118 



<JI)c Jarmcr'iS iUontl)lij bieitov. 



rkel held in li-liiii;i<)M 

 Idml' iis tlii-y 





ulai- woiU-Uaiiils beloncing to the establiBhiiient, 

 who are siti{;le men, sleep. 



T!ie cows ill ihis e.siahlishiiicin are a 

 newly calved in the cow mark 

 every Monday. They are kept 

 continue to give not l(ss Own two trillions oj mill; n 

 </«», and are then CaUeiied nilTor ihe linleheron 

 oil eake, grains, and cut clover hay. All breeds 

 are to be'lbnnd here to soineexleni, hut ibe Short- 

 horns arc prelcrred, a'ld are j;reatly in the iiia- 

 jorily ; they are uenerally found lo be more abun- 

 dant milkers, the shortness of their horns, too 

 adinils of their bein-; idaced closer together, and 

 another reason is because this breed is more trc- 

 tiueiitly brought to market than any other. Ibe 

 Ayrshire breed was tried lo some extent, and 

 liighly approved, as giving very rich cream, !a'- 

 tening in a very short time when they lelt ofi 

 giving milk, anil particulury for producing a (jual- 

 hv ot" beef which sold mui^li higher than that oi 

 tile Short-horns ; but the diflicuhy in procnrmg 

 this breed was so great that they abandoned 

 the idea of keeping them. The length ol tune 

 during which a cow, treated as in tins esiablish- 

 iiient, comiunes to give milk, varies from six 

 months up two years; the large majority overgo- 

 ing twelve months. 



The ireamentiu this establishment differs from 

 that in most others. The cows are never untied 

 during the whole time they remain in the house, 

 having clean fresh water to drink constantly be- 

 fore them. They are kept very clean ; the sheds 

 are well ventilated by the openings in the roots, 

 which is <'erlaiuly far preferable to. the usual 

 horizontal entrances for air, by holes through the 

 side walls. The principal food of the cows, as in 

 all other London dairies, consists of grains, that 

 is, malt after it has been used by the brewer or 

 the distiller ; distillers' wash, which is the re- 

 mainder after distillation of a decoction of ground 

 malt and oaten meal, is also given to the cows, 

 but more frequeruly to those that are fatleuing, 

 than to such as are" in milk ; the average price of 

 brewers' grains is about four pence,or eight cents 

 per bushel ; distillers' grains, on account of the 

 meal which they coiitain.about double, or sixteen 

 cents per bushel ; the wash usually sells at a six 

 pence, or twelve cents for thirty-six gallons. Salt 

 is given at the rate of two ounces to each cow 

 daily in this establishment, mixed with the grains 

 given before milking,at three o'clock in the morn- 

 ing and about two in the afternoon. A portion of 

 green food or roots is supplieil alternately with 

 the grains, and in winter, when tares or green 

 crass cannot be procured, after the potatoes, tur- 

 nips, or mangel wtirizel have been eaten, a por- 

 tion of hay is given. 



The pniduce ofRhodes's dairy is entirely milk 

 and cream for private families and for public hos- 

 pitals. A number of public institutions are sup- 

 plied .liiectly from this dairy by contract; jirivate 

 families are supplied by milk dealers, who have 

 what is called milk-w;dks, that is a certain lumi- 

 ber of customers whom they supply twice a day; 

 they are thus enabled lo ascertain the average of 

 what their customers rerpiire, and they coiitrai-t 

 with Messrs. Rhodes tor this average. The latn-r 

 calculate the nuuiber of cows sufHcienl to give 

 ibe deali'r the supply wanted, and this nuniher 

 the dealer niidertakes lo milk twice a day,al three 

 o'clock in the morning and at three in the after- 

 noon. The milk is me:is<u'eil to the dealer, and 

 should he have milked more than his (piantily, it 

 remains with the dairy : but should the cows be 

 defieieut in (piautity, it is made up fi-oin Ihe milk 

 of other cows milked on ac(H)unt of the contracts 

 of the estublisluneul. As the supply ofthe cows 

 and the demand of the dealer isconsiainly vary- 

 ing, large (piautities of milk remain on ihe dairy- 

 man's hands, frcipiently as high .as seventy or 

 eighty gallons, which is slraiiii:d up in shallow 

 earthen vessels Hir cream, the cream is churned, 

 the butler sold, and Ihe skim-inilk as well as tln^ 

 bnlterinilk is put into iht^ milk wcU lor the pigs. 

