86 



NEW ENGLAND FARiEER. 



Feb. 



find that by hea'ing the milk by putting the 

 pan after the milk is t-trained over a kettle of 

 hot water, that there is little trouble in making 

 butter from sweet cream in the winter season. 

 On this subj'ict we find the following remarks 

 by Mr. X. A. Willard in the Western Rural 



The food on which a row is kept, has considera- 

 ble ii flucncc not only on the quality and qiiatiMiy 

 of i)utt' r f-he will yield, but on the lime required 

 in eliurniiit; Ir bran, o its, and corn meal be given 

 to tlic cow in conncciion witJi the potatoes, the 

 crcani will he of heuer quality, and will be more 

 eauly cImriHd ilian that made from potatoes and 

 hay alone. It may he remarked here that when 

 ndrher grain nor meal is fed to cows in fall and 

 wiuter, in ad'!itii>n to hay, and the extra feed is 

 coinpo.-ied of m^tteiials of wliich !^t irch a:.d sugar 

 and water are the chief ingredients, the cream re- 

 quires ti be churned lit a higher temperature than 

 that prciduced from food containing a good pro- 

 portion of liitiogen. 



There is ar.oiher trouble in fall and winter that 

 ofcen retards the churning — the milk and cream are 

 not ki pt at an even temperature. If the milk \6 

 allowed to freeze and thaw or to fall to a low tem- 

 peiatuie while being set for cream, there is more 

 difSeuity i i getting the butter speedily. The milk 

 or cream should not he allowed to fall bel )w lifty 

 degrees. Where no conveniences are had for keep 

 ing the mi'k at the proper temperature while tlie 

 ciearii i^ ri;iiig in fail and winter, good results 

 m-y he obtained in scaMing the milk by placing it 

 in a pan (jver hot water on the stove. As soon as 

 a littifi "(rinkle" is oti-erved on the outer cdgis of 

 the thin coat lif cream which rises, remove the pin 

 to a room uf niodera,te temperature or where the 

 teiiipcraiure does does not lall ))elow fifty degrees, 

 and ttie cream will not (m)y ri>e rapidly, but can 

 he chinned, generally, with facility. Tlie proper 

 scaldmg of the milk will be ea?ily learm d l)y e.\ 

 perimtiit. If scalded too much, the amount of 

 cream will he diminished. 



For the Neio England Farmer, 

 COUNTRY HOMES FOR CITY PEOPLE. 



Desiralile as a country home may be to 

 Hnany of the people whose business is in the 

 city. I would not advise all to make the ex- 

 pel intent. There are many in the city who 

 are to all intents and purposes city people. If 

 they go into the country at all for a home, it 

 will be tilber because sheer neee^sity compels 

 it, or because it is fashionable. A few wealthy 

 imen can afforii both a city and a country res- 

 idence, — one for suinnitr and the other for 

 the winter. Such men can afford to do as 

 they please. 



But as a genera) rule, those whose feeling.s 

 and preferences are entirely with the city do 

 not eijoy theoiselves in the country, particu- 

 larly ]n the more remote suburban towns, 

 "i heir are towns so near the city as to be al- 

 most city itself ; in these towns many might 

 enjoy theraoelves who would be lonely indeed 

 a few miles further out. Even city people 

 may enjoy themselves in such a location. But 

 without a real love of the country, the com- 

 parative cheapness of homes in these retired 

 localities should not be allowed to induce one 



to make the experiment. However much they 

 may enjoj; the summer, when winter comes 

 and they find themselves away from the thea- 

 tre, lectures and other entertainments and city 

 society, they will forget (he enjoyment of the 

 summer and become disgusted with what they 

 term the solitude and loneliness of the country, 

 and desire to get baekagain to the city as soon 

 as possible. But to the lover of the country 

 there is no loneliness in such a situation. He 

 finds ample means of enjoyment and amuse- 

 ment. If one loves his books and his family, 

 he need never be lonesome ; but then there 

 are neighborhood gatherings and sociables 

 which make the country enjoyable to one who 

 likes the country and country people. 



But every one from the city will not buy 

 from twenty to thirty acres of land. Many 

 could not if they would, and would not if they 

 could. They may not all have four or five 

 boys ; they might not all have a taste for the 

 farm, though they loved the garden. Many 

 would love to pick the peas, to dig the new 

 potatoes half an hour before they were boiled 

 — so very different from the shrivelled, wilted 

 ones they are compelled to take in (he city,— 

 or to enjoy the lu.\ury of nice choice ripe 

 fruit of their own raising. For these pur- 

 poses a quarter or half an acre of land would 

 be sufficient. Other.; might choose to keep a 

 cow in order to have fresh milk and fresh but- 

 ter. In this case they would want from two 

 to three acres, — the (juantity depending on cul- 

 ture and quality. Plenty of these homes can 

 be obtained at reasonable rates, and I would 

 advise all who buy in the country to buy at 

 least one ejuarter of an acre of land. In 

 some suburban towns the houses are so near 

 together that there is little choice between 

 them and the city. 



My own tendencies are to the country, al- 

 though born and brought up in a manufactur- 

 ing town in England, and t e greatest part of 

 my life having been spent in manufacturing. 

 Yet my love of country life and the farm 

 have a rather curious and not perhaps an un- 

 interesting origin. My father was brought 

 up on a farm, and even in England was con- 

 sidered a good farmer. But like thousands in 

 this country he was attracted by the apparently 

 readier and easier way to competence and 

 wealth, to business in the town. His fate was 

 like that of thousands of others that leave the 

 farm and whom we never hear from — financial 

 ruin. We always hear c f those who succeed, 

 but (hose who fail are forgotten. He always 

 considered it as a mi>take that he left his farm ; 

 to his family it certainly was a misfortune. 



When a boy I attended two courses of lec- 

 tures ; one on Galvanism, Electricity and 

 Pneumatics, and toe other on Chtmi.-try. 

 These leiitures created in me a taste for nat- 

 ural philosophy, and gave diredion to my 

 subsequent studies. After having studied in- 

 organic chemistry for a time, 1 turned my at- 

 tention to organic chemistry. 1 was aston- 



