642 



t'ARMERS' REGISTER 



agetnent of the milk, first enumerating the number 

 ol' persons required. These consist, in large dairies 

 of a meyer or overseer, a cooper, one or two cow- 

 herds, (as may be requisite,) one or more swine- 

 herds, an upper dairy woman, nnd dairymaids in 

 the proportion of 1 to every 18 cows. The over- 

 Goer's duty involves a general charge ol'lhe cattle, 

 whether in health or sickness, with a competent 

 knowledge of their diseases and the remedies ; he 

 is responsible lor the swine being properly cared 

 for ; that the calves, whether falling or rearing for 

 Etock, are regularly and suitably fed; that the 

 cowherd does his duty ; that the hours of milking 

 are punctually adhered to ; and that every thing 

 and every person is in proper place and keeping. 

 lie must further pay strict attention that the cows 

 are milked thoroughly ou', on which so very much 

 depends ; as not only the cow which is allowed to 

 retain any portion of milk diminishes her produce 

 by so much from day to day, but the last, being by 

 far the richest part, a loss ol' butter is incurred 

 much more than proportionate to the quantity of 

 milk, by this culpable negligence or laziness. Ac- 

 cording to the observations of an accurate exa- 

 iDiner, Dr. Schubler, the first drawn milk contains 

 only 5, the second 8, and the fifth 17 per cent, of 

 cream! If the number o( cows be not above a 

 hundred, the overseer can also undertake the coop- 

 er'work ; which, when wooden milk dishes are 

 used, in addition to the cream barrels, milking 

 pails, and butler casks required in the course of a 

 year is a consideration both of lime and expense. 

 But in large dairies, a cooper is kept in addition, 

 who, however, must likewise milk a certain number 

 of cows, assist in carrying the milk, feeding the 

 cows when housed, or any other dairy work which 

 a man is capable of. Tlie wages of these two per- 

 sons vary according to the extent of the dairy, but 

 may be averaged the first at 60, and the second at 

 40 dollars per annum. 



'J'he dairymaids, besides milking, cleaning the 

 vessels, &c., work in the garden in summer, spin 

 in winter, and wash, bake, brew and cook for their 

 own establishment, under the supeiintendence ol 

 the upper dairy woman, who is by far the most im- 

 portant personage in it, as on her skill, attention, 

 and diligence depend, in great measure, both the 

 quantity and quality, and, tiy consequence, the pro- 

 fit of the produce. She must not only thoroughly 

 understand, but accurately observe, the moment 

 when the milk should be creamed ; the degree of 

 acidity it must attain in the cream barrels ; its tem- 

 perature, whether requiring the addition of warm 

 or cold water to the churn, as well as the all- im- 

 portant operations of kneading, beating, salting, 

 and packing the butler. She must not only be 

 punctiliously clean herself in person and work, but 

 keep a strict eye over the cleanliness and order of 

 her subordinate maidens. In very large dairies 

 ihe upper woman has full employment, without 

 milking, and neeils the nssistanoe always of one. 

 and sometimes of two, of the more experienced 

 dairymaids, in butter and cheese making; but in 

 emaller establishments she milks a certain number, 

 generally 10 cows, while each of her subordinates 

 have 18; her wages are usually 55 to 60, that ol 

 her chief assistants 22, and that of the others 18 

 dollars per annum. 



During summer the dairy people miist rise at 

 three and even two in the morning, if the weather 

 be very hot; for which they arc indemnified by 



two hours' sleep, from 1 to 3 in the afternoon. 

 At 4 they commence milking, which takes place in 

 the field, and generally occupies two hours. At 

 the beginning of the season each girl marks her 

 own cows by tying a particular colored ribbon round 

 their tails, and in some places they adopt the pre- 

 caution of the milkers carrying a string on which 

 ihey cast a knot as each cow is successively milk- 

 ed, thus securing against one being forgoiten. As 

 the fields are large, and olicn at a great distance, 

 the transport of the milk is facilitated by the very 

 simple contrivance of a long, low, four-wheeled, 

 one-horse wagon, in the side bars of which strong 

 iron hooks are inserted, at such distances that the 

 milk pails, containing from 30 to 40 quarts each, 

 may svving free of each other, and these, though 

 filled nearly to the brim, are prevented spilling, 

 notwithstanding many a rude jolt over the rough, 

 and often deeply ruited road, by merely having 

 thin pieces of wood, about the size of a dinner plate 

 floating on the surface ; a practice, indeed, univer- 

 sal in these countries, when pails with any liquid 

 I are carried even in the hand. The milk when 

 I broughtto ihedairyisimmediatelystrainedthrough 

 I a hair sieve into the vessels, whether of wood, 

 j earthenware, copper tinned, zinc, cast-iron, (lined 

 j with a china-like composition,) or glass, placed in 

 rows on the floor. All these difiierent kinds of 

 I utensils have been tried with various puccess, in 

 I the hope of discovering liow, in hot weather, niore 

 j especially when a thunder storm is gathering, the 

 milk can be guarded against a too early aciility ; 

 for, as it is a fixed and invariable rule that the cream 

 must be removed from the milk before the latter 

 gets at all sour, and an equally established fact, 

 that all the oily particles cannot be obiainedin a 

 shorter period than 36 hours, vessels in which, dur- 

 ing sultry, and especially damp weather, the milk 

 could be kept the due time, are a great dcsiilera- 

 tum. As yet, however, there reigns much diver- 

 sity of opinion on the subject, and shallow wooden 

 vessels, as nearly as possible equally wide at lop 

 and bottom, containing when full about 8 quarts, 

 but in which during summer seldom more than 6 

 quarts are poured, are in most general use. The 

 tinned copper milk pans are very costly, and must 

 be carefiilly watched lest ihey should require re- 

 tinning. The zinc are as yet little known, and 

 the assertion of their effect in better severing the 

 cream from the milk, not sufficiently proved. The 

 cast-iron, lined with enamel, though assuredly du- 

 rable and very clean, seem too expensive; and the 

 glass have many opponents on account of their 

 britlleness, and the vague notions respecting 

 glass and electricity inducing the idea, that if the 

 electric fluid get imo the milk it cannot get out 

 again ! Whereas, as it is ascertained that it always 

 attaches itself to a conductor, and, in the absence 

 of any thing more attractive, runs along the sur- 

 face, it is more likely that the milk should be pro- 

 tected in gloss, which is a non-conductcr, than in 

 any other substance. In my dairy which contains 

 upwards of 180 cows, the glass vessels have been 

 used for 4 years ; and I give Ihem a decided pre- 

 ference over all others. Their form is good, being 

 16 inches broad at the top and 12 at the bottom : 

 the glass is dark botile-green, transparent; and per- 

 fectly smooth, about one eighth of an inch thick, 

 and provided with a rounded rim at the tipper edge 

 which makes it easy to retain a safe hold of them 

 even when full. They contain 8 quarts, but never 