 The management (d' the whole is couimitted 

 to threi! (lersons: a clerk, who keeps the books, 

 " collects Ihe dehls, and pays and receives all the 

 moneys; ii man who snperint<'n<ls the li'cding 

 uikI treatmeul oflhe stock, and who has the gen- 

 eral care of the pr(Miiisi!s ; and a woman who 

 measures the milk to the dealers, and superin- 

 tends the dairy. Th(^ i-ows are all purchased 

 anil sold by a regular salesman. 



slands on a greater nuuiberof acres. The num- | 

 l,er of cows kept in Laycock's, is about the same 

 as that kept by libodes ; but in treatment they 

 (liller some little. 1 will notice only ihose par- 

 ticulars iii which this establishment dirters troin 

 Uiiodes's. The cows are fed in the same way, 

 with the exception of not getting any salt on then- 

 grains, but t!ie bay is salted when put into ihe 

 rick. They are lurned out once a day to drink 

 from trougiis in the yards, remaining out Irom 

 half an hour to three hours, according to the 

 weather and season ofthe year ; from the end ol 

 .lune till Michaelmas, the cows are turned iiilo 

 the fields from six o'clock in the morning until 

 eleven, and fiom two o'clock in the alterlioon 

 until about three the following morning. Ihe 

 ainiiig boursthey areiu the sheds lor the pur- 

 ol'li'eing milked. The 



cows in this estab- 

 lishment are, .m an average, kepi in use longer 

 than in Mr. llhodes's; those which become dry 

 are latteued in the same way, with the addition ] leet deep, 

 of boiled flaxseed, which is found to be a valua- to the deinh ot one 

 hie assistant. The mode of using it was to me | le 

 quite novel, as was its use at all lor the purposes 

 of fattening: it is boiled in a common holler, and 

 when reduced lo a pulp let out into large wooll- 

 en cisterns by tubes, where it was mi.xed with 

 clover chaffVonghly cut, and sometimes with 

 grains ; and when cool given to the cows, who 

 eat in this way with great avidity. In this es- 

 tablishment those cows which are good milkers, 

 are allowed to lake ihe bull, fur which purpose 

 "■■"hi bulls were kept on the premises, 'i'lie nsu- 



VVilberforce, and is now bis property. It stands 

 on abonl one acre of ground, and iscalcidaied tO » 

 conlain about four liimdred cows. The cow- 

 houses are in parallel ranges, iwenly-four leet 

 wide, and .side walls eight feel high ; the space 

 allowed here for each cow is three leel nine 

 inches, and the greater number of the cow-boi. sea 

 are without stalls. .\s in !\lr. Rhode s' e.-tablisb- 

 iiienl, the cows here are never nuiieil, except to 

 remove them to the tiitlening sheds or lo send 

 ihein to the country to remain till calving imie. 

 A cow, so treated," seldom prodn<-es more iball 

 iwocalvcs— remaining, after each call; an average 

 of 18 inonlhs in milk. . » 



The cows are milked at ihree in the morning 

 and two in the afternoon, and the milk disposed 

 of to dealers as before described. The tood la 

 principally grains, which, instead of being kept 

 in pits in the open air as al Rhodes', a 

 served in the cellar of a large hnilding al 

 feet deep, and are covered, when packed dnwii, 

 fciot with cow-dung, to pio- 

 t them from the influence of the air. Dry 

 hay is seld.un L'ivcu in this establi>hmcnl, the 

 cimfl' of clover hay being always mixed with ibe 

 .-rains or wash. The cows are never turned out 

 to water, but from a large cislern, pipes are con- 

 ducted to every cow-honse, and at certain hours 

 each day, the "water is inrneil into the manger, 



■.-; 



pte- 

 01 14 



whicli is'on a perfect level, and it runs slowly 

 past each cow, so thai she drinks at pleasure. 



past 

 When 



any cow gets sick, she is bled, and is 

 purged by giving her one poundof epsom salt, w itb' 

 two ounces of flour of snlplmr, and an abund 

 ance of warm water. The mode ot treatment 



al period of keeping the cows is from four lo five 



years: the calves are sold in Smithlield cattle c..^.^ •■■■-- ,,„„. ^..lu.i.g e^, „(■„,. ,|,e 



iwket, the tnarket next after they are calved, ,o seldom or '-v- ;;' ;-^^^;;''^^^ ."^ ^:^^iZ the 



those who make it abusiness^o take^them U,^ the e»^vs,jmd,_as ''H-V J-;;;^-\;;;.>,°fi,, calling time 



country and fatten them lor the butcher. There 

 are three extensive farms belonging to this es- 

 tah!isliment,bnt u fijw miles distant, at one or oth- 

 er of which the cows in calf are ke|>t when dry. 

 lair ofthe tails is kept clo.sely trimmed ott,lo 

 sk of dirtying the milk 



their 

 The 



Thel • , • ■„ I 



prevent the risk of dirtying the milk, anil 

 bodies are curried over once every day. 

 pigs, in addition lo sour milk, get also ground 

 linseed and grains. 



In addition lo this dairy establishment 

 Lnycock lias a series of enclosed yard.s, 

 hallan acre each in size, with open sheds sutii- 

 Iter from eight thousand lo nine 



are sent out to a grass 1: . , • .■ 



The quaiiliiv of salt given the cows m their loot 

 here, does not exceed cue ounce daily, on ac- 

 count, as they assert, of its drying qnaliti 

 complaint I never heard made but in this e 

 lishmenl, and with which 1 cannot concur. Uv 

 manure of this eslahlishment is dis]iosed of ifrl 

 manner— all the flum 



to ta 



days on wh 



cieut to she 



ihousand head of cattle, which are appro(iriate(i 

 king in stock for the nights previous to the 

 ich Smithtield market is held, which 

 i„eon Monday and Friday of every week in the 

 year For this purpose the situation is admira- 

 bly adapted, lying on the great North road and 

 beino- wilhiu a short and straight drive of the 

 market, which, singular enough, is situated in 

 the very heart ofthe most thickly populated part 

 of that immense city. Those layers and this 

 dairy establisbuient mav he considered as ft cen- 

 tral farm-yard to the three bay liirnis which they 

 amply supply with immense qnantilies ol the 

 finest manure tor top dressings. 



