274 



The Dairy. 



Vol. 111. 



arc more confined, and some are rarely found] 

 on any other than one speciesof vegetable; 

 tlie tobacco worm for example. We know 

 that tills is not the ca^e with the silk worm ; 

 the catterpillar eats lettuce, and we believe 

 thrives best on the variety called " coss let- 

 tuce ;" this is a fact not generally known. 

 From a parity of reasoninir we may presume 

 that the silk worm may be pleased with a 

 chancre of food, and by judiciously takin^r ad- 

 vantarre of its taste, the quantity and quality 

 that the silk raiser desires may be the kind 

 produced, and thus by feeding with a greater 

 or less proportion, of the white Itanan Mul- 

 berry and at different periods of the eating 

 starre of the worm's existence. The occasion- 

 al use of the lettuce may be tried. 



These experiments can be made at a small 

 cost of trouble by gentlemen who keep worms, 

 and their labor may be rewarded by making 

 useful discoveries and improvements. 



The extensive demand that exists for silk, 

 and the circumstance that it may be culti- 

 vated by the youn? and old persons of everv 

 family residing in\he country, gives the silk 

 business the greatest importance, and justi- 

 fies us in making exertions, and trying every 

 means to simplify and to extend the business 

 all over the country. This is our apology tor 

 layino- before the readers of the Cabinet the 

 sug-restions contained in the present paper, 

 and" they are accompanied with the hope 

 that the subject may be taken up by those 

 who have had more experience, and are in 

 possession of better information than J. R. 



March 13, 1839. 



THE DAIRY. 



Wo. II. 



On the Management of the Dairy, particn 

 larly with respect to the maKing and 

 curing of Biittcr. 



BY DR. JAMES ANDERSON. 



From the facts sets forth in the preceding 

 number, see Farmers' Cabinet for March, 

 page 242—5, the following corollaries seem 

 to be clearly deducible. 



1 It is of importance that the cows should 

 be always milked as near the dairy as possi- 

 ble to prevent the necessity of carrying and 

 cooling the milk before it be put into the 

 dishes; and as cows are much hurt by far, 

 drivin<T, it must be a groat advantage in a 

 dairy farm to have the principal grass fields 

 as near the dairy, or homestead, as possible. 



2. The practice of putting the milk of all 

 the cows of a large dairy into one vesse , as 

 it is milked, there to remain till the whole 

 milkinrr be finished before any part of it is 

 put into the milk-pans, seems to be hio'hly 

 iniudicious, not only on account of the loss 

 that is sustained by agitation and cooling, but 



also, more especially, because it prevents the 

 owner of the dairy from distinguishing the 

 .rood from the bad cow's milk, so as to sepa- 

 rate these from each other, where it is neces- 

 sary. He may thus have the whole of his 

 dairy product greatly debased by the milk ot 

 one bad cow, f(jr years together, without be- 

 ing able to discover it.* A better practice 

 therefore would be, to have the m\\\ drawn 

 from each cow separately put into the cream- 

 ing pans as soon as it is milked, without be- 

 in<r ever mixed with any other. Thus would 

 the careful be able on all occasions to observe 

 the particular quality of each individual cow a 

 milk, as well as 'its quantity, and to know 

 with precision which of his cows it was his 

 interest to dispose of, and which of them he 

 ought to keep and breed from. 



3 If it be intended to make butter oj a 

 very fine quality, it will be advisable in all 

 cases to keep the milk that is first drawn 

 separate from that which comes last, as it is 

 obvious that, if this be not done, the quality 

 of the butter will be greatly debased, with- 

 out much augmenting its quantity. It is also 

 obvious, that the quality of the butter will bo 

 improved in proportion to the smallness ot tJie 

 proportion of the last drawn milk that is re- 

 tained, so that those who wish to be singular y 

 nice in this respect, will do well to retam only 

 a very small proportion of the last drawn milk. 

 To those owners of dairies who have profit 

 only in view, it must ever be a matter of trial 

 and calculation, how far it is expedient for 

 I them to carry the improving of the quP.lity 

 lof their butter, at the expense of diminishing 

 ' its quantity. In different situations, prudence 

 will point" out different kinds of practice as 

 most eligible; and all persons must be left, 

 afler making accurate trials, to determine for 

 themselves. It is likewise a consideration 

 of no small importance, to determine in what 

 way the inferior milk that is thus to be set 

 apart, where fine butter is wanted, can be 

 employed with the greatest profit. In the 

 Hiohlands of Scotland they have adopted, 

 witliout thinking of the improvement ot their 

 butter, a very simple and economical practice 

 in this respect. As the rearing of calves is 

 there a principal object with the farmer, every 

 cow is allowed to suckle her own calf with 

 a portion of her milk, the remainder only be- 

 in^ emplovcd in the dairy. To give the calt 

 its" proportion regularly, it is separated from 

 the cow, and kept in an inclosuie along with 

 all the other calves belonging to the same 



* I onco saw a cow that gave "V'^y'^'''^''' •'""''V.'n,';' 

 hP midc to vi<-l.l any butter at all. tlioii^'h it had t ho 

 am n anr"> of Lnl vorv rich milk. Th^ Person whj> 

 so Itla cow hn.l h"a.l hor sovrral years. "'""S ""'' » 

 eoo,l many o.h.-r., without having... nu.c - ' -;»;^>^ 

 «iisnirion of this porn laritv. It «as oiii> niscovt.rMi 

 wl^M, X-- .'a.,... into lU.' possession ot a pcsoa wto 

 hail no iithor cow. 



