156 



GENESEE FARMER. 



July. 



have his land none the poorer by the operation 1 



It will be recollected that 1000 lbs. of fhis grain 

 contain at most but 30 lbs. of incombustible earthy 

 matter. By restoring these and 70 lbs. of organ- 

 ized carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen, 

 the skilful husbandman gives back to the soil as 

 much as it furnished toward the 1000 lbs. of bar- 

 ley. But how is the land made richer when we 

 restore not a particle more soluble flint, phos- 

 phorus, sulphur, iron, lime, magnesia, soda, pot- 

 ash, chlorine, carbon, and nitrogen, than was 

 removed in tlie crop '? 



Some knowledge of agricultural geology is in- 

 dispensable to the clear understanding of this in- 

 teresting subject. Consider for a moment the 

 source from which all soils derive their lime, pot- 

 ash, phosphorus, sulphur, and other earthy ele- 

 ments of plants. In 100 lbs. of the ash of barley 

 there are 37 lbs. of phosphoric acid, 24 lbs. of 

 potash and soda, beside Ih lbs. of lime and mag- 

 nesia. No wonder that this crop requires good 

 land to yield a large amount of seed. 



It is the constant abrasion, comminution, and 

 solution of the small particles of rocks, which lie 

 exposed to the meteoric influences of frost, heat, 

 light, electricity, water, oxygen, carbonic and 

 nitric acids from the air, that renovate soils while 

 at rest, when partially exhausted by the removal 

 of crops. Science can render the practical farm- 

 er most valuable aid in hastening the natural pro- 

 cess for bringing back virgin fertility to a worn 

 out field. But alas, the practical man too often 

 scorns the proffered light of science. He ridi- 

 cules the idea of having his sons study the prop- 

 erties and source of the constituent elements, 

 which God has appointed to make the bread, the 

 meat, and the clothing of all rational beings. — 

 We rejoice however in the strong faith that this 

 deep prejudice against the study of the natural 

 sciences which have so intimate a connection 

 with rural industry, can not last always. Our 

 children's children, if notour own offspring, will 

 see the end of it. 



As a bushel of barley can be grown on some 

 soils about as easily as a bushel of oats, who 

 would not give a trifle to know by actual experi- 

 ments the relative value of 200 lbs. of barley 

 meal and a like weight of corn meal, for making 

 pork, beef, and mutton 1 By making meal into 

 well cooked pudding, and mixing it with boiled 

 or steamed potatoes, a little slop from the kitchen 

 and dairy, pork can be made at no great expense, 

 while the dung and urine from the pig sty will 

 make great barley next year. We are much in 

 favor of that system of husbandry which consumes 

 the largest amount of the products of the farm at 

 home, and carefully saves, and uses to the best 

 advantage the manure thus made. We have oft- 

 en help to harvest from 45 to 50 bushels of barley 

 on an acre, and have seen it much used in fatten- 

 ing hogs. But its precise value for feeding has 

 never been determined. 



Cheese Making. 



The first thing to be looked after in a cheese 

 dairy, is to provide a dozen or more good cows, 

 and tiiese with a full and regular supply of nu- 

 tritious food. Upland pastures, or herbage that 

 grows on dry land yields more cheese per gallon 

 of milk, as well as more per week from the same 

 cows, than grass which grows on wet, sour soils. 

 Having secured a sufficient quantity of milk dai- 

 ly to make a good cheese, the next step is to sep- 

 arate all the curd from the whey and retain as 

 much of the butter or cream in the former as 

 practicable. If this is skillfully done, and the 

 cheese properly salted with pure salt, pressed 

 and cured, a most valuable product rewards the 

 labor of the dairyman. Different persons have 

 very unlike methods for saving rennets, and pre- 

 paring them for use. We have nothing new or 

 worthy of note to offer on this point. A word 

 of caution, however, to the dairy-woman not to 

 let incipient decomposition in the prepared en- 

 trail be such as to impart an offensive taste or 

 odor to the cheese at any time. A defective 

 rennet will spoil an otherwise most valuable curd, 

 which no after treatment can remedy. 



When the gastric juice, or animal substance 

 is just what it should be, the use of too much ren- 

 net is a very common error. According to Mr. 

 CoLMAN, the rule in the best English dairies is 

 to put into the milk no more rennet than will 

 suffice to coagulate the same, or separate the curd 

 in fifty minutes. Dairy women are apt to be in 

 a hurry to get on with their work, and in their 

 impatience throw in and incorporate with the 

 curd too much gastric matter. If the milk is at 

 a proper temperature, a very little will answer 

 the purpose. Mr. Colman says "the tempera- 

 ture of the milk, when the rennet is applied, • 

 should be from 80 to 84 degrees Fahrenheit." 

 Fie also remarks that " the dairy-women in some 

 parts of England, who make a very good cheese, 

 make their cheeses cold ; that is, coagulate at a 

 very low temperature. This cheese is said al- 

 ways to meet a quick demand. They likewise 

 salt them but lightly." We regard these sugges- 

 tions as of much practical value ; for we have 

 studied with some care the art as well as the sci- 

 ence of cheese-making. 



Various contrivances are in use for cutting or 

 breaking the curd into fine pieces when it is i 

 fully solidified. The operation should be per-, 

 formed with care and by an experienced hand. 1 

 It is easy to rob a cheese of much of its richnessi 

 before it goes to })ress. j 



The quantity of salt to be used is one pound! 

 to 42 of cheese. The salt should be of the purest ^ 

 kind. The lever press is preferable to the screw, 

 because it follows down the compression of the 

 curd with an uniform weight, and a screw does not. j 



As the demand for American cheese is rapidly 

 extending in England, the following comments 



