1839] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



231 



15 cows produced 4500 lbs. cheese, sold 



ar 9 cts. per !b 



and 

 at 19i els. 



509 lbs, butter sold 



8405 00 

 99 25 



S504 25 

 Fifteen cows will nearly fatten 4 hogs, weigh- 

 ing in the spring 20 lbs. each; in the fall, 240 fbs. 

 each. In this case it is deemed proper to credit 

 the milk wiih 140 lbs. weight of each of those 

 swine ; 140 lbs. + 4 are equal to 560 lbs. pork at 

 8 cts. = 844 80— this divided by 15 gives to each 

 cow a credit of $2 98| els.— 



Butter and cheese 504 25, add pork 44 80—549 

 05. 



The proceeds of each cow is S36 60.i— 

 add^calf and rennet gl 00, 837 60^, 837 60^ 



Expenses. 



Wintering a cow, usual charge, 

 Pasturing do, 86 50, salt 50 cts., 

 Interest on the value of a cow 823 at 10 



per ct. - 

 One woman will manage the milk of 30 



cows. 

 Her wages 81 50 per week, 28 weeks, 



her board 81 F>er week 

 Wages and board for a dairy of 30 cows 



would be 870, or 82 33 each. 

 Additional help in milking and turning 



cheese 67 cts., - - - . ° 



89 00 

 7 00 



2 30 



33 



67 



821 30 



Profils of a cow, - - - 815 30^ 



No account in this case was taken of the butter 

 and milk used in the family ; but supposed to be 

 not less than 150 lbs. of butter. 



14. Cheshire is devoted almost exclusively lo 

 the dairy husbandry; and has been celebrated for 

 the excellence and abundance of its produce. For 

 the goodness of their cheese, however, I must 

 rely upon authority. Its appearance in some of 

 the dairies, which I examined, bespoke careful, 

 neat, and skilful management. 



A farmer with 25 cows, states their averao-e 

 yield at 300 lbs. cheese, and 20 lbs. butter to^a 

 cow. He says likewise that 1500 lbs. pork are to 

 be credited to his cows. 



The average cost or value of his cows is 830 

 each; wintering 814; pasturing 26 weeks, 86 25; 

 he raises some calves upon whey. It requires 

 the whey of two or three cows to raise a calf. 

 His hogs at 18 mos. average 350 lbs. ; they run 

 in a pasture and have the refuse of the dairy until 

 about six weeks before it is intended to kill them, 

 when they are shut up and fed with corn and 

 meal. A shrewed farmer observes, that, where 

 svvine in this way run in a pasture, it should be 

 laid down as a rule, to have their trouffh always 

 wet or always dry. This means that tliey should 

 have as much whey as they are disposed to eat; 

 or, by being kept wholly without any, they should 

 irom necessity get their living in the pasture. 

 ■Ihey require quietness of mind and freedom from 

 restless desires in order to thrift; and they are 

 like other epicureans whom variety and abun- 

 dance render fastidious. 



The dairy of another farmer consists of 20 



cows. The year before last ihey yielded 400 lbs. 

 new milk cheese ; the last year 400 lbs. each, be- 

 sides an ample supply of butter lor the family. 

 He calculates upon the proportion of one hog to 

 lour cows; with the above cows he made 1200 

 lbs. of pork, 600 lbs, of which he credits to the 

 cows ; he deems three acres necessary for the pas- 

 turage of a cow. His cows during the spring, 

 have an allowance of rye meal and whey. 



In another case the produce of 23 cows was 

 12,000 lbs. new milk cheese, and 500 lbs. butten 



Another case from 11 cows including 4 three- 

 year-old heifers, there were sold and used 3475 

 lbs. new milk cheese, and 403 lbs. butter. Three 

 hogs were likewise fatted; and it was considered 

 that 400 lbs. pork were to be credited to the cows. 

 Two tons of hay were required for the wintering 

 of a cow, valued at 88 per ton ; or she might be 

 kept for hire at 50 cts. per week. 



In another case 30 cows mads 14,000 lbs. new 

 milk cheese; and 500 lbs. butter. In this case 

 some calves were raised ; but most of them were 

 killed at four days old. Throughout the county 

 of Berkshire this mode of dealing with the calves 

 is termed "deaconing" them. What is the par- 

 ticular propriety of this provincialism, 1 am una- 

 ble to determine ; and whether it had its origin in 

 any superstition among the aborigines or the first 

 sellers of the county, I shall leave to the anti- 

 quarians to accertain. It is a peculiarity, and pre- 

 vails no where else. 



The practice, with this farmer, is to give boiled 

 corn in the ear to his cows ; perhaps a dozen ears 

 to a cow per day. When it is conveniently had, 

 he gives a mess of rye meal to each cow, at the 

 rate of two quarts per day, lor three weeks in the 

 spring. He is anxious to let his cows go to the 

 grass as soon as the ground is bare. He thinks 

 cows are liable to sufJer from excessive feeding in 

 the barn. 



The wintering of a cow requires 1^ ton 



of hay, 814 Oa 



Pasturing, 20 cents per week for 26 

 weeks,'" 5 20 



In 40 days of the best of the season on this 

 farm 30 cows produced 4000 lbs. butter. The 

 land required for the pasturage of a cow is con- 

 sidered to be three acres. 



From thirty cows, an average of 425 lbs. of 

 cheese has been produced to each cow, and ten 

 lbs. of butter; or 300 the whole. 



On one farm, where 18 cows were kept, 11,385 

 lbs. new milk cheese were made in a season, 

 which gives the extraordinary average of 632^ 

 lbs. to a cow. 200 lbs. of butter were made the 

 same season from the same cows. One of these 

 cows produced 1000 lbs. new milk cheese. 



During the first part of the season, for two 

 months, two quarts of rye-meal were given to 

 each cow. Half of this quantity of meal was 

 given them for one month during the last of the 

 season ; and the greater part of the time they had 

 their whey. 100 lbs. pork were made on the 

 farm ; and half of this was credited to the cows. 



The same individual, when on another farm in 

 South Adams, with twenty-one cows, made 626 

 lbs. new milk cheese lo a cow, in a season. 1700 

 lbs. of pork were raised in connexion with the 

 dairy. Half the pork was considered due to the 

 cows. 



