THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



29 



menced with another lump. This work is per- 

 Ibrmed wiih remarkable agility even by olJ wo- 

 men. I think that I have seen a woman of six- 

 ty work the buttermilk out of ten pounds ol' but- 

 ler in this way in less than five minutes'? The 

 butter is then cut to pieces with the edge of the 

 ladle, the proper quantity ol' salt taken up in a 

 horn spoon and sprinkled over it, and worked iiiio 

 It by chopping, tossing and catching and slrikiug 

 it liom ladle to ladle (lor a Dutch woman nevei 

 touches butter with her fingers.) She then with 

 the ladle places in a balanced plate in her scales 

 the quantity sLie means to have in a print, and 

 when ii is weighed, gives it a neat figure by toss- 

 ing and catching it, and then with a smart stroke 

 ol her paddle brmgs it upon ihe print which is 

 held in the leli hand, having a long handle like 

 the ladle. 



As we have some of the descendants of the 

 Low Duich in the county of Aimapohs, it is to be 

 hoped that they retain the ancient practices of 

 their mothers, who were well qualified to give 

 use.ul lessons to many ol'our countrywomen u[)- 

 on other pans of housewifery as well as upon 

 managing the dairy. 



Many women who make good butler have the 

 custom of skimming their milk the same morn- 

 ing that they churn, and mixing the cream wiih 

 that which they are about to churn. This cream 

 is left in the buttermilk, lor it will not make but- 

 ter till it becomes sour. Of this any persons who 

 follow this practice may convince themselves by 

 allowing their buttermilk to stand twenty-lour 

 hours and then churning it again. 



When the strippings (the last milk taken, af- 

 ter three-fourths or more have been milked) are 

 mixed with the cream, it should be allowed to co- 

 agulate belbre it is churned, or else a part of the 

 butter will be left in the buttermilk. The strip- 

 ping or last milk, and the first cream that rises, 

 make the best butier. The salt used for buiier 

 should be of the best quality. That which turns 

 damp in wet weather is not fit to salt either but- 

 ter or pork. This dampness is caused by muriate 

 of lime, a salt of which there is a small quantity 

 in sea-water ; it will attract an extraordinary 

 quantity of water from the atmosphere, and al- 

 ways weaken the brine in which it is mixed. — 

 When good saltcannot be procured, the damp salt 

 may be freed from ihe muriaie by the following 

 process : make a strong brine with some of the 

 salt, let the salt that is to be refined be put into 

 this brine for a day, stirring it occasionally ; then 

 pour off the brine, put clean water lo the salt, 

 Biir it for a few seconds, pour it off and dry the 

 salt in the sun. To make this process intelligible, 

 it should be observed that brine so strong that it 

 can dissolve no more common salt, is still capable 

 of dissolving a considerable quantity of muriate 

 of lime. 



To make good butter from milk of thin ridge- 

 backed cows in hot weather, the milk should be 

 scalded as soon as it is strained ; the cream will 

 then rise as thick as that of muscular broad-back- 

 ed cattle, and make nearly as good butter, and 

 the churning may be performed in less than 

 half an hour. Care should be used that the 

 milk is neither burnt or smoked ; for this reason 

 the pot should be set on coals, and not allowed to 

 boil. 



One part sugar, one nitre, and two good salt. 



will preserve butter, almost unchanged for a long 

 lime ; but the butter must not have been washed 

 with water, and when packed it must be secured 

 Irom the air by covering it with a cloth dipped in 

 melted buiter, the eilge of which must be 

 soldered to the tub ur crock wiih melted butter. 



Charcua! il it could be Used without dilTiculiy 

 has a more powerful effect in preserving butter 

 !han any kind of shIi. When a boy I had occa- 

 sion to see many fiikms ol Irish butter opened 

 whicti had been ke|)i long in siores. A part of 

 ihe casks were burm to a coal on the inside. In 

 all these the buiier was perlectly sweet ; in all 

 ihose (hat were noi burnt, ii was very much 

 damaged. 



THE AGE OF CATTLE AS SHOWN BY THEIR 

 TEETH. 



From tlie Kentucky Farmer. 



My attention has been drawn to this subject 

 ever since our Winchester lair. Oneof the judges 

 appointed upon that occasion examined the teeth 

 of several of the cattle that were presented there, 

 and pronounced tfiem to be older than repre- 

 sented. 



Some of these cattle were bred in this coun- 

 try, and / know that their ages were correctly 

 stated. 



At Paris, the treatise upon cattle with the 

 plates was introduced by one of the judges, aijd 

 the teeth of some of the animals were examined 

 to see if they corresponded. This led to suspi- 

 cion that there had been imposition in some of 

 the cattle presen'.ed. 



Since that time I have examined the teeth of a 

 number of thorough-bred Durhams whose ages I 

 know to a day, and have found that in this stock 

 their teeth would make them appear to be about 

 four months in each year older than they really 

 are. A three year old will have the teeth that 

 in the treatise upon British cattle is said to belong 

 to a four year old. 



I attribute this lo the early maturity of the 

 Durham stock. It is reasonable to suppose if they 

 get their growth sooner than other cattle that they 

 will also shed their teeth sooner. I have said 

 about four months to the year, which was the 

 case generally. Some showed even a greater dif- 

 ference. Samuel D. Martiiv. 



BERKSHIRES. 



From tbe Farmers' Cabinet. 

 Mr. Editor : — So much has been said and writ- 

 ten about the Berkshire hogs, that people have 

 procured them, at a heavy price, merely because 

 they have been highly recommended in the ag- 

 ricultural papers of the day, and because it has be- 

 come fashionable to have them, so that when a 

 friend drops in, why, if you have nothing else to 

 show, you must fain show your Berkshires. Now, 

 what 1 am going to say will no doubt raise the 

 hue and cry of the whole fraternity of Berkshire 

 breeders. Yet I care not : what I seek are 

 facts, and these must be told, and cannot be con- 

 troverted. I am a subscriber to your valuable 



