THE SOU THE 



stained by no blood — it is wet by no tear, but 

 the sweat of his own brow. 



I will conclude by giving you the true test of 

 fame. The truest seeker after fame is the man 

 who labors to make his children useful and 

 honorable in their generation. In this way edi- 

 tions of his works may go on multiplying, in- 

 stead of, perhaps, sinking into oblivion with his 

 own time. 



If acceptable, I may furnish extracts of in- 

 terest, to your readers occasionally, upon the 

 various duties of this life. 



King & Queen. 



From the American Farmer. 

 DUTCH BUTTER. 



We are indebted to the Nashville "Agricul- 

 turist" for the following account of the manage- 

 ment of the dairy and the method of making 

 butter in Holland ; Dr. Frost one of the editors 

 of the Agriculturist is, we believe, a native of 

 that country, and, therefore, may be presumed to 

 speak advisedly upon the subject, and from our 

 knowledge of his character we will add may be 

 implicitly relied on. 



" I have never seen or eaten strong butter in 

 Holland. I have eaten butter which formed part 

 of the provision of an East Indiaman — it went 

 from Holland to Batavia, and part of it returned 

 again to Holland, and the butter was yet good. 



" Holland has long been celebrated for its fine 

 dairies, and the Highland Society of Scotland, 

 considering that the Scotch dairies might derive 

 some advantages from an acquaintance with the 

 management of those of Holland, offered a pre- 

 mium for the best report upon that subject, found- 

 ed upon personal observation. The premium 

 was, in 1833, awarded to John Mitchell, whose 

 report, filled with interesting facts and details, is 

 published in the Transactions of the Highland 

 Society for that year. In the quotations from the 

 London Journal, the superior qualities and higher 

 market value of Dutch butter was referred to. 

 Some idea of the dairy produce of Holland may 

 be gained by considering that, in addition to the 

 home consumption of a populous country, and 

 the vast quantities sent to other parts of the 

 world, England imported in 1830 no less than 

 116,233 cwt. of Dutch butter, and 167,917 cv/t. 

 of Dutch cheese. 



"The pastures in Holland, as is generally 

 known, have been reclaimed from the ocean, the 

 waters of which are kept off by artificial em- 

 bankments. The lands, of course, lie very low 

 and flat, and as the water in the numerous ca- 

 nals is always near the top, the soil must be 

 moist. The ground is seldom broken up with 

 the plough, but is kept in good condition by top 

 dressings, consisting chiefly of the solid and 

 especially the liquid manures collected in the 



cow-houses, mixed with the scrapings of the 

 small canals. The first year after such dressing 

 the land is generally mown for hay. 



" The Hollanders make careful selections of 

 their cows for their dairy, the price of good ones 

 being usually from $40 to $45 — they are gen- 

 erally fattened and turned off to the butcher at 

 eight years old, and the bulls at four or five. — 

 The cows are turned to pasture in March or 

 April, and are at first covered with a very thick 

 cloth of tow, covering the upper half of the 

 body from the shoulders to the tail, to prevent 

 disease from cold. They are pastured about 

 thirty w T eeks. Hay is their common food in 

 winter, though rape-cake and brewer's grains 

 are sometimes added. The byers or cow-houses 

 are generally lofty, airy, paved with large square 

 bricks, and kept perfectly clean. The roof is 

 about ten feet high. There are no racks or 

 mangers, but the food placed in gutters, always 

 clean, near their heads. Gutters in the rear 

 serve to carry off the urine and dung, and these 

 gutters are also kept clean. 



" The cows are always milked by the men, 

 and the butter and cheese made by the women, 

 generally of the family. Ninety cows are ma- 

 naged by nine men and two women. There is 

 generally one man required to ten cows; while 

 two women are considered enough for any dai- 

 ry ; the farmer reckons that he can make one 

 hundred guilders, about forty dollars per annum, 

 by each cow. 



" There are three distinct kinds of butter made 

 in Holland : grass butter, made when the cows 

 are at grass; whey butter, from the whey of 

 sweet milk cheese ; and hay butter^ made in 

 winter. 



" Grass Butter. — The cows being carefully 

 milked to the last drop, the pitchers containing 

 the milk are put into the Kcelbok, or coolers.—- 

 When the cream has been gathered and is 

 soured, and if there is a sufficient quantity from 

 the number of cows, they churn every twenty- 

 four hours, the churn being half filled with the 

 soured cream. A little boiled warm water is 

 added in winter to give the whole a proper de- 

 gree of heat, and in very warm weather the 

 milk is first cooled in the Kcelbok. In small 

 dairies the milk is sometimes churned, when 

 soured, without separating the cream. The 

 butter, immediately after being taken out of the 

 churn, is put into a shallow tub. called a v'foot, 

 and carefully washed with pure cold water. It 

 is then worked with a slight sprinkling of fine 

 salt, whether for immediate use or the barrel. — ■ 

 When the cows have been three weeks at grass, 

 the butter is delicious, is made in fanciful shapes 

 of lambs, stuck with flowers of the polyanthus, 

 etc., and sell as high as 44 stivers, 70 to 80 

 cents, the 17| oz. or Dutch pound. If intended 

 for barrelling, the butter is worked up twice or 

 thrice a day, with soft, fine salt, for three days 



