494 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



problematical whether it does not, upon the 

 whole, do as much injury by inip-iriinff liampness, 

 as it does good by lowering liie. temperaiiire. A 

 well con.<lrucled house wiihoat ihe tpiinir, wil 

 answer the purpose, ll ahould be shaileit wiih 

 trees, or arbors ul i/rape-vuiee. All rnonliiy and 

 decaying wood-vvoik, boards, boxes, barrels, Sac, 

 must be kept out of it — also all loreiyn substances, 

 as meats, iish and vegeiables. 'I'lie air ol my 

 spring-house was ruined lor a week or more, 

 merely by placing in it a lew mackerel. 



At I he approach of autumn, a coul and well 

 veniilaied buttery, shaded well wiihoui and kept 



The operalion must be done in a bowl, by the 

 aid n!'a wooden spatula, or paddle, and in no in- 

 stance should ihe hand come in contact with the 

 buiier, iTii can be avoided, as ilie warmth ot" the 

 indiviiitnii renders the butter oily awd bad- 

 flivored. 



Some persons desiroy iis sweetrress and richness 

 by waslimg oni ilie buiiermilk by means ol' cold 

 waier, a pr.tciice always lo be avoided. 



14. Salting. The sat should be added at the 

 coinuienc.eiiieiii or llie lirst working. JNluch ol'our 

 western ttutier is injured t>y ilie employment ol'the 

 common New York salt. The Hnesi ground ar- 



clear oi' all foreign subsiances that can impart a ! licle sliould be used. It can now be obtained in 

 bad flavor, is preferable to a spring house, as the ; sacks, ol our mercharus, at a reasonable price, 

 latter becomes loo damp, at that season, to allow 15. Preserving buiier. — Thai made in the 

 the cream to lorm Will. 1 spring and summer may be laid down in stone 



9. Straining the luilk. — This should be attend- j crocks, and llie surface covered wiih brine of 

 ed to withuul delay alter milking. The new U- sireogih sulTicieni lo bear u() an egg. In winter 

 shioned tui strainer (a tin pail with a wire gauze iliis will answer all ilie purposes of cookery, and 

 strainer) is far preferable 10 ihe old Ifcisliioned clo;li even lor iii'ile will be sweeier ihan much that 

 strainer. Eiilier lin pans or sione crocks may be finds ii way then-. J. P, Kirtlakd. 



used lor holding the luilk ; 1 know ot no prei'ei-- Jiockport, Oct. 14, 1S42. 

 ence, except the liu work is liable to rust in a 

 damp spring house. Earthen crocks should never 

 be used, as the lead in glazing may act chemical- 

 ly with the cream or buuer, so as to pouon ii. 



10. Skimming the milk. — In hot weather the 

 milk may be allowed lo curdle betijre this opera- 

 tion is per(orm^'d, but if it be delayed any longer, 

 a thin, watery fluid will form between ihe mi k 

 and the cream, al'er which the good qualities 

 arc inevitably destroyed. It is necessary, in mid- 

 summer, lo skim the milk every morning and 

 night. This puinl must receive the siriciesi atten- 

 tion. Neglect of it ofien i^ives a si^'ak^'d or mot- 

 ilcd appearance to butier, as well asiiupairs iis 

 flavor. 



11. Cream. — As soon as it is collected it should 

 be placed in a stone crock, which shou'd be eiiher 

 hung into a well, or set up to the biim in the 

 spring within the milk house. 



It has been thouglu by somelhat the cream im- 

 proves, or matures, by exposure to ilieair alier i( 

 is collected, and that pldcing it in a siiuaiionas 

 cool as a well, or spring, is unlavorable lor thai 

 change. This view maybe coirect late in au- 

 tumn, when it becomes somelimes neces.^aryto 

 mature it by artihcial heat, but dunnu our hut aijd 

 dry summers, we believe thecoufee recommended 

 is to be preierred. 



12. Churning. ~Th\s operation must be resorted 

 to as soon as a supply ol cream is obtained, and in 

 hot weather cannot safiily be delayed beyond the 

 third day. 



A variety of patent churns have been palmed 

 upon the public, none ol which, we believe, is to 

 be preierred to the old fashioned, upright dasher, 

 or the barrel. We at present employ the former, 

 and by the aid of a well adjusted spring pole, con- 

 nected with the lop of tiie dasher-rod, can fetch 

 twelve or fifit^en pounds of'hntier, in from fifteen 

 to tweniy-five minuie^-, without any violent efforts. 



The barrel churn is not as easily cleansed. 



13. Working of buiier.— This must be repeat- 

 ed until every drop ol' the buttermilk is expelled ; 

 twice or three times will be necessary, nor must it 

 be delayed too long, til! a change begins to take 

 place in the remaining buttermilk, as that will im- 

 pair the flavor ol'the butter, which no subsequent 

 treatment can restore. 



A CHEAP UNDER DRAIN. 



For the Farmers' Register. 



Below is the plan of a blind ditch, claiming no- 

 tice on the ground ol cheapness. By keeiiing a 

 strict eye to economy, expedition and durability at 

 the same tune, ihis plan has suggested itself to 

 me as a|)proaching nearer the means of the small 

 lariurrs ihan any 1 have seen proposed, practica- 

 ole by liiose with lands and pockets similar to 

 mine; fitr a loo common oljeciion to the many 

 plans projected for this purpose is, that they drain 

 ihe pocket rather more sensibly than the land. 

 The plan here recommended, to say the least of 

 It, is one not costly, either of money or lime, and 

 one from the cost ol Which no one will be deterred 

 ironi a trial. 



In my corn-fieid of last year, 1841, there was a 

 piece of ground, about two acres, rendered almost 

 totally worihkss by llie superabundant moisture 

 in the surfcice soil, in consequence of the hard and 

 im|ieneirable nature of the subsoil. In a subse- 

 quent arrangement ol my crops, this spot was 

 ilirown into ilie shift fur corn again lor the present 

 year. Having determined last winter, li'om last 

 year's experience, not to cultivate it again in ita 

 then coniliiion, I accordingly set about draining it 

 on a cheap plan. The land being stiff and hard 

 enough to snppori a ditch of any form, and situ- 

 ated rather flat, I commenced a ditch at a dislance 

 off, down a gentle slope, sufTicient, by maintaining 

 a level along the hot om, to gain the depth of two 

 and a half liiet when reaching ihe place designed 

 to be drained. From this ditch, brought up lo 

 the edge of the flat, I ran ofl several branches in 

 different directions, aiming each arm along the 

 wettest places, maintaining the same depth, and 

 no wider than Ihe widihof"an ordinary weeding 

 hoe, with which tool and a grubbing hoe the 

 whole work was performed, with the exception of 

 a spade lo scrape and level the bottom. After al- 

 lowing this lo remain open for several days, and 

 the surface had become Ireed from standing water, 

 I gathered up and laid in the longest, straighlest, 

 I and stoutest corn-stalks most convenient to the 



