430 



KEW EXGLAND FARJ^IER. 



Sept. 



are elements that will not blend into a harmoni- 

 ous whole, but that one or the other of the in- 

 gredients will predominate, and that the result 

 wiH be either a horse race or an agricultural 

 fair. 



BLACKBERRIES.— MILKROOM. 



I think I .shall have over a thousand quarts of 

 blackberries this season. But as a distance of 10 

 miles l)y wngon and 170 by rail is too far to carry 

 them to market, what shall I do with them ? If 

 3'ou advise me ti) make brandy, wine, jelly or pre- 

 serves, please send me some reliable receipts, ana 

 answer through your paper as early as possible. 



I have roctntly come in i)ossession of som6 land 

 in the west part of this town, and in looking round 

 among over 20 families, I have not seen your 

 l)aperr Put me down as one of your subscribers, 

 beginning with the number for July 1.' 



i am about to make some alterations in the 

 house. I would like to know how and where to 

 construct a milk room so that ic will answer the 

 purpose the year round. j. s. 



Barnard, Vt., Julxj 20, 1868. 



Remarks. — Although we were brought up 

 in a blackberry- country, we are sorry to con- 

 fess that we cannot tell our correspondent how 

 to work up his superabundance of fruit profita- 

 bly. He and his family are probably as well 

 posted as ourselves in regard to the various 

 domestic uses to which the blackberry is applied. 

 Is it not possible that by the use of modern 

 ventilated crates and baskets, with present high 

 prices, the small fruits may be transported fur- 

 ther than they have been in years past ? A 

 blackberry syrup, made as follows, is regarded 

 by many as almost a specific for summer com- 

 plaints : — To two quarts of the juice, add one 

 pound of loaf sugar; half an ounce of nut- 

 megs ; half an ounce of cinnamon, pulverized ; 

 half ounce cloves, and one-quarter an ounce 

 alspice. Boil all together for a short time, 

 and when cold add a pint of fourth-proof 

 brandy. From a table spoonful to a wine- 

 glass, according to the age of the patient, till 

 relieved, is given. 



Your question in relation to the milk-room 

 is one of greater importance than most far- 

 mers are aware. The location and size of 

 this important room is too often decided by 

 the arrangement and convenience of other 

 rooms. Generally it is too small, and often it 

 is used for storing other things which affect 

 the air and injure the milk, cream or butter. 

 If people who complain of the great amount 

 of poor butter in the market, were to visit the 

 milk rooms of many farmers, we think the won- 

 der would be rather how their wives contrive 

 to make so much that is fair to good, in such 



close, narrow and poorly ventilated places as 

 the milk is set in — sometimes immediately ad- 

 joining the kitchen, or*in cellars far from clean 

 and sweet. In the Faumeu for July 18, you 

 will find some valuable hints on this subject by 

 Mrs. L. F., of Fairfax, Vt. In a communica- 

 tion to the Farmer, November, 1866, Mr. 

 A! W. Cheever, of Sheldonville, Mass., one 

 of the most intelligent practical farmers in this 

 State, and one who obtains "fancy prices" for 

 his butter, says that in consequence of making 

 repairs on his milk rooms, he used his dwell- 

 ing-house cellar for milk during the summer 

 months. Although the windows were kept 

 open for the admission of pure, fiesh air, Mr. 

 C. remarked, "I am satisfied I shall not try 

 that experiment again unless I am obliged to. 

 I find I have lost as much as 15 per cent, of the 

 cream by letting it rise in a cold room. Then 

 it takes twice as long to churn sweet cream as 

 it does that which is sour and thick as cream 

 will be if kept in a warm place. Mr. Jason 

 Tower, a very successful' butter maker of 

 Franklin, Mass., has kept his milk on the first 

 floor above the cellar all through the hot 

 months for several years past, having a slat 

 fl^oor to allow some circulation of air between 

 this and the cellar room below. He thinks 

 his upper room a little too warm during the 

 hot months of July and August, but he has 

 been able to make a considerably larger 

 amount of butter per cow during the season 

 than I have, although other circumstances do 

 not seem to be much in his favor." 



In his work on IMilch Cows and Dairy Farm- 

 ing, Mr. Flint says: — "In very large butter- 

 dairies, a building is devoted exclusively to 

 this department. This should be at a short 

 distance from the yard, or place of milking, 

 but no further than is necessary to be removed 

 from all impurities in the air arising from it, 

 and from all low, damp places, subject to 

 disagreeable exhalations. This is of the ut- 

 most importance. It should be well ventilat- 

 ed, and kept constantly clean and sweet, by 

 the use of pure water ; and especially, if milk 

 is spilled, it should be washed up immediately, 

 with fresh water. No matter if it is but a 

 single drop; if allowed to soak into the floor 

 and sour, it cannot easily be removed, and it 

 is sufficient to taint the air and the milk in the 

 room, though it may not be perceptible to the 

 senses. In smaller dairies, economy dictates 



