72 



N ' ^ ENGLAND FARMER. 



Feb. 



height of a hand of four inches when its growth 

 is matured. Thus, if this distance be found six- 

 teen inches, it will naake a horse sixteen hands 

 high. By this means a man may know some- 

 thing of what sort of a horse, with proper care, 

 he is to expect from his colt. — Tennessee Farmer 

 and Meclianic. 



COWS AISTD BUTT.uk. 



Mr. Editor : — In a late number of the Tele- 

 graph your correspondent B. asks for a detailed 

 statement, as to the feeding of cows and making 

 butter in autumn and winter. Now if B. can 

 gather anything of value to himself, from my 

 statement of the mode we have been practising 

 for some sixteen years, I shall be repaid for my 

 trouble in offering it. 



I will begin with the care of cows about calving 

 lime. For several days before this period, I feed 

 ruta bagas or turnips, if I have them ; if not, a 

 little cake meal will answer, to keep the cow in 

 about the same condition she would be on grass. 

 After calving, I give warm slop for drink for the 

 first three days ; this is made by scalding a little 

 wheat bran ; after that I let her have cold water 

 to drink ; I don't give much strong food for a 

 week or two, for fear the udder will swell ; in 

 that case I milk all I can get first, and let the calf 

 suck afterward. In cold weather I stable the 

 cows at night and most of the day ; I let them 

 out to water at noon, and they have free access to 

 salt, and are curiied every morning. 



As to feed, I consider there is nothing better 

 than sweet corn meal and good hay ; but I would 

 here say that I am a firm believer in raising roots 

 for cows ; if fed judiciously, cows will milk quite 

 as well, and the cost will be much less, and the 

 (juality of the butter not be injured. In feeding 

 roots to milch cows, a little corn meal should be 

 fed with them, and they should be fed directly af- 

 ter milking, as the smell of the roots is then de- 

 stroyed. 



Milking. — Perhaps more depends on this than 

 15. is aware of ; the time should be equally divided ; 

 the udder and teats, if dirty, should be washed 

 with warm water and wiped dry. I never allow 

 any one to go to milk without first washing the 

 hands. We milk fast, and permit no talking while 

 at it ; I don't allow the fingers to be put into the 

 milk to moisten the teats ; it is an unclean prac- 

 tice. AYe strain through a fine wire strainer, and 

 ])ut about five quarts in a pan ; these pans are 

 tin, and they are kept bright and scalded fre- 

 quently. The temperature of the room where 

 the milk is kept sliould be from 55 to 65 Fahren- 

 heit ; there should be no cooking done where 

 milk is kept ; there should not be left more than 

 three milkings stand at one time, as the cream 

 gets bitter. Should the cream not rise fast 

 enough, about a gill of sour milk to each pan, 

 when strained, will help it. The cream should 

 he stirred every day, and the oldest should not 

 he over a week. 



Churning. — When churned, the cream should 

 1)6 of the temperature of 62 degrees. 



The Butter. — Should the butter need a high- 

 er color, or more grass-like flavor, a few yellow 

 carrots, pared, grated and boiled in new milk, 

 strained, and the liquor put in the churn with the 

 cream, will do it. The churn, butter-worker. 



scale, &c., should be kept bright and clean, and 

 scalded before and after using, and should be 

 thoroughly dried before being put away for future 

 use. Every particle of buttermilk should be taken 

 {rora the butter before the salt is added ; the best 

 (piality of salt should be used, and this should 

 l)e thoroughly worked in, or the butter Avill be 

 streaked. After the butter is put into pounds 

 and printed, the cloths should be put on ; they 

 should be of fine white muslin, and kept Avhite, 

 and should be put in salt and water and wrung 

 dry before using ; the butter may then be put in 

 the tub, which should be clean and sweet. 



Now if B. is regular in attending market, and 

 will follow the above directions, he will soon 

 find customers for his butter at tip-top market 

 ])riee. I would here add, that B. should see to 

 the milking of the cows himself, and his wife 

 shovUd take charge of it after it is strained ; for 

 herein lies the secret of success — and not trust 

 to careless hired help, as this branch of farming 

 will pay if rightly attended to. I find by refer- 

 ence to my accounts, that my cows have averaged 

 a little over sixty dollars eaeh, thus far the pres- 

 ent season, and the season has yet four mouths 

 to run. — Qermantown Telegraph. 



For the New England Farmer-. 

 POSITIOIT OF THE FABMEB. 



Mr. Editor : — It being near the close of the 

 year, I offer some reflections and suggestions that 

 should be pondered upon by all who have a home 

 among the hills and valleys, where want and gaunt 

 misery seldom come. 



The year that is about closing upon us has 

 been to the farmer about an average one in the 

 products of the earth ; some good, others fair, and 

 a few of the less necessary, poor ; prices have 

 been somewhat affected, but not so much as in 

 other branches of business. We live first our- 

 selves, let the price be what it may, and then if 

 we have more than we want, we sell to those 

 who will purchase. Our rents are small com- 

 pared Avith those in cities, as a farm Avorth $5000 

 is no more per year than a small merchant or 

 clerk pays for an ordinary house in Boston or 

 vicinity ; and while we get our rent, we also ob- 

 tain free our fuel, grain, pork, butter, milk, eggs, 

 fruit and vegetables in abundance, together with 

 a horse and carriage to ride when and Avhere we 

 please, without extra expense, and with ordinary 

 management sell from $500 to $1000 worth be- 

 sides ; and this ought to be observed ; we do not 

 sell, or have in trade, our farm or stock; but the 

 producis only. What we lose, is quite likely to 

 be by investing in stocks, &c., off the farm, which 

 investment seems to have the fatality of growing 

 beautifully less every year ; better invest at 

 home upon the farm, by reclaiming swamp lands, 

 setting out forest trees upon sandy plains and 

 steep declivities, di-aining, &c. 



To a lazy man or boy the farm is a hateful 

 place, and my advice to such is to leave it, for 

 God's sunshine is better than the shadow of such 

 persons. Loafing has become a science, one of 

 the fine arts ; labor is considered ungenteel by 

 too many. Some prefer to steal, gamble or rob, 

 while others prefer to beg or go hungry — any- 

 thinij but work; but there are as many to 



