MIL 



MIL 



273 



milk is greatly increased by pota- 

 toes, but it becomes thinner. Some 

 think carrots have a tendency to 

 dry up the milk in cows; but 1 

 have assured myself of the contra- 

 ry by much experience. 



The milk of cows in summer is 

 sometimes made very bitter by 

 their feeding on ragweed, which 

 they will do, when they are very 

 hungry. To prevent this evil it is 

 only necessary that they should 

 not be forced to eat it by the want 

 of other food. 



" Milk consists of three parts, 

 namely caseous, butyrous, and se- 

 rous. The tirst comprehends the 

 grosser earthy particles, which 

 serve to suspend the butyrous part ; 

 and which, when coagulated by art, 

 are formed into Cheese. The se- 

 cond ingredient comprises the bu- 

 tyraceous or oily particles,or cream, 

 which float on the surface of milk, 

 and are by agitation converted into 

 Butter. The serous are the more 

 watery parts, constituting what is 

 called whey, and serving as a vehi- 

 cle for the two before stated. The 

 most wholesome milk is that which 

 contains a due proportion of the 

 three constituent parts. 



" To preserve milk, add five 

 grains of magnesia to a quart. To 

 ascertain the quantity of cream, 

 which will be afforded by various 

 specimens of milk, procure half a 

 dozen glass tubes, closed at one 

 end, 9 inches long, and half an inch 

 in diameter; fix them in a wooden 

 frame; mark on each 4 several in 

 ches from the top as a scale. 'I'he 

 cream settling at the top, after (hey 

 have been filled with milk, will 

 shew the quantity." Domestic En- 

 cyclopedia. 35 



MILLET, Panicum, a round yel- 

 lowish white grain, which grows in 

 panicles at the top of the stalk. 

 The stalks and leaves are like those 

 of Indian corn, but smaller. It 

 grows to the height of three or four 

 feet. A sandy warm soils suits it 

 best. It should be sown about the 

 middle of May, in drills three feet 

 apart. The plants should be so 

 thinned at the first hoeing as to be 

 about six inches apart in the rows. 

 It will produce as large crops as In- 

 dian corn, and bears drought ad- 

 mirably well. Cattle are fond of 

 eating it green, preferring it to clo- 

 ver. A crop of it sown thick, and 

 mowed green, would be excellent 

 fodder. 



Some say a crop may be obtain- 

 ed by sowing it at about midsum- 

 mer. Perhaps it may be so in hot- 

 ter climates. I tried the experi- 

 ment in the 44th degree of latitude, 

 and the crop was little better than 

 mere chaff, for want of continuance 

 of heat to fill the grain. 



This grain appears to be subject 

 to no distemper; but when it is 

 nearly ripe, the birds are apt to get 

 a great deal of it, if it be not watch- 

 ed carefully. 



The way to harvest it is, to cut 

 off the panicles with a knife, near 

 the uppermost joint of the stalk, 

 put them into sacks or sheets, carry 

 them to the barn floor, and empty 

 them into heaps, covering them 

 wiih cloths. Af^ter lying five or six 

 days, it mu^t be thrashed and clean- 

 ed. It should be dried well in the 

 sun, before it is stowed away in the 

 granary ; for it will not keep well 

 with any moisture in it. 



{Millet is an excellent food for 



