1869. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



409 



up a good flow of milk during the winter and 

 early s^pring. The advantages of cutting hiy 

 early for milch cows must not be overlooked. 

 Tn the second place hay must not be dried too 

 much. We state here wh t we have often be- 

 fore stated, that, if grass is entirely freed 

 from external moisture, as that in the form 

 of dew and rain, it will cure better in the 

 mow than any where else, provided enough 

 exposure to wind and sun is had to cause one- 

 half of the water circulating in the vessels of 

 the plant to be evaporated. This is accom- 

 plished in six or eight hours of favorable 

 weather. Hay is often spoiled by storing it 

 v.hen it holds considerable moisture arising 

 from dew or raiu, but very seldom or never 

 when it holds no other than that which is natu- 

 ral to the circulating juices. These are im- 

 portant facts to remember. If grass is cut 

 early in the morning, and thoroughly worked 

 so as to drive off all the dew, it may be safely 

 stored the same day, if it be a favorable one. 

 A pound of over-dried hay is worth only half 

 as much as that which ii properly cured. Do 

 not saturate your mows with salt. Salt does 

 not preserve hay. Its action is unfavorable 

 to curing hay in the mow, as it is a hygrome- 

 tric substance, or one that attracts moisture. 

 It holds, besides, considerable water of crys- 

 talization, and this affords moisture, and helps 

 defeat the end had in view. Wet or damp 

 hay will keep no better by throwing over it 

 salt ; and, when this substance is used largely, 

 it is upon the whole injurious to animals who 

 are compelled to eat the hay. Who among 

 men could live upon "salt junk" continually? 

 We must use reason and sound judgment in 

 all our proceedings. — Boston Jour, of Chem- 

 istry. 



PACKING BUTTEK. 



A few years since a dairyman of our ac- 

 quaintance who had been particularly unfor- 

 tunate in his sales, sent for a noted butter 

 maker to learn the secret of making a high 

 priced article. The man came and looked 

 over the premises, and the only advice given 

 was, "you need a clean, sweet, well-venti- 

 lated cellar f r storing butter, and it must 

 be used for nothing else. Then get oak fir- 

 kins, heavy hooped, air tight and made just as 

 handsome as the best cooper can turn them 

 out. You need not change in your process 

 of manufitcture. This is all you have to do, 

 and I will warrant you success." These sug- 

 gestions were at once adopted and quick sales, 

 large prices and heavy promts were the result. 

 That dairy has now an enviable reputation and 

 the butter is eagerly sought after. 



A dirty looking package will often lose a 

 good sale. It should have a fresh, clean, 

 sweet appearance when it reaches the con- 

 sumer that will please the eye of the most fas- 

 tidious. 



There are only a few kinds of wood that are 

 fit to pack butter in. Wood of the ash is ex- 



tensively used in some sections. It contains 

 an acid very objectionable to butter, and 

 should be rejected. Spruce, pine and gummy 

 woods are often used. They impart a disa- 

 greeable flavor to the butter. White oak 

 makes an excellent package, but the wood 

 should be thoroughly seasoned before using. 

 Many dairymen invariably select poor packa- 

 ges because they are cheap. To save a few 

 cents on the package, they are willing to run 

 the risk of losing a considerable sum on the 

 butter which is to till it. If sold immediately 

 however the loss may fall on somebody else. 



The season has now arrived when great care 

 and attpntion is required of the butter maker 

 to secure a product that will go into the market 

 sweet and good. In preparing firkins and tubs 

 for use, boiling water shnuld be poured into 

 them to soak for twenty-four hours. Then 

 fill with strong brine for two or three days, 

 turn out and rinse with pure cold water, and 

 rub the sides with pure fine salt. Tubs after 

 being filled should be headed and brine poured 

 in at a hole in the top so as to fill all interven- 

 ing spaces. Firkins when filled may be cov- 

 ered with a thin piece of muslin, upon which 

 is spread a layer of fine salt and then closed 

 with the wooden cover. Store in a clean, 

 sweet, well ventilated butter cellar until ready 

 for market. — X. A. Willard, in West. Rural. 



FBALRIE FARMING. 



In reply to some ques; ions propounded by 

 a "Factory Boy" in relation to growing wheat 

 on prairie sod, and to prairie farming gen- 

 erally, a correspondent of the Journal of 

 Agriculture writes as follows : — 



Sod la 'd undoubtedly produces the best 

 wheat grown on prairies. It should be bro- 

 ken with a sixteen-iuch plough between the 

 first of June and the fiist of August. If 

 broken before this time the grass Is apt to 

 grow up ttirough the sod and render the 

 ground almost worthless for wheat or any 

 other crop without another breaking; if 

 ploughed later the sod does not rot ,>uffiriently 

 in time for sowing. It requires four yoke* of 

 oxen to pull such a plough. The ground 

 should not be broken more than three or four 

 Inches deep. It should be harrowed well 

 with a heavy harrow in September and sowed 

 with a drill. By this kind uf preparati jii, sod 

 wheat seldom fails, and generally makes the 

 largest returns; but, boys, you can see that 

 It takes a considerable little sum of money to 

 begin such farming, and to carry it through 

 properly, and the same is true of all prairie 

 farming. 



I once thought, as you seem to think, it 

 would lie a very nice thing to be a farmer on 

 a prairie. I was poor; i suppose you are; 

 so I went to Ilbnois and tried it two years. 

 I am cured, as doubtless you will be, if you 

 try it. That portion of Illinois (Coles county) 



