38 ON THE DAIRY. 



A NEIGHBOR'S STATEMENT. 



The foHo'wing letter, from a son of Essex, whose dairy products the 

 present season, have commanded tl.o first premium in a neigh- 

 boring county, m\\ commend itsolf to favor ; although the diffidence 

 of t!ie author \Yill not suffer his name to be used. 



3Ii/ dear Sir, — I have twelve cows, mostly of the common na- 

 tive stock. There are among them, however, hvins, said by the 

 late Elias Phinney, Esq., to be of the Swinley, Ayrshire breed, 

 and one of the North Devon breed. Three are old cows, two 

 are heifers, one of which is just three years old, and has raised 

 one calf last year, and one this ; the other is two years old, and 

 made the second week in September, five and a half pounds of butter. 

 These heifers Avere raised upon my own farm. The first was taken 

 from the coav when five weeks old, and fed immediately upon hay and 

 water, without ever being learned to drink milk, or in any way chang- 

 ing her food, except by the addition of roots occasionally, until the 

 next Summer, when sho was sent to pasture. Her first calf was 

 dropped when she was twenty-two months old. The other heifer was 

 taken from the cow when five weeks old, and sent immediately to pas- 

 ture. The calves of both are now in pasture, and promise well un- 

 der similar treatment. 



From the 20th of May to the 10th of August, six cows were pas- 

 tured at home and milked. One of these calved early in December, 

 and one in January last. Since that time, three more have been ad- 

 ded to the number kept at home, and three remain dry, at pas- 

 ture, away from home. They all have good pasture and an ample 

 supply of running water. 



In June, from the milk of six cows, we made 198 pounds butter. 

 In July the severe drought had nearly destroyed the feed, and the 

 quantity of butter was diminished. During the Autumn, the feed 

 has been very good, and we have had the milk of nine cows, and from 

 the whole we have made since the 2od of May, 1019 lbs. butter. The 

 number of persons in my family has never been less than 14, and 

 for many weeks during the summer, it has been 18, and we have used 

 milk and cream at all times freely. 



Our milk is strained into tin pans, and allowed to stand from'86 to 

 48 hours, in a cool, darkened room on the first floor of the house; 

 except in August, when it is kept in a cellar, under a wing of the 



