No. 1. 



Large Dairy Establishments of London. 



11 



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

 ing and about two o'clock in the afternoon. 

 A portion of green food or roots is supplied 

 alternately with the grain?, and in winter, 

 when tares or green grass cannot be pro- 

 cured, after the potatoes, turnips, or mangel 

 vvurtzel have been eaten, a portion of hay 

 is given. 



The produce of Rhodes's dairy is entirely 

 milk and cream for private families and for 

 public hospitals. A ninnber of public insti- 

 tutions are supplied directly from tliis dairy 

 by contract; private families are supplied 

 by milk dealers, who have what is called 

 milk-walks, that is a certain number of cus- 

 tomers whom they supply twice a day; they 

 are thug enabled to ascertain the average of 

 what their customers require, and they con- 

 tract with Messrs. Rhodes for this average. 

 The latter calculate the number of cows 

 sufficient to give the dealer the supply 

 wanted, and this number the dealer under- 

 takes to milk twice a daj% at three o'clock 

 in the morning and at three o'clock in the 

 afternoon. The milk is measured to the 

 dealer, and should he have milked more 

 than his quantity, it remains with the dairy; 

 but should the cows be deficient in quantity, 

 it is made up from the milk of other cows 

 milked on account of the contracts of the 

 establishment. As the supply of the cows 

 and the demand of the dealers is constantly 

 varying, large quantities of milk remain on 

 the dairyman's hands, frequently as high as 

 seventy to eiglity gallons, which is strained 

 up in shallow earthen vessels for cream, the 

 cream is churned, the butter sold, and the 

 skim-milk as well as the buttermilk is put 

 into the milk well for the pigs. 



The management of the whole is com- 

 mitted to three persons : a clerk, who keeps 

 the books, collects the debts, and pays and 

 receives all moneys; a man who superin- 

 tends the feeding and treatment of the stock, 

 and who has the general care of the premi- 

 ses; and a woman who measures the milk 

 to the dealers, and superintends the dairy. 

 The cows are all purchased and sold by a 

 regular salesman. 



Laycock's dairy is also at Islington, nearly 

 on the opposite side of the way to Rhodes's, 

 but stands on a greater number of acres. 

 The number of cows kept in Laycock's, is 

 about the same as that kept by Rhodes; but 

 in treatment they differ some little. I will 

 notice only those particulars in which this 

 establishment differs from Rhodes's. The 

 cows are fed in the same way, with the ex- 

 ception of not getting any salt on their 

 grains, but the hay is salted when put in 

 the rick. They are turned out once a day 

 to drink from troughs in the yards, remain- 



ing out from half an hour to three hours, 

 according to the weather and season of the 

 year; from the end of Jime till Michaelmas, 

 the cows are turned into the fields from six 

 o'clock in the morning until eleven, and 

 from about two o'clock in the afternoon until 

 about three tlie following morning. The 

 remaining hours they are in the sheds for 

 the purpose of being milked. The cows in 

 this establishment are, on an average, kept 

 in use longer than in Mr. Rhodes's; those 

 which become dry are fattened in the same 

 way, with the addition of boiled flaxseed, 

 which is found to be a valuable assistant. 

 The mode of using it was to me quite novel, 

 as was its use at all for the purpose of fat- 

 tening ; it is boiled in a common boiler, and 

 when reduced to a pulp let out into lai-ge 

 wooden cisterns by tubes, where it was 

 mixed with clover chaft' roughly cut, and 

 sometimes with grains; and when cool given 

 to the cows, who eat in this way with great 

 avidity. In this establishment those cows 

 which are good milkers, are allowed to take 

 the bull, for which purpose eight bulls were 

 kept on the premises. The usual period of 

 keeping the cows is from four to five years; 

 the calves are sold in Smithfleld cattle mar- 

 ket, the market next after they are calved, 

 to those who make it a business to take 

 them to the country and fatten them for the 

 butcher. There are three extensive farms 

 belonging to this establishment, but a few 

 miles distant, at one or other of which the 

 cows in calf are kept when dry. The hair 

 of the tails is kept closely trimmed off, to 

 prevent the risk of dirtying the milk, and 

 their bodies are curried over once everyday. 

 The pigs, in addition to sour milk, get also 

 ground linseed and grains. 



In addition to this dairy estnblishment, 

 Mr. Laycock has a series of enclosed yards, 

 about half an acre each in size, with open 

 sheds sufficient to shelter from eight thou- 

 sand to nine thousand head of cattle, which 

 are appropriated to taking in stock for the 

 nights previous to the days on which Smith- 

 field market is held, which are on Monday 

 and Friday of every week in the year. For 

 this purpose the situation is admirably adapt- 

 ed, lying on the great North road, and being 

 within a short and straight drive of the 

 market, which, singular enough, is situated 

 in the very heart of the most thickly popu- 

 lated part of that immense city. Those 

 layers and this dairy establishment may be 

 considered as a central farm-yard to the* 

 three hay farms which they amply supply 

 with immense quantities of the finest ma- 

 nure for top-dressings. 



The whole is under the management of 

 the two brothers, assisted by a clerk and a 



