240 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



take place. Some are cautious enough to take off 

 the top, (meaning the cream.) 



Our method is the following : — As soon as the 

 milk is brought in at evening, strain it into a brass 

 kettle prepared for that purpose, (as we think 

 brass superior to wood to set milk in,) and as soon 

 as the milk is strained the runnet is put in. Let 

 it stand till the curd comes; then cut it and let it 

 stand till morning, when it will be settled. The 

 whey will then be as clear as spring water. We 

 then dip off the whey, disturbing the curd as little 

 as possible; tlien take out the curd into a strainer, 

 strain the milk into the same kettle, and put your 

 runnet in as before, not hurrying it by any means, 

 for by so doing you will extract quite a portion of 

 its richness; after it has thoroughly, drained we 

 cut it into thin slices and put it into a suitable ves- 

 sel and pour on scalding water; let it stand until 

 it gets about cold; then take it out, spread it, and 

 let it lie until it is cold. After this, chop it fine, 

 salt it just right, and it will then be ready for the 

 hoop and press. In all these operations, we re- 

 peat, it should not be hurried. Li pressing cheese, 

 you cannot press it too much. It is good economy 

 not to make a cheese to weigh more than twenty or 

 twenty-five pounds, as one of that size is more 

 saleable than larger ones s. L. m. 



— Maine Fanner. 



POULTRY. 



There seems to be no branch of domestic econo- 

 my less understood than profitably raising poultry. 

 When we say profitably we do not speak of their 

 value in dollars and cents, for we hold that every 

 dwelling, however humble or splendid it may be, 

 should have a kw chickens around them; for there 

 are times in almost every family, both in sickness 

 and health, when money cannot buy the little lux- 

 uries that chickens give us. What profit is there 

 in keeping fifty or a hundred hens without a cor- 

 responding supply of eggs T Most people think 

 that chickens must pick their own living, and yield 

 a good supply of eggs in the bargain, but we have 

 found that chickens forced to roam for their daily 

 food have little time or inclination to lay ; and 

 those who expect a good supply of eggs without 

 generous feed, may as well plant their choice veg- 

 etable seeds in a sand bank, and look for tender, 

 delicious vegetables. 



We have some little experience in the "henery,'' 

 and have found a great secret in getting a supply 

 of eggs through the whole season, but not in diiv- 

 ing the hens uphill, or in feeding them exclusive- 

 ly on gravel, or in supplying them with chalk nest 

 eggs. The whole secret consists in giving them 

 plenty of food, grain and flesh; any of the grains 

 will answer, as the chicken's mill is very conven- 

 ient. For six or eight months in the year the 

 chickens will supply themselves with animal food, 

 in the shape of insects, but the rest of the time feed 

 them regularly with flesh as well as corn. Boiled 

 potatoes is an excellent food for fowls, but with it 

 they want grain of some kind, and flesh also. In 

 our long, hot summers, poultry are inclined to be- 

 come lousy; but if clean, good ashes are placed 

 convenient to the hen-house, the hens will dust 

 themselves in them until the vermin disappear. 

 Nature is their teacher, and hers is an unerring 

 guide. A good shelter should be provided for the 

 chickens to roost under; the manure of chickens, 

 properly saved, will repay all expenses of feeding. 



It is a great error to crowd too many chickens to- 

 gether. 



We know nothing of the patent chicken-hatching 

 machines, but we know that fifty hens will lay 

 more eggs and raise more chickens upon one lot or 

 enclosure, than will one hundred. They do not 

 flourish in a crowded state, neither will hens lay 

 as well when great numbers are together. A hen 

 is a right prudish old lady, and affects great modes- 

 ty in selecting her nest, and laying her eggs, al- 

 ways taking a quiet, sly place, when it can be 

 fijund. We say then to our readers, keep no more 

 fowls than yon can, and will feed well. Provide 

 good shelter for them, save all the manure, and 

 your gardens will pay in their increased produc- 

 tiveness for all your culture of chickens; and when 

 beef resembles sole leather, and bacon becomes 

 stale, young chickens and fresh eggs will prove a 

 luxury indeed. — Soil of the South. 



ON THE USE OP MULES. 



1. Mules, on a generel average, live more than 

 twice as long as horses. They are fit for service 

 from three years old to thirty. 'At twelve, a horse 

 has seen his best days and is going down hill, but 

 a mule at that age has scarcely risen out of his 

 colt-hood, and goes on improving till he is twenty. 

 Instances are recorded of mules living sixty or sev- 

 enty years, but these are exceptions. The gener- 

 al rule is that they average thirty. 



2. Mules are never exposed to disease as horses 

 are. Immense sums of money are annually lost in 

 the premature death of high-spirited horses by ac- 

 cident and disease. The omnibus lines in the city 

 of New York have not been able to sustain their 

 losses, and are beginning to make use of mules, as 

 less liable by far to accidents and disease. This 

 results from the next consideration, which is that — 



3. Mules have organs of vision and hearing far 

 superior to those of the horse. Hence they seldom 

 shear, and frighten and run off. A horse fright- 

 ens, because he imagines he sees something fright- 

 ful; but a mule, having superior discernment, both 

 by the eye and ear, understands everything he 

 meets, and therefore is safe. For the same reason 

 he is surer footed, and hence more valuable in 

 mountainous regions, and on dangerous roads. I 

 doubt whether on the Alpine paths a mule ever 

 made a misstep. He may have been deceived in the 

 firmness of the spot where he set his foot, but not 

 in the propriety of the choice, all appearances con- 

 sidered. 



4. The mule is much more hardy than the horse. 

 A pair of these animals, owned by a neighbor of 

 mine, although small in size, will plough more land 

 in a week than four horses. Their faculty of en- 

 durance is almost incredible. 



Another very important fact is, that in the mat- 

 ter of food, a mule will live and thrive on less than 

 half it takes to keep a horse. The horses ot Eng- 

 land, at this time, are consuming grain which 

 would save the lives of thousands of British sub- 

 jects. In a national point of view, the agricultu- 

 ral interest is so great, that the greater the de- 

 mand for grain of all kinds, the better for the 

 farmer. But yet individual farmers, who are in 

 debt, and whose land is not improved, would find 

 it profitable, in the course often years, to have the 

 labor of a full team, and save one-half and more of 

 the food necessary to keep it up, as might be the 

 case in substituting mules for horses. 



