of milk and butter; 

 which suH'er, to a degree those unaccustomed to 

 observe it would little suspect, from a tainted at- 

 mosphere. As the preparation of cheese is better 

 understood in England than here, I will only men- 

 tion that three sorts are made — sweet milk, skim- 

 med milk, and occasionally what is termed cream 

 cheese; and shall now proceed to describe the man- 



* Seventy-two revolution;' ppr mijiute. 



