42 



THE ILLINOIS FAEMER. 



Feb. 



eral rcTolution of all our freight tariffs, but these 

 benefits are exclusively confined to those who pur- 

 chase lands, and cease the instant the land is paid 

 for. 



The immunity from taxes while the lands are 

 being paid for, together with the advantages above 

 set forth, cannot fail to make the country along 

 the whole line of the Illinois Central Railway one 

 of great activity during the next ten years. 



— In a previous article, we have discussed the 

 bad policy of selling at the depots instead of ship- 

 ping direct to market, thus dispensing with a use- 

 less class of middle men 'who eat out the farmers 

 profit. 



If the company will steadily pursue the system 

 now inaugurated, the time will not be distant when 

 it will cease to be a land holder, except for its own 

 use. If they would further reduce the freight on 

 the great staple corn, we have no doubt they would 

 be the gainers thereby. 



Lecture on Butter Making. 



The following extracts are from a lecture of Mr. 

 James Dumbrill, one of the most extensive dairy 

 farmers of England, before the London Farmer's 

 Club : 



" Our next consideration will be in the in-door- 

 department ; and in tlic first place, it is strongly 

 to be recommended, where it is practicable, that 

 the dairy be a distinct department away fronithe 

 residence of the proprietor. A dairy- maid'sdu- 

 ties are too onerous to allow of any distraction, 

 and we all know that domestic events will happen 

 at times which require the Avhole strength of the 

 company. The marriage of a daughter or the 

 birth of a son might be tolerated ; but there are 

 the more frequent occuring dinner parties, great 

 washes, brewing days, etc., when even the impor- 

 tant duties of a dairy become secondary. There- 

 fore, it is desirable to place the dairy under the 

 care of responsible servants who have no other 

 duties. A man and his wife and a boy are suffic- 

 ient staff to manage a dairy of twenty-five cows. 

 The dairy-room should be used for nothing but its 

 legitimate purpose — the reception of milk. The 

 floor should be a few feet under ground, dry an^ 

 airy, and shaded from the sun. Benches should 

 be of open wood-work. It should be heated in 

 winter with hot water pipes, so as to maintain a 

 temperature of about fifty-six degrees. This is 

 the easiest mode of applying artificial heat, and as 

 efiBcacious as any. From experiments which I have 

 made upon the application of heat to milk, I have 

 found that a sustained temperature of fifty-six de- 

 grees raises as much of the cream as can be raised, 

 and that although by increasing the temperature 

 by direct application of heat, either by applying 

 boiling water or by placing the pans of milk on a 

 hot plate, the cream may be drier and appear 

 "thicker, yet there is in reality no increase of but- 



ter. A dry, warm temperature, and a current of 

 air through the room, are the best conditions for 

 raising cream ; a heavy, damp atmosphere the 

 worst. The milk pans should be of tin, oblong, 

 with rounded comers. With round pans too much 

 bench room is wasted. With earthenware pans, 

 the lactic acid will, after a time, destroy the glaz- 

 ing ; and glass pans chip too easily. A gieat many 

 new inventions in the way of churns, have enjoyed 

 a brief existence, but, the old-fashioned box and 

 barrel churns still hold their OAvn against all com- 

 ers. 



Now comes the great secret of successful butter- 

 making, namely : churning frequently. Butter, to ' 

 be perfect, must be churned every day, or at any 

 rate, every other day. The cream must not be in 

 a sta# of decomposition, or you cannot possibly > 

 have good butter. Great attention must be paid J 

 to this point, and the most scrupulous cleanliness ^ 

 is required in every part of the management ; and 

 then, no matter upon what the cows are fed, 

 whether white turnips or swedes, or whatever it 

 may be, there will be no disagreeable taste found. 

 Another thing that conduces very much to the 

 production of a good quality of butter, is a suc- 

 cession of fresh calving cows. In a large dairy 

 care should be taken to have, as nearly as possible, 

 an equal number of cows calve every month 

 throughout the year. Cows should be dry for six 

 weeks before calving, and during that time should 

 be removed to more roomy stalls, with a large 

 loose box to calve in. At this point the treatment 

 must depend upon circumstances ; but in a general 

 way the less done for the animal the better, and 

 the more she is left to nature the better. Another 

 point remains to be considered — the application of 

 skim milk. This may be either used for cheese- 

 making, or for rearing and fattening pigs. The 

 quality of cheese made from skim milk is of course 

 very inferior, particularly from Alderney cows; 

 for although their produce is richer in cream than 

 in any other breed, the milk, after the separation 

 of the cream, is tlie poorest. The fattening of 

 pigs to a small weight is far more profitable, and 

 forms rather an important item in "dairy man- 

 agement." They will require very little corn, as 

 nothing fattens young pigs faster than milk. 



Xebraska Salt. — A Mr. Phillips, of Nebraska 

 City, has left with us a specimen of the salt gath- 

 ered on lands of the United States some forty- jj 

 five miles west of Xebraska City. Several basins 

 exist in close proximity to each other. The ground 

 is swampy from the number of fresh and salt water 

 springs which appear on the surface. As the wa- 

 ter evaporates, it leaves a crust of salt which is 

 raked or scraped up. Previous to being used the 

 salt is thrown into vessels of water, when the par- 

 ticles of earth accidentially taken up settle to the 

 bottom and the brine is drained off. Owing to 

 the fact that the government still retains possess- 

 ion of the lands under the general reservation, no 

 companies have as yet been able to establish works. 

 — Dcs Jloines Times. 



'It is estimated that 100,000 pounds of to- 

 bacco were raised in Schuyler county during the 

 pass season. 



