208 
AMERICAN AGrRICULTURIST. 
[JUTTE, 
salt bearing this brand, and it can lye used only 
■with extreme caution. Pure salt must be per- 
fectly white, odorless, and free from bitterness; 
it must dissolve in cold water without leaving 
any sediment or making a froth or scum, and 
the brine should be as limpid as pure spring wa- 
ter, and possess no taste but that of saltness. A 
little dry salt laid upon paper should remain ap- 
parently dry in the ordinary living rooms of a 
family. The best Liverpool Salt will stand these 
tests, of which "Ashton's Factory Filled" has 
the highest fame and price, but is probably no 
better than other good brands. Butter ought 
never to be made in a hurry. Deliberation 
enough to have every thing just right is the sal- 
vation of many a churning. Taking the tem- 
perature of the cream by a thermometer is 
poohed at by many good butter makers, but it 
is best for most people to have no guess-work, 
and to see that the cream has a temperature of 
62°, or a little higher, but not 65°. The heat 
increases during churning, and by the time the 
butler comes is usually high enough (between 
66° and 70°) to promote the gathering of the 
butter; otherwise, — that is, if the butter is hard 
and granular, — the addition of a little warm wa- 
ter dashed in while churning will effect the object. 
Risk attends the common practice of half work- 
ing butter, oversalting, and setting it aside to be 
thoroughly worked the next day. Parts of the 
butter are likely to whiten, and no amount of 
working will then prevent a streak} - , marbled 
look before the butter is spoiled by being over- 
worked. The buttermilk ought to be almost all 
worked out, the butter salted, and, after stand- 
ing a short lime, worked again. This secures 
a uniform salting, and though the butter will 
need working the next day, it will never be 
found streaked. Buttermilk contains some 
cream and casein in solution. Simple working 
causes the removal of these substances with the 
buttermilk. Washing removes all very com- 
pletely, but also abstracts a notable part of the 
flavor. Salt aids greatly in the removal of the 
buttermilk, that is, water ; but the most import- 
ant part of the buttermilk, the casein, is chiefly 
left behind. Therefore, to make butter which 
will be of fine flavor, and will keep, it is usually 
necessary to wash it after working out most of 
the buttermilk, — the butter-maker realizing that 
the use of water is an undesirable necessity. 
After this, it may be salted, and after standing, 
worked. Most of the water being removed, it 
is re-salted if necessary, and left with only salt 
enough to make a strong brine with the little 
water that remains. There is alw T ays room for 
the exercise of great discretion in working just 
enough, in washing, and salting, and stopping. 
Fine butter is truly a work of consummate art. 
Experiments in Feeding 1 Cotswold- Merino 
Sheep. 
Dr. M. Miles, Professor of Agriculture in the 
Mich. Agricultural College, has made some ex- 
periments in feeding sheep with clover and 
Timothy hay, Swede turnips, and Indian corn. 
On the 2d of November, 1867, eight grade 
Cotswold lambs, the produce of a thoroughbred 
Cotswold ram and common Merino ewe, were 
placed in four pens, two in each pen. The 
sheep in all the pens were allowed all the 
clover-Timothy hay they would eat. It was 
cut into chaff, weighed out to the sheep, and 
any that they did not eat was taken out of the 
troughs, weighed, and deducted. In addition 
to this food, Pens 1 and 2 had sliced Swede 
turnips and corn, Pen 3 had nothing but corn 
and hay, andPeu4,sliced Swede turnips and hay. 
"When the experiment commenced, (Nov. 2) 
the sheep were from o'\i to G'| 2 months old, and 
averaged S6 pounds each. This in itself is an 
interesting fact. It shows how easily we can 
supply any demand that may exist for good 
lambs or good mutton. All we have to do is 
to use a thoroughbred ram of some of the mut- 
ton breeds of sheep. The experiment lasted 
thirty weeks. The average weight of the sheep 
at the commencement of the experiment and at 
the conclusion was as follows : 
Description 
of food. 
Average 
ic eight 
of Sheep 
Xm>. 2. 
Average 
weight 
of Sheep 
may 29 
Gain of 1 
each 
Sheep in Gain 
30 w eeks. [per week. 
Pent. 
( Corn, Hay, 
f anil Boots. 
S7X lbs. 
95 lbs. 
7K lbs. 
0.2-1 
Pen 2. 
J Coin. Hav, 
I and Koot's. 
S4 " 
U8« " 
34;; " 
1.15 
Pen 3. 
i Corn and 
1 Hav. 
SH'A " 
135X " 
49K " 
1.64 
Pen 4. 
( Routs and 
i Hay. 
S4X " 
U9M " 
14X » 
0.49 
One of the objects of the experiment doubt- 
less was to ascertain the feeding value of roots 
as compared with corn. Taking the results as 
they stand above, there would seem to be little 
advantage in feeding roots in this climate. The 
sheqj) with corn and bay alone gained half a 
pound a week more than those with corn, hay, 
and roots. The explanation of this fact is sim- 
ply this. The sheep in Pen 2 were restricted to 
a quantity of roots and corn supposed to be 
equal in nutriment to the amount of corn fed to 
Pen 3. The result shows that the value of roots 
was not equal to the estimate. So far, so good. 
It remains to ascertain the value of roots when 
fed in addition to a full allowance of grain. If 
Pen 2 had received as much corn as Pen 3, and 
all the roots and hay they would eat in addi- 
tion, we should probably have had different 
results. The point in feeding is, to get animals 
to eat and digest as much food as possible. 
The sheep were weighed each week, and we 
can therefore compare the results at different 
periods. Dividing the experiment into three 
periods, of ten weeks each, we have the follow- 
ing interesting results: 
Food consumed per Juad ver week during the 1st 10 weeks. 
