84 
Recent Imj)rovements in Dairy Practice. 
tlie land produces a large quantity of milk the grass is of far 
more value than the hay. 
Others, again, have adopted the plan of preserving a few acres, 
of aftermath (after being fed once) till the spring ; the young 
grass is thus drawn up by the shelter which the old affords, and 
conscfjuently comes to feed earlier than it Avould otherwise do. 
This feed is valuable for turning out the cows by day ; it thus 
both lessens the consumption of hay and increases the yield of 
milk. Among my acquaintance the farmer who realises the 
largest amount of profit per cow, lives in Leicestershire, and 
makes both butter and cheese. His farm is a loamy soil, not 
much affected by drought or wet, so that it is generally in a grow- 
ing state throughout the summer. He keeps only cows and young 
stock. The cows have the first feed of every field, the heifers 
following them in the round of the farm. A man brings up the 
rear to clean up the droppings, so that the field is clean and fresh 
for the cows on their next round. 
The building of houses and yards for the accommodation of 
the cow has not a little tended to an increase of produce, inas- 
much as it has enabled us to keep the stock off the land during 
the winter months. The grass consequently grows earlier in the 
spring, and enables us to mow earlier, so as to secure a better 
feed on the aftergrass. The introduction of artificial manures 
has rendered us great assistance, especially for the arable lands, 
although the pasture likewise feels the effects of the change. 
Bones have been used on the pasture, but not to such an extent 
nor with such success as in Cheshire. Besides all this, nearly 
all the wet lands have been drained, and the wide and useless 
hedgerows grubbed up, so that our atmosphere has become 
dryer and more healthy. Nature has lent a helping hand, and we 
have in consequence a longer summer and a shorter winter. A 
large quantity of cheese is made from some of the hills which 
formerly only fed a few half-starved sheep and cattle. Some of 
these improvements may seem to be of small importance to the 
casual reader ; but when carried out through a whole district, as 
in this county, the effect is great, and these, 1 believe, are the 
chief causes which have led to the dairy produce of this county 
being increased, within a few years, 25 per cent. 
Reduction of Labour in the Manufacture. 
Under this head, speaking first of butter, I may state that the 
improvements are not so great either in the mode of making, 
the utensils employed, or the reduction of labour, as in the case 
of cheese, because two very simple processes only are required 
to accomplish the object, namely, " churning " and " working." 
Churning is a simple process of agitation, and whether it be 
