and on the Dairy Husbandry. 121 



they have given milk for several years, they fatten as well as ever, and 

 that their beef is fully equal to that of any other breed. These 

 cows also, do not take on their fat on the outside of the lean, or in 

 any one place merely, but their fat is mixed, in thin strata, within the 

 lean, giving their flesh the appearance of marble ; and they always 

 turn out better in the hands of the butcher, than a stranger to that 

 breed would expect. 



From these statements it is evident, that the dairy is a most im- 

 portant source of profit, and ought to be extended to many districts in 

 the kingdom, where it is at present but little known *. In the neigh- 

 bourhood of a town, the sale of the milk is probably the great object in 

 keeping cows ; but in the more remote parts of the country, if calves 

 are not reared or fattened, cheese and butter, being so easily preserved 

 and transported, are the proper articles to attend to, with the view, 

 either to domestic consumption, or to foreign export. 



4. Rules for the Management of Milch Cows. The proper hours 

 of milking, and how often per day cows ought to be milked, are points 

 of considerable importance. In general, cows are milked twice a-day, 

 at six o'clock in the morning, and at six at night. In this way a cow 

 has twelve hours each time to graze or feed, and to prepare the milk 

 for the pail f . When they are milked thrice a-day, if grazed, it occasions 

 much unnecessary trouble to the dairy maids, not only in going to the 

 cows, but also in preparing their vessels, (unless they have an extraor- 

 dinary number of them), for holding the milk. It also puts cows from 

 grazing, and diminishes their time for rest. Many, however, think it 

 necessary, to milk their cows thrice a-day, when the produce of milk 

 is great. The dairy-maid should take special care to treat the cows 

 with as much kindness as possible, to prevent their taking any dislike to 

 her, which would hinder their milking well ; and should milk them 

 completely, by which cows are prevented from becoming so soon dry 

 as otherwise may be apprehended. 



Cows are at their prime state for milk, the third or fourth summer 

 they are in milk, and they will remain in that state till they are twelve 

 years old and even more ; but as the older they grow the worse they 

 will fatten, some farmers begin to feed them when they are from eight 

 to ten, even though they are good milchers. The propriety of this sys^ 

 tern may, however, be questioned. Whilst the value of the udder in a 



* I regret much to hear, that in many parts of England, the advantages of 

 the dairy are not so well known as they ought to be ; and that the lower orders of 

 the people, cannot get a little milk or butter-milk for their children. I wish much 

 to call the attention of the liberal and public-spirited country gentlemen, to a 

 circumstance so important to so numerous a class of the community. Tin.- best 

 remedies are, to have small dairy farms in the neighbourhood of all villages, 

 bound to furnish the inhabitants with milk at a moderate price ; and if the Irish 

 mode were adopted by the English farmers, of churning all the milk, instead of 

 the cream alone, such a supply of excellent butter-milk would be procured, as 

 would be of infinite service to their neighbourhood. 



Good dairy-maids are so extremely scarce in many parts of the kingdom, that 

 it would be proper to encourage them by premiums, which are too often applied 

 to purposes much less essential. 



f In Holland and Flanders, the cows are milked twice a-day, at the early 

 hour of three in the morning, and at three in the evening. 



