324 



Measure for Milk, SfC. 



Vox.. VIII. 



The bark thrown away by our tanneries 

 would with proper treatment, add vastly to 

 the fertility of our lands. Treated with lime 

 it renovates the soil. 



Dr. Stevens, — I was recently in Albany. 

 Respectable citizens there stated, that some 

 ofour Western land which formerly gave thir- 

 ty-six bushels of wheat per acre, now yields 

 twe ve. Some say the larger crop was but 

 twenty-eight. But it was admitted beyond 

 all doubt, to iiave fallen in these great pro- 

 portions. We axe going on the old Virginia 

 system, and if we Ibllow it out, we must 

 move. As to our Long Island, it is not so 

 bad. But it is time we should know whether 

 we are not now living on our capital, instead 

 of the interest. England, by proper culture, 

 is improving instead of deteriorating. Our 

 people have no alternative but to tiiend or 

 move. This Club owes it to the country to 

 inquire and proclaim the truth on this impor- 

 tant subject. It must be done by both scien- 

 tific and practical men. Let a committee of 

 inquiry be appointed to ascertain from socie- 

 ties and from individuals, the past and the 

 present condition of production. — N. Y. Far- 

 mer and Mechanic. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 3Ieasure for Milk. 



To THE Editor : — In looking over the co- 

 lumns of the Cabinet, I observed under the 

 head Wonderful Cow, No. 8, page 239, an 

 account of one that belonged to a Mr. Bar- 

 rett, of Northampton, Mass. "She was 

 milked for two weeks every eight hours; at 

 each milking yielding a pail full, holding ten 

 quarts, — the weight of the milk averaging 

 daily 49^ pounds." This account induced 

 me to compare the statement with a calcu- 

 lation I had recently made, which led me to 

 the coBclusion, that there must be some mis- 

 take in the account, or else with mysellj in 

 not knowing by what kind of measure milk 

 should be reckoned ; and I thought it might 

 not be amiss to have it corrected in the Cabi- 

 net The only authority I have had refer- 

 ence to, is a system of Arithmetic by Nicho- 

 las Pike, A. M., published in Massachusetts, 

 in 1799, this author states, " that milk is sold 

 by ale or beer measure," of 282 cubic inches 

 to the gallon : now if this is the true milk 

 measure — and admitting the specific gravity 

 of milk to be the same as pure water — and 

 it probably is somewhat greater, then the 

 weight of his 30 quarts of milk would have 

 been 76, instead of 49^ pounds. And if his 

 " pail" was measured or compared by wine 

 measure, of 231 cubic inches to the gallon, 

 in that case there should have been 62^ lbs. 

 instead of the 49^. But on the other hand, 



if his weight is rightly given, then his jnea- 

 sure would seem to have been about one-fifth 

 smaller than wine measure. Now I appre- 

 hend that much ignorance exists in regard 

 the capacity of the true milk measure ; and 

 think if the contents of the legal milk mea- 

 sure, which is probably uniform throughout 

 the United States, was ascertained and pub- 

 lished, we would be better able to form a 

 correct judgment of the quantity reported to 

 have been obtained in any given case : as in 

 the present one, where 30 quarts of milk are 

 represented as weighing only 49^ pounds, 

 which would only be about 185 cubic inches 

 to each gallon said to have been given, in- 

 stead of 282, as given by the author above 

 quoted, as the true milk gallon, a difference 

 of about one-third. Now whether the true 

 milk measure be the same as beer measure 

 of 282 cubic inches, or about 10 lbs. to the 

 gallon, or the same as the wine measure of 

 231 cubic inches, or about eight lb. si.x oz. 

 to the gallon, or whatever else may be ; it is 

 desirable the fact should be known, and when 

 the number of cubic inches contained in the 

 milk gallon is ascertained, we can calculate 

 its weight ; and knowing that, can at any 

 time measure our milk by the application of 

 the steal-yard to the bucket, with as much 

 precision and more convenience, in a gener- 

 al way, than by any other means. 



Respectfully, Amos Preston. 



The specific gravity of milk is about 3 per ct. greater 

 than that of water. The imperial gallon of 277,274 

 cubic inches, is perhaps the correct milk measure: 

 though there is so much uncertainty and unsettlement 

 in relation to weights and measures, and that we are 

 at a loss to speak advisedly in the case. The elaborate 

 reports of John Quincy Adams, and F. R. Hassler, 

 whatever light they may have thrown on the subject, 

 do not put it at rest. Congress only can do this. If we 

 take 10 lb. avourdupois of distilled water, which is 

 the imperial gallon, containing 277,274 cubic inches, 

 for our milk measure, and add three per cent, for the 

 greater specific gravity of milk, we shall find the 30 

 quarts yielded per day by the Northampton Cow, would 

 weigh 77^ lbs. instead of 49^ lbs. So that, as appears 

 from the foregoing letter, whether we make use of the 

 imperial gallon,— the English wine gallon of 231 cubic 

 inches, or that for beer of 282, we find the weight of 

 49^ lbs., does not correspond with any of them. To re- 

 concile this, we may suppose the milk was measured 

 while warm, and in the froth, which would consider- 

 ably increase the number of quarts. The weight how- 

 ever of 49^ lbs. would ascertain the true quantity. — Ed. 



Let every man who owns a patch of soil 

 learn its capabilities, and use them to the 

 utmost, and the mass of the country will soon 

 be relieved. We are designed for an agricul- 

 tural people ; but our agricultural knowledge 

 and skill are far behind our mechanical. — 

 Farm House of the 19th century. 



