THE GENESEE FARMER. 



151 



on the uliiost p«isturo luiul — universal experience 

 haviiiL^ proved that such land is the best adapted to 

 thi? crop, owing, no doubt, in a ^reat measure to the 

 Ion J rest of the soil from cultivated crops, and to the 

 rich food furnished by the decaying sod. And in 

 order to preserve the fertility of the farm, no more 

 land should be plowed for corn than can be ma- 

 nured at the proper time in the course of the rota- 

 tion. 



The next crop should be oats, because they will 

 grow on the par;ially exhausted soil better than any 

 other crop. .Some farmers sow wheat after corn, but 

 it is not advisable, as the crop cannot generally be 

 got in until too late in the season; and because it is 

 attended with a great deal of labor, and when done 

 the produce is generally small, unless the ground is 

 manured; and because, if the laud is sown with grass 

 seed, grass will fallow too soon after grass. Again, 

 some farmers let the laud lie fallow till the following 

 season; but a sufiicient objection to this practice is 

 the lensfth of time the ground remains unproductive. 

 Oats, however, are a crop soon got in, and on ordi- 

 nary land they are remunerative, and are harvested 

 in time to give ample opportunity for getting in the 

 wheat in season. Besides, the additional plowing 

 and pulverising of the soil prepares it better for the 

 grass which follows. 



It is the practice with some to sow clover seed 

 with the oats, and in the following season to plow 

 down either a crop of clover or the depastured sod, 

 and sow with wheat. This will almost always insure 

 a better crop of wheat than can be raised on oats 

 stubble; but grass doe,! not succeed so well after it, 

 and that is a very important matter. I pursued this 

 course for eleven years, but was obliged to abandon 

 it on account of the grass; for although the grass 

 sometimes took finely and produced well for a year 

 or two. yet it always would run out sooner than when 

 sown along with wheat after oats. It is objectiona- 

 ble, also, because sowing clover with the oats and 

 again with the wheat is clovering too much, and the 

 land is apt to become '• clover sick." Again, it is 

 objectionable because the year that the ground lies 

 in clover is in a measure lost. It is true it may be 

 pastured in the fore part of the season, but cattle are 

 not fond of clover alone, and do not thrive so well 

 on it as on a mixed pasture: and if a crop of hay be 

 taken off, it will at best be light, and will also be ex- 

 hausting. 



Wheat, then, should succeed oats, the ground 

 havin? been well manured. With wheat, timothy 

 seed should be sown, and, in this latitude, at the same 

 time, and clover seed in the spring following. The 

 grass, in ordinary seasons, will be good, and the timo- 

 thy, or natural ^rass, will keep a sod on the ground 

 till it is again plowed for corn- 

 Farms on which this system of rotation is adopted 

 should be divided into seven or eigjht enclosures, 

 having one for each of the crops of corn, oats and 

 wheat, and the rest for hay and pasture. Here in 

 Chester county, where this rotation is practised, and 

 where farmers mostly turn their attention to grazing 

 and feeding cattle, as well as raising grain for market, 

 and where, too, it is customary to apply a coat of 

 liuje OQce In every course of crops, the land main- 

 taius its fertility, and large tracts of worn out land 

 have been redeemed from sterility and made highly 

 productive. L. 



Chester County, Pa, 



ON CHEESE MAKlKG. 



TiiF.RB are three principal objects to be kept in 

 view in making cheese. (1.) To obtain as much 

 cheese as pos^illle from the milk. (2.) To make the 

 cheese of such a flavor as to suit the prevailing taste, 

 and (3) to make it so as it will preserve its sound- 

 ness till marki't time. 



The quantity of cheese depends upon several items: 

 (1.) The preserving of the n-ghts milk so as to pre- 

 vent the rising of cream. (2.) The cave used in work- 

 ing in the cream. (3.) The care in breaking the cnrd, 

 and (4.) Settling it so as to prevent any of it frompats- 

 ing off in the-whey and in the first pressing. 



The flavor depends: (1.) Upon the quantity of 

 rennet. (2.) The care in keeping the nights milk 

 from the least souring. (3.) The finely pulveiiziog 

 of the curd. (4.) The height of the scald, and (.").) 

 The quantity of salt. In large dairies the nights 

 milk should be strained into a tin vat, which is placed 

 in a wooden one a few inches larper, so as to admit 

 a quantity of cold water to stand aronud it to keep 

 cool. In case there is not a strtam of running water, 

 in very warm weather it is best to change the water 

 once before retiring for the night. In the morning 

 what cream is up should be skimed and warmed, and 

 then added after the mornings milk is strained in. — 

 Some take off the cream. This not only reduces the 

 quantity of cheese from two to two and a half pounds 

 for every pound of butter the cream will make, but 

 materially injures the quality. 



The milk should be at about 70° Fahr. when the 

 rennet is introduced, and enough rennet used to bring 

 it to curd in thirty- five to forty minutes. "When it 

 is properly curdled, cut it up finely and carefully with 

 a curd cutter, and after setting a few minutes, work 

 it up carefully with the hand until the curd begins to 

 harden and becomes well separated from the whey, 

 dip off the most of the whey and rai&e the the heat 

 to about 100'-' (many say 115 or even 120) by hot 

 water around the vat, stiring it constantly. Then dip 

 it into a sink in the bottom of which is a rack with 

 a strainer cloth over it; some prefer scalding in this 

 sink. The whey is then drawn oft", and the curd well 

 pulverized by rubbing with the hands. The ialt is 

 now introduced and thoroughly mixed with the curd. 

 The curd is then put iu the hoop in which is a cloth 

 of rather close texture, and pressed moderately for 

 two or three minutes; then press harder, increas- 

 ing the pressure gradually for about five or six hours. 

 Then take it out of the first cloth, put on the band- 

 age, which should be drawn over the corners about 

 an inch, put a fine cloth, cut to shape about as large 

 as the cheese, on the top and bottom, turn the cheese 

 the other side up aiid press from six to twelve tons, 

 until the press is wanted for the next cheese. 



South Rutland, Jeff. Co, JV. Y. H. Hecox. 



ON UNDEBDEAINING. 



Underdraining, though practiced but by compara- 

 tively few, is one of the best investments a farmer can 

 make, if he has land which requires it. Its effects are 

 almost magical; if properly done it converts stiff clay 

 and boggy mudholes, that would produce nothing 

 but coarse water grass and " pollywogs," into a looee 

 porous soil that will repay liberally the labors of the 

 husbandman. Nature has been depositing her wealth 

 in these low places during all time; and as they have 

 not been cropped since Adam was a little boy, we 

 aeed not be at a loss to account for their exceeding 



