:^6f) 



KEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



JIAY 18,1841 



i.NK HORTICULTURAL RKOISTBR. 



Boston, Wedkesdat, M*» 18, 1842. 



THE DAtRY— liUTTER MAKING. 



Tlml some dairy women need lo iinpnivu in tin 



mOilcK of peiforining llieir part nf the labors upon lli 

 farm, is, we trust, no uncivil npeecli lo niakw. But 

 shrtnld you think it 80, we vrill ask wlietli«r tlio butter 

 that iH broujlil to market is all of o«c quality, and wlicth- 

 i-r nil ia good? Wliile iome is yellow and fnvti;t, oilier 

 parcels .nre while n* lord, nnd other* are vorie^ati^d with 

 gliipes of various hues. Some is goi,d— some indifTcrnnl 

 — and ^•omn bad. Why this variety.' The rows on 

 one farm have sweeter nnd better feed than IhoiiB upon 

 anoiher: this causes s part of the diversity in the butter. 

 Some rows give milk that affords better butter than that 

 from olliers;— here is a cause ofdiffercncc. Home dairy 

 rooms and dairy cellars arc better than others ;— here 

 loo is a cause of differoncc. 



Where the feed is not good for butter making, and 

 cannot be improved, little can be said in the way of nd- 

 vico. 



Where the cows constilutionally give poor miik, fit 

 them for the shambles as soon as it can convenienlly be 

 done, anil prwcure olliers. 3iit before you condemn a 

 whole flock, keep the m ik nndtcream of each one by 

 inclfnt leistone week, and ascertain how much butter 

 she will make, and of what quality. Soniulimcs there 

 will be a cow from whoso milk it will be nearly impos- 

 sible to i btain any bultor; and should you get a little, 

 that little »vill be white and poor. Other cows will give 

 a fair quantity, but of inferior quality. There is more 

 dilference in cows in respect lo their buUer-niakiiig pro- 

 perties, than is dr«amcd of in the philosophy of every 

 dairy-woman. But the fitness o( each for this purpose 

 should be a.ccrlnincd. Until you do this, you may be 

 mingling with the good cream in the churn, BOine that 

 will yield little if any butter, nnd that will give an un.le- 

 iirablo color or flavor to the produce from your whole 

 flock. The Inrtoinelera (measurer* of milk,) or glnsn 

 tubes of uniform size, into owe of wliirh may be put a 

 quantity of milk from one cow, into n second nn equal 

 quantity from another cow, and so on lo the end of your 

 number of lubes or number of cows, and then set by un- 

 til the cream has all aiison lo the top — these lactometers 

 are very convenient insliuinciits for determining the 

 comparative quaniity of cream lurnished by your seve- 

 ral co^va. Buforc llio milk is put into iho tube, let all 

 that the C3w gave ul % milking be well stirred up so as 

 to give a fair miiiure oCtl>e first and the last drawn milk 

 If iho dairy room or dairy cellar \* had for your pur- 

 pose, make u better one if you can ; — if this is out of 

 your power, you must he content lo eat poor butter at 

 home and sell at a poor price in the markal. 



iiut when all these causes are allowed their full weight 

 ill excuse for the dairy-women, they d" not justify them 

 for turningout the halfof llie had buller thai finds its 

 way to the city. Much depends upon their cleanliness, 

 judgment and skill. A clean cellar wiih nothing in it 

 that ran impart lo milk and cream uniileasanl flavor; 

 clean pails, clean pans, clean churn, clean, fine and dry 

 salt, are all of them important. The cream should be 

 removed from the milk bofoio it bieomea sour, and 

 should bo kept sweet and cool until ii is churned ; it al- 

 so should be kept cool while you are churninj, and sf- 

 lerwaids Iho salt should bo evenly worked tn, and ihe 

 buttermilk all jcorktd out. 



We have written in the hope of inducing some butter 

 makers to change their processes, lo observe the effects 



of the changes they may make in their modes, so as lo 

 improve themselves, and become filled to improve oth- 

 ers, in the important an of butter-making. 



