THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



23 



and then passed into the true stomach. But 

 if in the first instance the hay be well cut up 

 or the food be finely divided, the whole passes 

 at once into the proper stomach, and the wear 

 and tear dependant upon the ruminating pro- 

 cess is entirely saved. Such is the effect of a 

 straw cutter and a potato chopper. 



A MODE OF PRESERVING BUTTER. 



The great difference between the butter in 

 the Richmond and the Philadelphia markets 

 consists chiefly in the better working of the 

 latter. With all butter as it comes from the 

 churn is incorporated a certain proportion of 

 water and curd. The pure oil is incorruptible j 

 and if excluded from the air would keep for- 

 ever: but the impurities united with it vitiate 

 the taste of pure butter at first, and by their 

 speedy decomposition convert the marrowy 

 mass into the rank compound that perfumes 

 our market house and our groceries. The 

 good butter-maker expels these impurities by 

 beating, and the rottenness which so frequently 

 disgraces the butter of Virginia is attributable 

 only to ignorance or laziness. For those in- 

 fected with the latter quality Dr. Thompson 

 recommends an operation similar to that by 

 which we purify our lard. He says: 



"The cause of the tainting of fresh 

 butler depends upon the presence of the 

 small quantity of curd and water as ex- 

 hibited by the preceding analysis. To 

 render butter capable of being kept for 

 any length of time in a fresh condition, 

 that is, as a pure solid oil, all that is ne- 

 cessary is to boil it in a pan till the water 

 is removed, which is marked by the ces- 

 sation of violent ebullition. By allowing 

 the liquid oil to stand for a little the curd 

 subsides, and the oil may then be poured 

 off, or it may be strained through calico 

 or muslin, into a bottle, and corked up. — 

 When it is to be used it may be gently 

 heated and poured out of the bottle, or 

 cut out by means of a knife or cheese 

 gouge. This is the usual method of pre- 

 serving butter in India, (ghee,) and also 

 on the Continent ; and it is rather re- 

 markable that it is not in general use in 

 this country. Bottled butter will thus 

 keep for any length of time, and is the best 

 form of this substance to use for sauces." 



THE PROPER MODE OF CURING HAY. 



Upon this subject Dr. Thompson makes 

 some very valuable remarks. We will en- 

 deavor to condense them: 



" It should be an object with the farmer 

 to cut grass for the purpose of haymaking 

 at that period when the largest amount of 

 matter soluble in water is contained in it. 

 This is assuredly at an earlier period of 

 its growth than when it has shot into 

 seed, for it is then that woody matter pre- 

 dominates ; a substance totally insoluble 

 in water, and therefore, less calculated to 

 serve as food to animals than substances 

 capable of assuming a soluble condition. 

 This is the first point for consideration in 

 the production of hay, since it ought to 

 be the object of the farmer to preserve the 

 hay for winter use in the condition most 

 resembling the grass in its highest state 

 of perfection. The second consideration 

 in haymaking is to dry the grass under 

 such circumstances as to retain the solu- 

 ble portion in perfect integrity. 



"The great cause of the deterioration 

 of hay is the water which may be pre- 

 sent, either from the incomplete removal 

 of the natural amount of water in the 

 grass by drying, or by the absorption of 

 this fluid from the atmosphere. Water, 

 when existing in hay from eit her of these 

 sources will induce fermentation, a process 

 by which one of the most important con- 

 stituents of the grass, — viz: sugar — will 

 be destroyed. 



11 The quantity of water or volatile mat- 

 ter capable of being removed from hay at 

 the temperature of boiling water varies 

 considerably. The amount of variation 

 during the present experiments was from 

 twenty to fourteen per cent. Tf the lower 

 per centage could be attained at once by 

 simple drying in the sun, the process of 

 haymaking would probably admit of little 

 improvement ; but the best new-made hay 

 that we have examined contained more 

 than this amount of water, the numbers 

 obtained verging towards twenty per cent. 

 When it contains as much as this it is 

 very liable to ferment, especially if it 

 should happen to be moistened by any 

 accidental approach of water. The only 



