

701,. XXI, Second Skkies. 



ROCHESTER, N. Y., SEPTEMBER, 1860. 



No. 9. 



A DAY AMONG THE DAIRIES. 



] > CKIXG the past month we spent a few days 

 iiiiong the dairy farmers of Herkimer County. 

 The northern counties of this State are justly cel- 

 'brated for the excellence of their cheese, and 

 Krkimer holds the fir.^t rank among her sister 

 ;uuaties. 



We had supposed that the excellence of Ilerki- 

 ler County cheese was due in a good degree to 

 he excellent qf the rich natural pastures of this 

 istrict; but, while this is doubtless the case to 

 )me extent, the pastures, generally, were by no 

 leans of unusual excellence. True, we did not 

 isit the best portions of the county, yet we are 

 onstrained to believe that there is room for great 

 nprovement in the management of the pastures 



this far-famed dairy district. Much may be done 

 -and considerable has already been done — by top- 

 ressing. Muck of excellent quality is easily acces- 

 ble, and we believe those who have used it, either 

 )mposted with ashes, lime and salt, or with barn 

 ird manure, find it exceedingly beneficial. The 

 d pastures are generally considered to afford the 

 veetest herbage, and they may unquestionably be 

 jpt up by the use of top-dressings, without break- 

 g up and re-seeding. 



Here, as elsewhere, there is room for improve- 

 ent in the selection of grass seeds. Timothy, or 

 jrds-grass, is most excellent, but there is no rea- 

 n why we should confine ourselves to this single 

 •ass in re-seeding. In old pastures there is a 

 eat variety of grasses, and this is one reason of 

 eir superiority, and it would be well to take a 

 nt from nature in the formation of our pastures. 

 The numerous small streams in some sections 

 ford easy facilities for ii-rigation, but with a fdw 

 :ceptions, no advantage is taken of them. There 

 n be no doubt that, by a simple process of irri- 

 .tion, the produce of hay on many farms might 

 I doubled, — and the main item of expense on 

 eae dairy farms is to provide hay or other fodder 



for the winter months. On making this observa- 

 tion to a farmer, he replied: "Yes; you have to 

 have a fork in your hand all the year round, either 

 pitching hay into the barn, or pitching it out." 



There is some attention paid to the cultivation 

 of root crops. Nowhere have we seen better ruta- 

 bagas, though carrots seem to be the favorite crop. 

 We did not see a single plot of mangel wurzels. 

 Corn for fodder is grown to a considerable extent. 

 Oats are very extensively grown, and here, as 

 everywhere this season, the crop is very heavy. 

 Buckwheat was formerly grown more extensively 

 than at present. It is thought to impoverish, or 

 "sour" the land. 



We heard it remarked by an intelligent farmer, 

 that the soil was deteriorating, and he thought the 

 census would show a diminished productiveness. 

 Be this as it may, there is no necessity for such a 

 result, and we feel sure that the intelligent dairy- 

 men of this district will devise means to keep up 

 the fertility of their farms. The soil is not exhaust- 

 ed. But in agriculture we are either improving or 

 retrograding. We can seldom remain stationary. 

 The trouble at present is that we run over too 

 much land. Our operations must be more concen- 

 trated. Cultivate the laud better, keep more stock, 

 feed higher, make more and richer manure, and the 

 land will be more productive. This can be done, 

 and done with profit. We were surprised at the 

 small number of cows kept on a given quantity of 

 land. Cheese commands a good price, and we are 

 confident a higher system of feeding might be in- 

 troduced with profit. 



The process of making cheese here adopted is 

 admirable for its simplicity and dispatch, as com- 

 pared with that pracuced in Cheshire and other 

 districts in England. The night's milk is placed in 

 the cheese- vat, and kept as cool as possible. After 

 the morning's milk is added, the whole is raised to 

 the proper temperature — either by heating a portion 

 of the morning's milk, or, what is better, by applying 