Wliilo your husbands and brothers are seeking to im- 

 prove the soil and increase the quanlity of milk that 

 ihey may bring into the house, do you strive lo learn 

 how you can gel from thai milk the greatest qnanlily of 

 butti-r, nnd that loo of the best quality. On your skill 

 here, hangs much of the profit or loss nfthe farm. 



Mr Editor — In your last paper you state thai pijTO 

 ligneous acid and urine sprinkled on peas and cihbages, 

 will prevent worms from eating those plants. Doubtless 

 you are correct ; nnd you might have continued, wilh 

 equal correctness, hy staling that such an appliration 

 would also prevent your readers from eating those vege- 

 tables. Your recipe is in very bad taste, in more than 

 one respect. Q' 



dj'We copied the recipe here referred lo from n 

 New York agticulturul paper, recently started by the 

 Messrs. Allen. — It seems that some one judges il lo have 

 bean in bad taste. Il may he so— but we will ask of Q,. 

 whether the substances on which we all plant, arc not 

 supposed to be taken up by the plants .' Whether the 

 plants have not power to reject such parts of our ma- 

 nures as nre not suited lo their growth .' Whether loo, 

 any applications ne should make to young pea vines, or 

 young cabbage plants, would b« more likely lo be found 

 within the peapod, or in Ihe cabbage head, than the 

 substances in which the roots of the plants grow ? We 

 think not. To thus sprinkle our peas or cabbages after 

 they are grown, or nearly grown, would be in bad taste ; 

 but if wo cannot trust to the living powers of ihc pea In 

 purify or reject whalover olTunsive is applied to it be- 

 fore it blossoms, or the cabbage to purify or reject what- 

 ever is applied to that before il begins lo head— then we 

 should be ekepiioal as lo their power lo grow palatable 

 when their roots riot in matters offensive. — Corruption 

 feeds us all, re we may know, if we chootu to look back 

 and see where our food comes from ; but it may be wiser 

 not to look. When the bee is sucking at tho flower, 

 il will do to open our eyes, hut when tho same gatherer 

 of sweets is loading itself ni some other places, where il 

 often goes, it may be belter lo close them. Perhaps the 

 hiialhen potentate was wise who ordered the microscope 

 to be broken bscause il revealed to liini the inhabitants 

 of tho water upon lii< table. Our business is to help to 

 leach how palatable things can be oblained in the greal- 

 est abundance. — If tho peas and cabbage tasto well, it is 

 best to ask no qnrslions, for the answer might spoil their 

 flavor : if they should not lasle well, then perhaps the pro- 

 ducer ini!>lit have done gomclhiiig in " bad taste." The 

 less said and the liii-s thoiiglil upon tho point suggeslc.l 

 by Q.., tho belter will the dinner Oe relished. 



THE UlRUS AGAIN— CROWS,BI.ACKBIRDS,&r. 



We have recently wrillan, nnd inssrled much that 

 others have written, in favor of sparing the birds. We 

 did this wilh a dinliiicl knowledge and rememhrance, 

 thai crows and blackbirds often make sad and provok- 

 ing ravages in the cornfields soon after tho corn comes 

 up. A few crows will sometimes pull up nmst ot tin) 

 corn on an acre of ground in a few days. Bui this is 

 the only season of the year (the last of May nnd pari ( f 

 Juno,) whin they do the f.irmers of this vicinity much 

 ilanyhaim. Their food during the icmaiiider of the 

 year, consists mostly of worms nnd ulher mailers which 

 we are entirely willing lo hnvo devoured. Can we ih- 

 visc any means of preventing their deprodatioiis upon 

 tho corn ? II we can, and yet can lei them live, we 

 shall bo profited by their aid in thinning ihe ranks of 



gh lo bu f.ighlunnJ hy jcmk "'^ 

 ve have in various plM 

 IB we can learn, with oB ' 