The whole is under the management ot lh(^ 

 two brothers, assisted by a clerk and a very active 

 (lairyniaid. The proprietors of those, the two 

 mos't extensive milk establishments in 1 lie world, 

 are near and intimate friends and neighbors Iroiii 

 iheir birth, are on the best possible terms, and 

 have as free recourse to either eslabhslimeiit as 

 thoindi they belonged lo the same person ; they 

 freiiiTeiilly "compare notes as to the manageinent 

 and expenses, and they both still rigidly adhere 

 to Iheir own parlieiilar managemint, i aeb c.m- 

 tendiug for bis superiorily and offering to prove 

 it by a refi'i-ence lo their books. .\11 I can say is, 

 that both are managed with great care and at- 

 tention, svstematized in every deparlineiil;_ they 

 bave beei'i carried on successfully and prohtably 

 |„r more than half a ceulnry by the fathers and 

 subsennenlly I'V iheir sons ; and 1 have lUle 



doubt that, in a century frim w, whoever lives 



to see it, will fmd the same successlul oj.eration, 

 and both under the nwinagemeiil of the greal 

 grand-children or immediate deseelidauls ol the 

 original founders. 



Th(! Metropohlan Dairy is the next lar:;est es- 



thekind in l.ondon; it is situaled 



orth-wesleru siibmb 



singular and iuteresting 



, xmn is discharged by sewers inlo a large l.ricl 

 Mr cistern laid in cement, and sold by the hogsbea^ 

 about to the hay farmers in the neigliborliood, to i™ 

 „me lliei"r meadows with, which is done with « 

 common watering-carl used Ibr the streels. ITU 

 solid manure is compre.sse.l intosma I ^<l'i"i-t'f 

 cakes by a hydraulic press, and is all slopped .t 

 Norlblk" and to Yorkshire : ihe compuiaiioin 

 that a lwo-lior.'=e cart-load of dung is leducedJi 

 the size of a cubic foot by 'In* ineafis. 



There are inaiiv minor dairy eslablishments)! 

 and about Londoii, none of which are woribyw 

 notice, save one al Little .\ctou, about 

 IVom Hyde Park corner, under the sole managi 

 ment of a maiden lady, Mrs. Cook, 

 on a liiriii of two hundred acres, the wliola^ 

 which 1^ devoted lo meadow. 'I here are 

 himdreil aiid filiv cows in three slied.s slainll 

 bead 10 head, with a passage of five feel I.etwi 

 Ibe trouidis. The cows here are never un 

 except lor about two months ill the autumn, win 

 ■ "^ ■ ■■- each inilkiiiii, lor about tW 



tablishment ol 

 on the l'",di:ewaie road — tl 

 of the cilv— and was foniuled some iwcnly-livt! 

 " by the late Mr. Rhodes. It was .sold 

 ears after, to one of the linhble 



years since 



by him some few 



Laycock's dairy is also at Islington, nearly on companies of that day, from which its present 

 thi5 oiiposite side of the way to Rhodes's, but 1 mime ia derived. Hy them it was soUl lo lui. 



they are let out alter -. ^^ 



hours, lo fill themselves oil tliealler gras.-. V» 

 ler is .-supplied to lliem in their troughs Iw icM 

 dav, through pi|'es from a line spring adjarW 

 Grains, with roots and other green mial, are » 

 ..rbicipal food ol the cows: and Mrs. fook C.« 



siders ilnincl u-e economical to turn the* 



tire of ber farm to meadow, and wilb the e 

 prmlnce to pmchase ihe other food wanted 

 the cows, ralher than multiply her expeii.s 

 increase her own trouble and cares, by pkicni 

 under a system of agricullural conr.-e.s. 1 Ijj 

 is no doubt bul Mrs. Cook's esiablishmenl, lor 

 size relurns, niider her peculiar management 

 brller protit than any other in Londoii or 

 i,ei"hborhood. Her cwsare milked by I 

 meii at 'l o'clock every morning, and 'l everv 

 ternoon, and the produce sent m mx gallon hfJ 

 tin cans, on a superior two-hor.«e "C spji 

 ,..irrla.'e-witb scarcely any motion to il- 

 Wesl-end milk-d.-ahr, in Fdward sireet 1 orl 

 square, who conn acts for the whole. I hi 

 li..|imenl is characlerized beyond any 

 have ever seen, by ils great nearness and cl 

 linr.«s, both as regards ibe premises, ll 

 Ihemselves, and all those who allemi iq 



ll is worth\ of remark thai, n . , 



there to be louiid a milk wagon used lor llitfH 

 livejy of the milk to ihe liimilies; it 



i e.'il 



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ion ll 

 iiistaiict. 



; al*d 



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