252 
QUERIES ON BUTTER-MAKING.-DOMESTIC FISH-PONDS.-NO. 3. 
gen , and that, among the inorganic manures, the 
most important are the alkalies and alkaline earths. 
I will now proceed to inquire whence the deficiency 
in these indispensable ingredients can be derived. 
It has already been shown that a large proportion 
of the requisite supply of nitrogen is obtained from 
the ammonia of the atmosphere. A part of the 
unavoidable want of the alkalies, and other inor¬ 
ganic ingredients, is derived from the same source. 
Liebig, when treating on this subject, remarks that, 
(l as thousands of tons of sea-water are annually 
evaporated into the atmosphere, a corresponding 
quantity of the salts dissolved in it, viz., of com¬ 
mon salt, chloride of potassium (a combination of 
chlorine and potash), magnesia, and the remain¬ 
ing constituents of sea-water, will be conveyed by 
wind to the land.” “ By the continued evapora¬ 
tion of the sea, its salts are spread over the whole 
face of the earth, and being subsequently carried 
down by the rain, furnish to the vegetation those 
salts necessary to its existence. This is the origin 
of the salts found in the ashes of plants, in those 
cases in which the soil could not have yielded 
them” —p. 166.* 
An attentive consideration of the foregoing sug¬ 
gestions will show the importance of serving and 
applying not only the alkalies and alkaline earths, 
but also stable and other manures, in which more 
or less nitrogen is contained. These are ingre¬ 
dients essentially necessary to all growing crops, 
and which are furnished the most sparingly by a 
bountiful Providence, and hence the necessity for 
the care and industry of man, not only to preserve 
those which are supplied by nature, but to collect 
and apply those which are placed within his 
reach. This is a subject of too much importance 
to be passed over lightly, and as this article is 
already sufficiently extended, I must postpone any 
further remarks upon it for the present. 
Prospect Hill , Ky.,June> 1846. A. Beatty. 
QUERIES ON BUTTER-MAKING. 
Having never met with any plain practical 
directions for churning, or separating the butter 
from milk, I have taken the liberty to call upon 
you for information. The time occupied by this 
process frequently varies very much—say from half 
an hour to two hours ; and when we consider that 
during summer it has to be performed daily, a pro¬ 
per acquaintance with the principles on which the 
operation depends, is of material consequence to the 
farmer, and no doubt in this age of improvement, 
the information could easily be imparted by some 
of your more scientific correspondents. 
The variety of opinions published from time to 
time, so far as I have seen, fall short of a correct 
system. Information on the following points seems 
to me to be particularly desirable :— 
1. Should the entire milk be churned, or only 
the cream ? 
* According to Marcet, sea-water contains chloride 
of sodium, sulphate of soda, chloride of potassium, 
chloride of magnesium, and sulphate of lime. These 
are the most important ingredients among the inor¬ 
ganic manures , and amount to about 40-1000 parts of 
eea-water. (See note, p. 166.) 
2. Should whatever is churned be sweet or sour ? 
3. Is there any point of rancidity at which the 
butter separates more readily ? 
4. By what means is such a point ascertained ? 
5. Is there any advantage to be derived in the 
use of salasratus when the butter is hard to come ? 
6. Will sour milk produce more butter than 
fresh ? 
7. What is the proper temperature for the pro¬ 
cess of churning ? 
8- How many revolutions per minute should the 
dash make, in a semicircular churn ? 
Answers to the above queries, with any other in¬ 
formation on the subject, will much oblige 
June 29, 1846. A Subscriber. 
Our correspondent will find many plain, practical 
directions on butter-making, in our back volumes, 
particularly inVol. l,p. 126; Yol. 2, p. 263 ; Yol. 
3, pp. 48 and 237; Yol. 4, pp. 234 and 320. 
Questions 1, 2, and 6, parties differ entirely in their 
practice, churning either milk or cream as is most 
convenient. Some contend that sour milk or cream, 
gives the most butter; others, equally practical, 
deny this, and say, that it makes no difference. 
Questions 3, 4, and 5, we cannot answer. Ques¬ 
tion 7. In New York the milk is churned at a tem¬ 
perature of 50 to 60 degrees; in England at 60 by 
horse or water power, and aq high as 68 by hand 
power. The reason for churning at a lower tem¬ 
perature by horse power is, that the motion is 
quicker and steadier than by hand. When the tem¬ 
perature is as low as 50 degrees, the butter is a long 
time coming; at 60 to 65 it comes very readily. 
Question 8. The dasher is generally moved at the 
rate of 60 to 75 revolutions per minute. We shall 
be obliged if any of our readers can reply to “ A 
Subscriber” more fully and exactly than we are 
able to do. 
DOMESTIC FISH-PONDS.—No. 3. 
Operations of Spawning and Hatching. —From 
careful examination made by those who have atten¬ 
tively studied the habit of oviparous fishes, the na¬ 
tural processes of spawning and hatching appear to 
be well understood; the hard roe of a fish being 
composed of a great number of small, roundish 
substances like little seeds, each of which is called 
an ovum or egg, and produces, when hatched, a 
fish. In some kinds of fish, these ova undergo a 
development, more or less complete, in the oviduct 
of the parent, while, in others, they are further 
perfected in water—although, in several in¬ 
stances, they seem far from being understood, 
and no description of the process has ever been 
attempted. 
The natural spawning-bed, of many species, it is 
now well ascertained is not made by the plowing 
of the fish’s nose, as has been asserted by some; 
but by the action of the tail of the female, 
throwing herself at intervals of a few minutes each, 
upon one side, and while in this position, by the 
rapid movement of the tail, she digs a hole in the 
gravel for the reception of her ova, a portion of 
which she therein deposits; and again turning on 
the side and covering them up by the renewed ac¬ 
tion of her tail,—thus alternately digging, deposit 