0? 
1 
Hoots. 
Corn 
Average 
Total ireight of 
food Sheep (it 
Kay}, cont'd, com. exp'l. 
Weight] 
at end 
of 
10 uks.'.Gain. 
6 
1 
a 
3 
4 
ISlbs. 
13X " 
2.VK " 
2 lhs.l 9 n».|24 lbs. 
W 10Jf«'lSJ( ' 
9>5 -85 " 
R7X lbs. 
MX " 
56 'i " 
SIX " 
54 If lbs. 
S6X " 
95 " 
SOX " 
1 3X 
iwn»s 
s;.; " 
4 
2d 10 weeks. 
1 
2 
3 
4 
MJilhs. 
19 " 
36^" 
8 35 
2S-5 
CM 
6JS tbs 
14K " 
Hi " 
12K" 
28 lbs. 
S6% " 
)8« " 
84(4 Jbs. 
WSJ* " 
9"> •' 
SOX " 
89^ lbs 
ltn« " 
I14'< " 
97 " 
5 lbs. 
19 " 
19!," " 
ic;< ■• 
3d 10 weeks. 
i lanolin. 
2 26X " 
3 
4 \l'H " 
3fi ros 
ft: 
5X ms 
ii«" 
HX " 
23 " 
48)< " 
M>ij lbs. 
105K " 
114* " 
97 
95 lb6.|5X"» 
11S'< •• 13>< " 
I35X •■ teix " 
99Ji " 2',-" 
During the first ten weeks, the only sheep 
that did well were those in Pen 3, which were 
allowed 2'|j lbs. of corn a week extra instead 
of 13 lbs. of roots. They also ate a little more 
hay. Years ago, John Johnston gave it as his 
opinion that, in wintering sheep on straw and 
corn, or oil-cake, the sheep would eat as much 
or more straw when allowed grain than when fed 
on straw alone. During the first ten weeks, it 
is evident that, with the exception of Pen 3, the 
sheep scarcely ate food enough to sustain the 
vital functions, and consequently gained little 
or nothing, while some actually lost weight. 
During the next ten weeks, Pen 3 was allowed 
more corn, and the sheep also ate more hay, 
and consequently gained rapidly — nearly 2 lbs. 
per head per week. In Pen 2 the sheep also 
ate more than they did during the first ten 
weeks, and they also gained rapidly. In Pen 1 
the sheep ate little and gained little — only l ! |j 
lbs. in twenty weeks. 
During the next ten weeks we have the same 
general result. Pen 3 had over 1 lb. of corn to 
each sheep a day, and probably this was all 
that they could digest, as the consumption of 
hay fell off a little. A few roots might have 
aided digestion, and given a greater gain. But, 
as it is, the gain is large — over 2 lbs. per week. 
In explanation of the fact that Pen 1 did not 
gain as much as Pen 2, though both had the 
same allowance of food, Professor Miles states 
that one of the sheep did not do well, and ac- 
tually lost 20 lbs. in weight during the experi- 
ment. Even this fact is not without interest. 
It shows that farmers should not only provide 
their fattening animals with abundance of food, 
but that they should also secure animals that 
will eat it, and the best way to secure this is to 
breed from stock that has never been starved. 
Working Bulls. 
As we keep our bulls in this country, there is 
a vast amount of power that runs to waste 
which would be very willingly laid out. We 
might severely tax the strength and endurance 
of any bull, not otherwise overworked, and he 
would be the better for it— a surer stock-getter, 
and a sire of finer animals; and besides, which is 
after all the greatest advantage, we should thus 
be able to keep bulls until they are really aged. 
We need hardly argue the question, if a rea- 
sonable amount of labor is an advantage to 
the bull. It is a recognized fact, that a due 
amount of exercise is essential to the highest 
wellbeing of all animals, and especially those 
used for breeding. If this exercise be taken in 
hard labor, provided it be not excessive, the ex- 
perience of thousands of horse owners, and of 
many bull owners, in this and other lands, 
shows it to be entirely beneficial. The farmer, 
then, is doubly the gainer. He has the labor of 
the animal, and the bull is better for it. Few 
farmers keep more than one bull, and hence it is 
that they are not more in the habit of working 
them. A bull may be worked alone with a 
suitable harness in a cart or wagon, and before 
the plow, harrow, or stone-boat He is deliber- 
ate in his movements, but powerful, and a sin- 
gle bull will often do as much plowing as a pair 
of cattle. We have seen a bull turn a 12-inch 
furrow eight inches deep in sod with perfect 
ease, and walk as quickly as a " smart " pair of 
oxen. He must be put early in training, taught 
to be guided by lines attached to the nose ring, 
and put early at such labor as he can do. We 
do not place the bull or any of his kindred 
high in the scale of intelligence, but very high 
in a scale of animal3 with which habit becomes 
second nature. Cattle are not very easily taught, 
but when taught, may be relied upon. Bulls 
are usually dangerous, because so little exer- 
cised, and never fairly subjugated. To sub-jugate 
a bull, he must emphatically be brought tinder 
tlte yoke. There is a great difference in the dis- 
position of bulls, and while we advise no one 
under any circumstances to trust a bull beyond 
immediate control, we fully believe that nine- 
tenths of the young bulls in the country, if put 
to work, would be docile and useful, and might 
be kept for ten or fifteen years, greatly to the 
improvement of our stock. The animals in the 
engraving on our cover are from a photograph 
of "a pair of twins of Mr. J. P. Swain's high- 
blooded Jerseys, broken and driven with reins 
by his son. They are two-year-olds, very docile, 
aiid so near alike that few can tell them apart. 
