MASS. BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 751 



among dairymen with regard to making butter or cheese, 

 which is the most profitable. Mr. French, of New York, says, 

 it costs him twice as much to make butter as cheese. I be- 

 lieve it is a practice in this part of the country to make butter 

 in the spring, till the cows have mostly come in, then to make 

 cheese as long as they hold out in the autumn ; as their milk 

 diminishes, make butter again, till they are dry. The milk in 

 many of our largest dairies, is entirely made into cheese after 

 they commence making, even buying their butter for family 

 use. Some, not many, churn all their cream in the usual way, 

 not making any cheese, and using the refuse milk and butter- 

 milk for fattening pork. This is the course pursued by many 

 of the Irish in this vicinity, as they are unacquainted with 

 cheese making. I think it is not generally made in Ireland. 

 They make their dairies profitable in this way. The most 

 profitable disposition of the milk, next to selling it, is, unques- 

 tionably, churning it, instead of the cream, in the usual way, 

 where there is a near and ready market for the butter. The 

 finest, the best flavored, and by far the most palatable butter, 

 it is said, is made in this way. Where the dairies are large, 

 this labor is performed by horse or steam power ; where they 

 are smaller, by dog or. sheep power. 



The milk, after it has been deprived of its buttery principle 

 by the churning process, may be made into cheese. I do not 

 know that this is done, but it seems to me it might be, and 

 make a cheese, to be sure, inferior to a four meal, but superior 

 to a common skim cheese. If not disposed of in this manner, 

 it is valuable for fattening pork, or raising calves. I have seen 

 very fine calves raised by keeping them on skim milk, with a 

 little Indian or oat meal made into porridge. It is said that a 

 small quantity of molasses added to this gruel is a great im- 

 provement, as it is a substitute for the oily part of the milk. 



I will quote a few remarks upon dairying, from the report of\ 

 Harvy Dodge, of Sutton, to the agricultural department of the 

 Patent Office, in 1850, upon farming in the county of Worces- 

 ter. He says : " Milk is worth, in the south part of the county, 

 at the farmer's, for the Boston and Providence markets, two 

 cents a quart, eight months in the year ; and three cents the 

 four remaining months. For butter : eight quarts of milk for 

 a pound of butter; average price of butter, twenty cents a 



