1869. 



NEW ENGLAND FAKMER. 



215 



of other work, and a number of days will slip 

 away before they are hardly aware of it. 

 Churning should never be neglected beyond 

 that period ; of tener is better. 



Next month I expect to begin to make but- 

 ter again, and I shall try Mrs. D.'s method, as 

 I have no doubt she makes delicious butter, 

 although I never fancied the beating system. 



She says it is her opinion that washing de- 

 stroys the "gilt-edge," spoils its flavor, and 

 badly injures the keeping qualities of butter. 

 All this may be true, although she gave no 

 plain reasons to support her opinion. I was 

 not aware that pure cold water ever injured 

 anybody or anything ; when I am convinced 

 that it does I shall readily desist from using it, 

 although an inveterate lover of this pure ele- 

 ment. If the good qualities of butter are re- 

 moved by water, then these peculiar proper- 

 ties must have a greater affinity for pure water 

 than for the elements of the butter, and when 

 water is applied they unite with it, and the 

 best part of butter is carelessly thrown away 

 by butter makers. 



But is it a fact that the application or non- 

 application of water decides the color and fla- 

 vor of butter ? Butter beaters affirm that such 

 is the case, butter washers believe that these 

 qualities depend on other circumstances. The 

 condition and keeping of cows has something 

 to do with it ; perhaps their age has also, for 

 I have heard old butter makers say that the 

 cream of old cows was yellower and richer, 

 but this may be an oldwives' fable. When 

 cows are in a rich healthy pasture their butter is 

 much sweeter and of a handsomer complexion 

 than when fed on hay and roots and kept in 

 the barn, and it is a common saying that butter 

 made on hay will not keep well. 



Butter is composed of several parts ; one 

 being a solid crystalline fat. This appears to 

 be formed by minute grains nicely arranged 

 in one general mass. Anything that disturbs 

 the natural arrangement of this crystalline 

 mass «s highly injurious to the beauty and 

 (juality of the butter. Now if this is true, 

 beating butter must be injurious, as it breaks 

 and destroys the beautiful grains which give 

 nice butter such a glistening appearance. The 

 grains of new made butter are not close and 

 compact. The application of pure cold water 

 lowers its tempeiature, salt hardens the grain, 

 and the buttermilk is naturally pressed out, 

 mingled with the water, and thrown away. So 

 much for the butter worker's plea. 



Mrs. D. seemed to think that I was aware I 

 had washed out the fine taste of the butter, and 

 so applied sugar as a substitute. Perhaps I 

 did not properly explain why I added the fine 

 white sugar. Sugar modifies the taste of the 

 salt. For example, mix some salt and water 

 in a cup and on tasting it is unpleasant and 

 disagreeable. Add a little nice sugar and the 

 taste is then comparatively pleasant. I put 

 sugar in the butter for the same purpose. 



1 might say more in defence of butter-wash- 



ing, but I ear I shall get the editor, printer, 

 and everybody else, all "up in anms." How- 

 ever, I hope that what has been said will stir 

 up Mrs. D. and many other intelligent women, 

 and provoke them to give valuable informa- 

 tion relating to many things that smart women 

 are interested in. Mrs. Teask. 



Beading, Mass., Feb., 1869. 



For the New England Farmer, 

 IMPBOVING FARMS-USE OF MANUEE. 



Some little time since, I expressed some of 

 my thoughts on the question. How can an up- 

 land farm be cultivated and the fertility oi its 

 soil be kept up. As a reason for the faith that 

 is in me, I will tell you what I did on the farm 

 I lefc when I moved here. The first year on 

 that farm I cut over about fifcy acres for a short 

 twenty tons of hay, including a large amount 

 of sorrel. In eight years I cut forty tons on 

 less than one-half of the same ground. I hope 

 many of your readers have done as well or 

 better ; if so. I would like to hear from them. 



The way that I managed that farm was to 

 break up and manure and new stock as fast as 

 I could get manure. On old land, I ploughed 

 the manure in ; on greensward, after turning 

 it over as well as 1 could. After spreading 

 the manure as evenly as possible, I put on a 

 cultivator and harrowed and worked it in thor- 

 oughly. I manure both spring and fall ; but 

 prefer fall, if I can get it in before cold 

 weather. 



I once put manure on the turf and turned 

 it under, but the crops were not near as good 

 as on land adjoining where the manure was 

 ploughed in on old land. I have also tried 

 spreading on old land and harrowing in. The 

 first crop will come forward quite as fast and 

 be perhaps as heavy, but the after crops have 

 never with me been as good as where the ma- 

 nure was ploughed in. I have tried spreading 

 on grass, or top dressing as many call it, butl 

 have never got more hay from three loads 

 applie'd in that way than I have from one 

 ploughed in. ♦ ' 



One thing I am very particular about, I 

 never draw out manure and drop it in heaps, 

 nor spread it, until I am ready to work it in 

 unless I am very sure of rain ; in that case I 

 spread by all means. I would about as soon 

 leave hay in the windrow day after day, after 

 it is fit to go into the barn, as to leave manure 

 on the ground uncovered. 



In a late Farmer Mr. Gilbert tells us how 

 he makes manure. His way is like mine, with 

 the exception that I use muck in my trench 

 behind my cows in winter as well as in summer. 

 If I ever lay another trench I shall lay it 

 eighteen inches wide. lam now using four or 

 five wheelbarrow loads daily, and it is hardly 

 enough to absorb the water leaching from tho 

 manure heap. 



I read very frequently of discussions on 

 special fertilizers. 1 have tried them all, in a 



