216 COWS AND DAIRY. 



perfectly fine ; a layer of salt at the bottom of the 

 firkin or jar ; beat the butter down with a hard 

 wooden rammer, not hot fists, and cover the top with 

 salt." The best colouring for butter is good keep for 

 the cows. New Farmer s Calendar. 



Description of the Dairy at Alnwick Castle, from 

 the Edinburgh Quarterly Journal of Agriculture, 

 March 1833, No. 20. 



" Having a short time ago visited Alnwick Castle, 

 the princely mansion of the duke of Northumberland, 

 I was particularly struck with the beauty of the dairy. 



" The cow-houses and dairy are beautifully situ- 

 ated, at some distance below the Castle, near the bank 

 of the river Alne, which flows in a canal-like stream, 

 ornamented with swans, through the extensive do- 

 main, amid fine shrubberies and delightful pleasure 

 grounds. The cows are mostly of the Ayrshire breed, 

 though there are some shorthorns and cross-bred cows. 

 The object of the dairy being only to produce the best 

 milk and butter, the cows are not selected for the 

 purpose of improving the breed of the country, which, 

 it is pleasing to observe, has perhaps already attained 

 the highest degree of perfection of which it is capable. 

 The cow-houses are commodious and airy. Each 

 cow has a separate stall and manger, and every thing 

 in regard to food and management is conducted with 

 the greatest cleanliness and comfort to the animals. 

 But the great object of attraction is the milk-house. 

 It consists of an oblong building standing apart, sur- 

 rounded with a deep veranda, through which no sun- 

 shine can penetrate. The floor of the veranda is laid 

 with different coloured round pebbles brought from 



