DAIRY. 



dairy under one roof combines all 

 that is useful, with considerable neat- 

 ness internally and externally : It is 

 a building about sixty feet long by 

 thirty wide, with a veranda running 

 round three sides of it. The dairy- 

 room is sunk below the level of the 

 soil, and is paved with brick. The 

 sides are covered with tiles, and the 

 arched roof with hard cement. The 

 cow-house has a broad passage in the 

 middle, and the cows stand with their 

 heads towards this passage, which is ■ 

 paved with clinkers or bricks set on 

 edge. Their tails are towards the 

 wall, along which runs a broad gut- 

 ter sunk six or eight inches below the 

 level of the place on which the cows 

 stand. This gutter slopes towards 

 a sink covered with an iron grate, I 

 which communicates by a broad arch- 

 ed drain with a vaulted tank, into 

 which all the liquid flows. The gut- | 

 ter is washed clean twice a day be- 1 

 fore the cows are milked. The cows 

 stand or he on a sloping brick floor, 

 and have but a small quantity of litter 

 allowed them, which is removed every 

 day and carried to the dung-heap or j 

 to the pig-sties, to be more fully con- j 

 verted into dung. Whenever the lit- 

 ter is removed, the bricks are swept • 

 clean ; and in summer they are wash- ■ 

 ed with water. The manner in which 

 the cows are fastened is worthy of 

 notice : Two slight pillars of strong 

 wood are placed perpendicularly about 

 two feet distant from each other, so 

 that the cow can readily pass her 

 head between them. On each of 

 these is an iron ring, which runs free- 

 ly up and down, and has a hook in its 

 circumference : two small chains pass 

 from, these hooks to a leather strap, 

 which buckles round the neck of the 

 cow. Thus the cow can rise and lie 

 down, and move forward to take her 

 food, which is placed in a low man- 

 ger before the two pillars ; but she 

 cannot strike her neighbour with her 

 horns. The mangers or troughs are 

 of wood, or of bricks cemented to- 

 gether, and are kept as clean as all 

 the rest of the cow-house. In Swit- 

 zerland the cow-houses are similar, 

 but there is also a rack, the back of 

 822 



which towards the passage shots up 

 with a board on hinges. The Dutch 

 mode supplies more light and air to 

 the middle passage ; and as the food 

 is given frequently and in small quan- 

 tities, there is very little waste. The 

 following cuts will give a tolerable 

 idea of the whole arrangement. The 

 food is brought in carts, which are 

 driven at once between the cows. 

 What is not wanted immediately is 

 stored above, whence it is readily 

 thrown down before the cows. Thus 

 much trouble is saved, and one man 

 can feed and attend to a great many 

 cows. From November till May the 

 cows never leave the cow-house. In 

 summer, when the cows are out, if 

 they are in adjacent pastures, they 

 are driven home to be milked ; but 

 if the pastures are far off, which is 

 sometimes the case, they are milked 

 there, and the milk is brought home ; 

 but this is not thought so good for 

 the butter, which is then always 

 churned from the whole milk, with- 

 out letting the cream rise. The finest 

 and best flavoured butter is always 

 made from the cream as fresh as pos- 

 sible ; and to make it rise well, the 

 milk should be set as soon as it is 

 milked, and agitated as little as pos- 

 sible. The greatest quantity is sel- 

 dom obtained when the quality is the 

 finest. When great attention is paid 

 to the quality, the milk is skimmed 

 about six hours after it is set ; and 

 the cream taken off is churned by it- 

 self The next skimming makes in- 

 ferior butter. These particulars are 

 mentioned to show the necessity 

 there is of having the dairy as near 

 as possible to the cow-house. 



" The utensils of the dairy, such as 

 pails, churns, vats, &c., are usually 

 made of white wood, and are easily 

 kept clean by scalding and scouring. 

 Leaden troughs are used in large dai- 

 ries ; and if they are kept very clean 

 by careful scouring, they answer the 

 purpose better than wood. They 

 may be so constructed that the milk 

 may be let off gently before the cream, 

 which is collected by itself. This 

 saves all the trouble of skimming. 

 Brass pans have the advantage of 



