168 



NEW ENGLAND FARI^IER. 



April 



Vermont, telling us whether winter wheat or 

 spring wheat succeeds best — and put their names 

 to their communications, so that we can correspond 

 with them, and buy some of their wheat for seed. 

 Since flour has gone up to sixteen and eighteen 

 dollars per barrel, it is time for fanners to try to 

 help one another ; for, with present prices and high 

 taxes, I am fearful we shall drift on to breakers, 

 especially if our representatives, as in Massachu- 

 setts, vote themselves $600 per session. 



Caleb E. Pakmenter. 

 Attleboro', Mass., Feb. 21, 1867. 



CHEESE-MAKERS' ASSOCIATION". 



The third annual meetinoj of the Massachu- 

 setts Cheese-manufacturers' Association, was 

 held in West Brooktield, on Thursday, Feb. 

 24, Capt. HoUis Tidd, President, in the chair. 



Officers elected for the current year, were, 

 for President, Hollis Tidd ; Vice Presidents, 

 D. S. Ellis, Warren, and J. F. Davis, Barre ; 

 Secretary, N. S. Hubbard, Brimfield ; Treas- 

 urer, B. F. Hamilton, New Braintree. The 

 Executive Committee is constituted of the fore- 

 going list of officers. 



Reports were received from Barre Central, 

 Barre South, Hardwick Centre, Hardwick 

 South, Petersham, New Braintree, Worcester 

 Co. in Warren, and South Adams Factories. 

 We give the two following as specimens : — 



Barre South. — Capital, $o053 ; began mak- 

 ing April 24, and ended Nov. 8 ; amount of 

 milk 707,297 lbs. ; lbs. of milk to a lb. of 

 cheese, 10.46, or nearly lOi ; cheese kept be- 

 fore sending to market on an average about 55 

 days; size, 853 weighed from 70 to 80 lbs. 

 apiece, and 726 from 18 to 22 lbs. ; help, 1 

 man and 1 woman, at a cost, including board, 

 of $575.93; cost of making per 100, $1.93; 

 amount of cured cheese, 67,570 lbs. ; av. num- 

 ber of cows, 175 ; lbs. of cheese per cow, 406 ; 

 av. market price, $19.85 per 100; net return 

 to farmers, $16.92 per 100 lbs. 



Hardwick South. — Capital, $4500 ; began 

 making May 10, and ended Oct. 15 ; amount 

 of milk 722,526 lbs. ; lbs. of milk to a lb. of 

 cheese, 10.3, a little over 10| ; cheese kept be- 

 fore marketing, from 3 to 6 weeks ; help, 1 man 

 and 1 woman, costing $511.56; amount of 

 cured cheese, 70,963 lbs. ; net return to farm- 

 ers, $15.60 per 100. 



Process- o/-' Manufacturing, as stated by Mr. 

 Green, of the New Braintree Factory, was as 

 follows : Heat the milk before ])utting in the 

 rennet to 84 degrees ; then let it stand from 1 

 to li^ hoar before crossing; cross and let it 

 stand 15 or 20 minutes, then break up the 

 curd carefully with the hands and heat to 90° 

 to 98°, and cover up warm and let it stand un- 

 til cooked ; thvn dip out into a sink and let it 

 drain dry and salt at the rate of 2 7-16 lbs. per 

 lOOO lbs. of milk, then press 24 hours. 



Facts or statements came out in the discus- 

 sion, incidentally, of" great interest, such as 

 this : a man wlio kept three cows, sent his 

 milk to till! factory, who got but $20 return for 

 them before, per annum, got $40 return per 



cow after sending his milk to the factory. Mr. 

 Greene, of New Braintree, made some inter- 

 esting statements on this point, such as it took 

 a lb. less milk at the factory than in the house 

 dairy at home. His statements were founded 

 on actual experience, and are therefore worthy 

 of consideration. One gentleman stated that 

 the net return to the farmer from the milk sent 

 to the factory would exceed what he could get 

 from the cheese made at home ; thus showing 

 the labor of home-making, with rennet, fuel, 

 marketing, &c., may be reduced to that of car- 

 rying the milk to the factory, and he be the 

 gainer. It was also stated that those factories 

 which made the smallest sized cheeses returned 

 the largest amount of profit on the milk used. 



The Convention was well attended and har- 

 monious in its action, which, taking it all in all, 

 was by far the most profitable meeting of the 

 association yet holden, thus demonstrating that 

 the association of those engaged in associated 

 labor tends to promote progress and improve- 

 ment by the diffusion of useful knowledge. — 

 Boston Cultivator, abridged. 



New York. — At the Winter Meeting of the 

 New York State Agricultural Society, at Al- 

 bany, Feb. 13, the following officers were 

 elected for 1867. 



President — Gen. Marsena R. Patrick, Ontario. 



Vice Presidents — Thos. H. Faile, Jr., New York, 

 and seven others. 



Corresponding Secretary — Benj. P. Johnson, Al- 

 bany. 



Recording Sec'y — Erastus Corning, Jr., Albany. 



Treasurer — Luther H. Tucker, Albany. 



Executive Committee — Geo. H. Broivn, Duchess, 

 and 7 others. 



As usual at this meeting, premiums on grain, 

 roots, butter, fruit, &c., were awarded. X. 

 A. Willard, Esq., delivered an address on 

 English farmina:. 



Hops. — Mr. Z. E. Jameson, of Irasburg, 

 Vt., writes to the Country Gentleman that a 

 field in that town whicli produced 2000 lbs. in 

 1865 yielded only 200 lbs. in 1866. In years 

 past roots were given away. Now they can- 

 not be obtained without difficulty in sufficient 

 quantities to replace the dead hills. The run- 

 ners which are cut up into sets seem diseased. 

 Whether this state of things is wholly the ef- 

 fect of lice or partially the result of cutting 

 the vine before the hop is fully matured, caus- 

 ing it to bleed and exhaust the root somewhat, 

 I cannot say. There seems to be a prospect 

 that this branch of agriculture will soon be- 

 come extinct, unless the causes which have 

 proved so detrimental can be removed. 



— It is no uncommon thing in Scotland for far- 

 mers wlio enter upon a lease of 19 years, to invest 

 some $50 to $75 per acre on drainage, liming and 

 other improvements. 



