1864. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



231 



TEN RULES FOR MAKING GOOD BUTTER. 

 Ill making good butter there are several nice 

 operations to he gone through with which require 

 an eye to cleanliness, forethought and some little 

 experience. 



1. On milking clean, fast, yet gently, regularly 

 twidte a day, depends the success of the dairyman. 

 Bad milkers should not be tolerated in a herd, 

 better pay double price for good ones. 



2. Straining is quite simple, but it should be 

 borne in mind that two pans about half full each 

 will produce a greater amount of cream than the 

 same milk in but one pan ; the reason of this is 

 the greater surface. 



3. Scalding is quite an important feature in the 

 way of making butter in cool weather ; the cream 

 rises much quicker, the milk keeps much longer, 

 the butter is of a better color, and churns in one- 

 half the time. 



4. Skimming should always be done before the 

 milk becomes loppered ; otherwise much of the 

 cream turns into whey and is lost. 



5. Churning, whether by hand or otherwise, 

 should occupy forty or fifty minutes. 



6. Washing in cold soft water is one of its pre- 

 serving qualities, and should be continued until it 

 shows no color of the milk by the use of the la- 

 dle. Very hard water is highly charged with 

 lime, and must in a measure impart to its alkaline 

 properties. 



7. Salting is necessarily done with the best kind 

 of ground salt ; the quantities vary according to 

 the state it is taken from the churn — if soft, more ; 

 if hard, less ; always taking the taste for the sur- 

 est guide. ' 



8. First working, after about twenty-four hours, 

 is for the purpose of giving it greater compact- 

 ness. 



9. Second working takes place at time of pack- 

 ing, and when the butter has dissolved the salt, 

 that the brine may be worked out. 



10. Packing is done with the hands, or with a 

 butter mull; and when butter is put info wooden 

 vessels they should be soaked two or three days 

 in strong brine before using. After each packing 

 cover the butter with a wet cloth, and put a layer 

 of salt upon it. In this way the salt can easily be 

 removed at any time by simply taking hold of the 

 edges of the cloth. 



Butter made in this way will keep any length of 

 time required. — Maryland Farmer. 



Health in California. — We clip the follow- 

 ing paragraph from a communication in the Prai- 

 rie Farmer, written by Edson Harkness, an old 

 agricultural writer for that paper : 



It was the health of my family that induced me 

 to come here. More than one had weak lungs, 

 and one had died with consumption. Two others 

 I have good reason to think restored to sound 

 health by coming here, but my wife was too far 

 gone, yet the change without doubt prolonged 

 her life at least a year. There are a few unhealthy 

 districts in California, but the main portion is of 

 remarkable salubrity. The perfect health of the 

 children here attracts the notice of every observ- 

 er. In eight years I have not known a case of 

 ague or billious intermittent here in the moun- 

 tains, except it might be persons from the valleys 

 who come up to recruit. 



A PATENT STEP LADDER. 

 We have rarely met with anything more perfect 

 of its kind than a light, neat, and really ornamen- 

 tal Step Ladder, which we saw the other day at 

 Mr. J. Nourse's Agricultural Rooms, and one of 

 which we had immediately transferred, per ex- 

 press, to our own rooms in the country. There 

 are various sizes, from four feet high to ten feet, 

 and the prices vary from $2.75 to $5. It is cer- 

 tainly the lightest, strongest and most graceful 

 thing of the kind we ever saw, and should be 

 owned by every person who wishes to rise in the 

 world, from parlor to store, and from the shop of 

 the mechanic to the farmer, trimming, grafting 

 and gathering fruit. One can carry a six-footer 

 on his finger, it is so light, and yet it is warranted 

 to sustain the weight of five medium sized men 

 without breaking ! Do not be too much in a hur- 

 ry about it, but be sure to get one the first oppor- 

 tunity, if you ever have use for a step ladder. 



For the Neiv England Farmer. 

 A FEW "WORDS TO FARMERS. 



A friend severely criticised my farmer piece, 

 viz. "Marry a farmer." The gothic cottage and 

 fountain was a source of much merriment to him. 

 He said, "There might, perhaps, be a few such 

 farms in the world, but one did not often see 

 them." If my sketch was an ideal one, is it not 

 to be regretted that the farmer cannot erect taste- 

 ful dwellings, or perchance a fountain ? 



Must the farmer devote all his time to raising 

 grain and potatoes, with no leisure to beautify his 

 home, that it may be a source of pleasure to him- 

 self and family ? And in after years, when Time 

 has silvered his hair, he may sit under the trees 

 his hand has planted. And is a fountain, with its 

 crystal waters imparting its cooling airs around, a 

 luxury to be confined to the grounds of the 

 wealthy man of leisure ? 



Tilling the soil is a noble occupation if conduct- 

 ed properly. But how few farmers devote any 

 time to improvements. They follow the beaten 

 track of their ancestors, because "Dad did so." 

 The farm is distasteful to most farmer's sons, for 

 the reason it is not made interesting to them. 

 The monotony of the drudgery continues from 

 year to year, while their souls are in some ether 

 pursuit. Give the boy more recreation. Let him 

 go into the woods and cull flowers, and there lay 

 the rudiments for a systematic study of botany at 

 some future time. Give him works on geology 

 and chemistry, and he will derive much pleasure 

 in analysing the different soils, and the formations 

 of the rocks. 



Above all, make your home attractive to your 

 family. A tasteful villa is not out of place on a 

 farm, if one can afford it. If not, assist your 

 children to plant vines, erect trellises for their 

 support. Let them have a sunny place for flow- 

 ers, and assist them to transplant forest trees. 

 Let them cultivate the smaller fruits, while you 

 attend to the apple trees. Girls will be as much 

 interested as the boys in these occupations. No 

 matter if the sun browns their complexions ; 

 bronze is a prettier color than "pale milk." I be- 

 lieve farmers' daughters are not so well skilled in 