 This mellmd is lo feed if ■"' 



■f 3 



■D 



other depredators We have km>ni> one to soak 

 corn in tar water, and thus think lo make it such aa 

 Would not relish. In this he succeeded : but, the ci 

 not liking what they ibund, left that untasied, wai 

 the next hill, nnd tried again. There, findiog Doni 

 their lasle, they passed on end tried sgain ; and tl 

 wilh a perseverance worthy of a good causa, ihej 

 from hill lo hill, seeking for better, until they had ri 

 the springing crop. Is it not often thus when we 

 10 keep them away by rendering the corn unpalal 

 Lines of twine around the field, scare crowa of ti 

 forms, windmills, &c. &c., are resorted to, and 

 some affect ; but the birds are not always iiiiii|il" enuo^ S 

 tx> be cheated, or timid enough lo be ft-ightcneij by scdife 

 crows. Anoiher melliod w 

 known a'lopiod, and, as far as 

 form and complete success 



birds lo their satisfiiclion wilh good corn iluiing it, 

 weeks ivlien they would be able to pull up that whi4 

 we have planted. This can bo done by sowing a hi! 

 peck or peck of corn broadcast upon each planted acn 

 As long as this hisls, it is said, and by those who turn 

 tried it, the crows will not take the trouble to ]iull||p iii 

 scratch. 



In years past wo have lived where these birds scldoi 

 are troublesome ; but now we have fields where Ihf; 

 are ubiinilunl. One pair have built their nest immfd- 

 alely hy the side of our corn field, and we have reqiMb 

 ed that ihey bo not disturbed. Wo have so much ai|t 

 fidenca that they will be of more service lo us in lit 

 course of the season, than il will cost us to feed lb« 

 upon corn ^own for iho purpose for throe or four week 

 that WH are willing lo lake our chance. Our neam 

 neighbor last year, saved his crop unliarmed, by takil) 

 this course, though the crows were abundani in hi 

 fields. 



Perhaps some may think that il will cost mueht 

 feed lliom. Il may be so; — we know nol how mild 

 Ihey will eat. But as a hen — and she takes in the con 

 voraciously — consumes only about five pecks per j*a 

 we have no fear thai two crowa and iheir young — avii 

 should they have frequent visits, and considerable • 

 from their kith nnd kin in the neighborhood — ws hai' 

 no (ears that the expense of feeding ihem vsill be a T«r 

 heavy tax. A man will earn enough durin;; lh« limei 

 would lako to put up scarecrows, lo pay for all the coo 

 ihal Ihey will consume. How much, suppose you, tki) 

 lako from an acre of ground where their rav«ges«i 

 grealest .' You have put in a peck of seed. Suppo* 

 ihej tear up tho whole, and liow much good sound con 

 would it equal ? Two, or three, or four quarts— »' 

 know not how much ; but since the corn has ^ermia 

 led — has become soft — and since the birds often leen 

 the outside of the kernel hanging lo the sinik, and llkt 

 only a little of ilio softer and sweeter part from the es« 

 Ire of the kernel, we doubt wholher if ihey slripped lii 

 whole acre, they would lake so much food from il ■ 

 would be furnished by three quarts of sound corn. Lib 

 hens that have been on »hort allowance, we suppose itoj 

 will eat greedily for llireo or four days^bul we ibeJ^ 

 expect that their appetite would soon diminish, u iW 

 hen's does, and Ihiil then they may be fed, wilboil 

 drawing very freely upon ihe corn bin. Thoy ■• 

 smaller than hens, and probably do not require so mutk 

 food. 



GRAYS SCIENTinC AND PRACTICAL AGRI- 

 CULTURE. 

 Alon7o Gray, A. M., Teacher of Chemlilry, *•• » 



Phillips .'\<ademy, Andover, is the author of the tbo'i 

 work. He has our thonks for a copy. The voliii" 

 comprises about 350 pages. Wo have had no opp«t» 

 nily ycl to examine its conlenta. 



