DAIRY CATTLE 



487 



therefore quite satisfactory. The curing 

 process requires from two to four 

 months, being shorter if the cheese is 

 salted only slightly. The more the curd 

 is cooked, the slower the process of 

 ripening and the longer the cheese will 

 keep. 



Pot cheese — Almost every farmer's 

 wife understands that a palatable and 



Fig. 313 — MILK TANK IN USE 



nutritious article of food may be pre- 

 pared from sour skim milk or butter- 

 milk by allowing it to coagulate under 

 the influence of the acid naturally pres- 

 ent and then driving out the water by 

 the aid of heat. The usual method con- 

 sists in using sour buttermilk or skim 

 milk which has already coagulated and 

 heating it gently up to a temperature 

 of 85 to 125° F. after which the whey 

 is removed by the use of a strainer. The 

 curd is then kneaded, salt added and 

 in many cases also a little cream or 

 butter to improve the flavor. This cheese 

 is largely made for home use, but Wing 

 and others have called attention to the 

 increasing demand for it in cities and 

 villages. Pot cheese also passes under 

 the common names of Dutch cheese, 

 Cottage cheese and Schmierkase. 



How to increase the profits from 

 dairying — As stated at the beginning of 

 this chapter, there is more profit in 

 dairying in thickly settled regions than 

 in beef production. This statement, 

 however, implies that every reasonable 

 effort is put forth to develop the indus- 

 try on both a scientific and practical 

 basis. The important factors in success- 

 ful dairying are the production of nutri- 

 tious dairy feeds on the farm and the 

 increase of the milk yield of the dairy 

 cows by judicious selection and breed- 

 ing. 



Feed better rations — It has been 

 shown in a discussion of _ the various 

 feeds used in rations for dairy cows that 



a relatively high percentage of protein 

 is desirable for milch cows. This can- 

 not be purchased as cheaply in the form 

 of cottonseed meal and bran as it can 

 be produced on the farm in the form 

 of clover, alfalfa or cowpeas. It has 

 been demonstrated beyond question that 

 the rational combination of farm le- 

 gumes with the cheaper kinds of grain 

 will increase the milk yield of the cows 

 now being used for dairy purposes and 

 at the same time reduce the feed bills. 

 This is one direction in which consider- 

 able improvement may be made, al- 

 though a great awakening in this regard 

 has recently taken place, especially in 

 the South. 



Use better cows — Again, it has been 

 shown that tremendous differences pre- 

 vail in the milk yield of individual 

 cows, some cows giving from eight to 

 10 times as much as others. According 

 to the experience of practical dairymen, 

 the milk yield does not depend entirely 

 upon the breed or pedigree, but is an 

 individual matter with each cow, which 

 may be perpetuated in her offspring. 

 The rational way to secure a heavy milk- 

 ing herd consists, therefore, in a thor- 

 ough test of every cow and the elimina- 

 tion of all those which do not give more 

 than an average amount of milk; the 

 heavy milkers are then used for breed- 

 ing purposes and their heifer calves 

 raised to take the place of older cows 



Fig. 314— MILK TANK OPENED 



as they become less productive. It 

 should be perfectly obvious that excel- 

 lent dairy cows cannot be bought on the 

 market under ordinary conditions. The 

 best cows of each dairy herd are, of 

 course, retained by the owner and the 



