152 
DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 
the country dialect Zieger kraut (curd herb), is the Melilotus officinalis , 
which is very common in most countries, and has a peculiar aromatic 
flavor in the mountains of Switzerland. The paste thus produced is 
pressed into moulds of the shape of a common flower-pot, and the pu- 
trefaction being stopped by the aromatic herb, it dries into a solid mass, 
which keeps unchanged for any length of time. When used, it is rasped 
or scraped, and the powder, mixed with fresh butter, is spread upon 
bread. It is either much relished or much disliked, like all those sub- 
stances which have a peculiar taste and smell. 
When a cheese which has been much salted and kept very dry is 
washed several times in soft water, and then laid in a cloth moistened 
with wine or vinegar, it gradually loses its saltness, and from being hard 
and dry, becomes soft and mellow, provided it be a rich cheese. This 
simple method of improving cheese is worth knowing. It is generally 
practiced in Switzerland, where cheeses are kept stored for many years, 
and if they were not very salt and dry they would soon be the prey of 
worms and mites. A dry Stilton cheese may thus be much improved. 
The Lactometer. — This instrument is designed to test the cream qual- 
ities of milk. Pour the milk into the tubes, and the cream, when risen, 
will show how rich the milk is. The depth of cream will be shown by 
the figures on the tubes. By the lactometer the difference in the 
quality of the milk of different cows may be readily ascertained. 
The qualities of cream vary much in the different breeds, depending 
on the modes of management, as well as the food. Thus, in some 
experiments made, it required twelve quarts from a short-horn cow to 
produce one pound of butter — something like a day’s supply of milk ; 
while nine and a half quarts of an Ayrshire cow’s would give the same 
quantity; but it is often very variable in the same animal at different 
periods, and different animals of the same breed will produce very- 
different results both in cream and butter. 
Profits of the Cow. — Our first illustration is from Mr. Thomas Tufts, of 
Le Roy, Genesee county, N. Y. On the 1st of November, 1838, he 
says: “I have a cow six years old last spring. On the 29th of May she 
brought a calf ; and on the 21th of June I took from her at three milk- 
ings, morning, noon, and night, of one day, thirty-one and a half quarts 
of good rich measured milk, which was not more than an average for 
the whole month. The last week in July, I found that her milk failed 
a little, and being some trouble, I stopped milking her three times a 
a day. On the last day of July, at two milkings, twenty-four quarts; 
on the last day of August, twenty-one and a half quarts ; on the last 
day of September, eighteen quarts; and on the 31st day of October, I 
took from her fifteen quarts. She had no feed but that of common 
pasture, in which, however, was plenty of good water and shade, from 
the first of June till the last of September, and lodged at night in the 
barn-yard. On the 1st of October she was turned into a mowing-field; 
and during the last week in that month was fed once a day on hay, and 
twice a day on ruta-baga tops.” 
In July, 1845, a writer in the Agriculturist says : “ I have a cow that 
calved about the middle of January, and is now eleven years old. The 
calf I fattened in the following manner : the first week I gave it one 
