86 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



ON BUTTER MAKIKG. 



The milk room should be built on the north side of 

 the dairy house, digging two or tliiee feet into the 

 ground, and stoning up with a double wall, well pointed 

 ■with lime mortar. The bottom should be pla^^tered 

 with water lime cement, such as is used for cisterns ; 

 dis'ance between the bottom and upper floor not less 

 than ten feet, the sides ceiled up and tUled in with dry 

 taa bark; two or three latticed windows near the sill 

 to let in light and air; the temperature to range 

 from 55 to 60 degrees, regulated by fire in cold, 

 and ice in warm weather, by wrapping a chunk in 

 a piece of carpet and placing in the milk room. — 

 The room, chui'n. pans, and pails, to be kept strict- 

 ly neat and clean; the milk to he strained as soon 

 as drawn from the cows in ten quart tin pans set 

 on the bottom of the milk room in warm weather, 

 and on racks in cold. The milk should stand until 

 it coagulate?, when the cream f^hould be taken off 

 and churned in a common dash churn, with any pow- 

 er prefered. I prefer dog power, which is generally 

 nged in this country. Cream should not stand over 

 twenty -four hours before it is churned ; — in fact the 

 quicker it is churned after it is taken off the better. 

 The temperature of the cream in the churn should 

 be about 55 degrees. As soon as the butter sepa 

 rates, draw off the bntter-milk and wa.«h the butter 

 ■with pure cold water until it runs off perfectly clear; 

 then work in thoroughly three-fourths of an ounce of 

 first riite Ashtou salt to each pound of butter, and 

 immgdiatFly pack solid, in from fifty to one hundred 

 pound tub?., according to the size of the dairy. — 

 When the tub m full, cut a piece of white cotton 

 cloth the si.'.e of the cover, wet in brine, and tuck it 

 dorrn snu* over the butter; cover thg' cloth with salt 

 Bt least half an inch thick, moistened with ■water, go 

 a3 to form a paste, put the cover on tight and place 

 the package in another tub, ■n-ith two inches of salt 

 in the bottom and one inch .space around the side? 

 ■with two inches at the top; fill in with salt, and cover 

 tight so as to exclude all air. Set the tubs in a cool, 

 dry cellar, and I will warrnnt it to keep any desirable 

 length of time as fresh and good as when first made. 



H. H. Taylor. 



East Rodman, Jefferson Co , JV. Y. 



ON THE INFLUENCE OF AGRICULTURAL PAPEES- 



AND KEASONS WHY FARMERS SHOULD WRITE 



FOR THEM. 



There is no occupation that tends more to the per- 

 manent wealth and happiness of a nation, or to the 

 real beauty of a country, than that of properly direct- 

 ed agriculture. This wealth consists mainly in the 

 products of the soil, and in the soil itself ; and that 

 beauty of farm scenery which •' delights the eye" nni.'.t 

 proceed from the plans and operations of the farmer 

 being laid and carried out in a tasteful — yet skillful 

 and economical manner. To do all this the farmer 

 must have knowledge, and he cannot obtain this 

 knowledge from his own experience, because that 

 ■would require too much time and capital, lie should 

 therefore, profit by the experience of others ; and this 

 he can do the most cheaply by reading theagricult-a- 

 ral papers. In these, when they are properly conduct- 

 ed, be will find recorded the experiments, 'the hints, 

 and the practical resubs of his brother farmers, as 

 well as carefully prepared editorials. It is chiefly in 

 this way that the agricultural press is causing such an 



increased interest to be taken in farming, operations 

 in this country. In the first place, the farm jour- 

 nal has elevated the farmer's calling to an honorable 

 position, and made it morb respected. It has clothed 

 it with the dignity of a science, and thus will soon 

 make it the most delightful pursuit that man can en- 

 gage in By increasing the amount of independance 

 and competency among that class which is sometimes 

 called the "bone and sinew of the country,' by adding 

 to the intellectual enjoyments of country life,*Kud pro-, 

 raoting the moral virtues — by all these, has the agri- 

 cultural journal produced a greater amount of prac- 

 tical, worldly good than any other class of journals 

 published. 



From what has been remarked above, it is easily 

 inferred that the farmer should write for the farmer's 

 paper. But more particular reasons may be given 

 why he should do so. One of the best is*, thsttlie in- 

 telligent farmer knows l)etter what to write than the 

 mere theorist. The agricultural community will have 

 more confidence in a paper liberally supported by the 

 writings of farmers, simply because it will be sup- 

 posed they have tlie best means of knowing what they 

 write about. Such a belief will cause the agricultu- 

 ral paper to circulate more extensively through the 

 country, and therefore will do more good. Farmers 

 are sometimes slow to adopt new plans on fanning — 

 too much in that extreme — and they are the more so 

 if the new idea or theory does not proceed from the 

 experience of a practical i^ian of their own craft. 



The farmer should labor to elevate and honor his 

 calling; and hence, if he can therein impart any item 

 of beneficial knowledge, it becomes his duty to do so. 

 Let no selfish view ever induce him to withold what 

 would assist his " fellov/ lords of the ?oil." He ."^hould 

 remember that it is a principa^«|h political economy 

 that " a benefit to one is a benefit to all." Let him then 

 write for his own paper — write frequently and careful- 

 ly—avoiding every thing nut projjerly authenticated 

 by evidence carried far enough, calculated to lead as- 

 tray. He can also suggest, he can make inquiries, and 

 he can even speculate on some subjects," but they 

 should be known as speculations. 



And thus, in these various ways, reciprocal benefits 

 will he received; and he will be adding something to 

 the common stock of that agricultural knowledge 

 which will tend to push forward the high avocation 

 of the farmer near and more near its goal of perfec- 

 tion. P- P. 



Mountain Home, Va. 



THE BEST MEANS OF DESTROYING WEEDS. 



Plow deep, about the last week in May.or earlier, 

 if you can; harrow uutil the surface is fine and 

 smooth; then use the cultivator frequently and 

 thoroughly, till the 1st of July; cross-plow aad sow 

 buck-wheat, (well rolled in plaster.) One half & 

 bushel to the acre is sufficient if the land is in proper 

 condition. Plov/ again the following spring, after a 

 liberal application of barn yard manure. Sow with 

 oata and seed down with an early variety of clover, 

 (commonly called the Medium Clover, among us.) 

 If your weeds withstand this treatment, they must 

 be more tenacious of life than anv we have to deal 

 with, namelv, Canada Thistles, White Dais^y, "Wild 

 Peas, &c. If, however, they are not all killed, the 

 kind of clover referred to will require mowing before 

 they have matured their seeds. I have tested this 



