58 
Ii-ish Agriculture. 
a river ; and if in a pond, they pollute it to such an extent that 
the water oftentimes becomes dangerously putrid. If the cows 
were kept in the house during the heat of the day, and fed on 
green food, or even allowed the shelter of a shed in their pasture- 
field, this waste and pollution would be prevented, and their yield 
of milk would be increased. 
In winter, straw is given for the first few months, and then 
clover hay, and finally, "upland," or natural meadow hay. A 
few turnips or mangolds are given to those in milk. Some farmers 
also give bran and ground oats in addition to, or in place of the 
roots. Now that both cattle and dairy produce are so valuable, 
prudent farmers will probably be induced to feed more liberally, 
using oilcake and other artificial feeding stuffs far more extensively 
than they have hitherto done, more especially when the breadth of 
land under cultivation is so circumscribed as it is at present. 
Furze is much used in different parts of Ireland as food for 
cows, young cattle, and horses during winter. It is extensively 
grown in the county of Cork for that purpose, and Mr. George 
Bolster, an intelligent farmer in that county, states that he had 
much difficulty in keeping his cows through the winter on hay, 
pasture, turnips, &c., but since he has cultivated furze he has 
been able to increase his stock and have them in good condition. 
With the aid of furze he fed 40 cows and 8 horses at much less 
expense than a smaller number on the usual food, and much more 
profitably. The furze is given ad libitum after having been put 
several times through a straw-cutter, or, better still, through one 
of "Walsh's Furze Bruisers," specimens of which have been exhi- 
bited at various shows of the Royal Agricultural Society of 
England by Messrs. M'Kenzie and Sons, Dublin. When cows in 
milk during the winter season are fed on bruised furze, the milk 
thev vield is rich in cream, and the butter is of a fine natural 
colour, quite different from the butter produced from cows fed 
on turnips. 
The annual yield of milk from each cow is estimated at from 
500 to 700 gallons, varying according to the breed of the cows 
as well as their feeding. From 12 to 14 quarts »of milk 
produce one pound of butter. When there is no ready market 
lor new milk it is sold at 5i^. per gallon. This does not include 
delivery. j\Ir. Newnham, who has established a condensed milk 
and cheese factory at Mallow, Co. Cork, pays about GJrf. per 
gallon for new milk, delivered at his place. 
In large dairies the barrel churn is invariably used, worked by 
power, and in smaller dairies, by hand. Where only a few cows 
are kept, the plunge churn is employed, and the cream .only 
is churned. The butter is packed into woodon-hoopcd oak 
vessels, named firkins, each containing about 70 lbs. In the 
