180 
AMERICAN AGRICURTURIST. 
[Mat, 
quart glass jars or cans, put up upon the farm, and 
transported in that inconvenient and fragile form. 
This delivery of milk in sealed glass cans has 
already grown to be quite a feature in the milk busi¬ 
ness of New York and of some other cities—and it 
is a question whether consumers will submit to the 
additional expense involved for the sake of the secu¬ 
rity offered against adulteration and uncleanliness 
on the part of the dealers, and against the tempta¬ 
tion offered to servants to taken the cream off for 
their own table, or to drink part of the milk and fill 
up the vessel with water on the supposition that 
both the lack of cream and the thinness of the 
milk would be laid to the account of the milkman. 
It is easy to see what the solution of the problem 
will be. Families who can afford to pay 10 to 15 
cents a quart for milk, and 30 to 50 cents for cream, 
will have the privilege of doing so and getting what 
they pay for—pure milk of rich quality and pure 
cream, thick and high flavored at an expense not 
disproportionate to the outlay, pains, and care ne¬ 
cessary to deliver the articles to them. Just so it is, 
and has been, in regard to butter. The fact that a 
responsible party' vouches for every step in the pro¬ 
cess, and every mile of the way from the white 
clover and blue grass in Summer—and the sweet 
meadow hay and sugar-beets in winter, cropped 
and ruminated by healthy Jersey cows, through all 
the improved and well described pans and proceed¬ 
ings, until delivered safely and surely at the con¬ 
sumer’s door, makes people who can afford it will¬ 
ing to pay 40 cents for the butter and 60 for the 
vouching and the fancy package and the certain 
and free delivery. 
Other Products of the Farm. 
In flush times fresh eggs were in demand in New 
York ; during the winter common Western and bar¬ 
relled eggs sold at 30 to 36 cents a dozen at retail, 
and it was no uncommon thing to find one or two 
out of a dozen which were not above suspicion. 
At that time we had a quick market for all the eggs 
we could bring to town at 60 cents a dozen, and 
people seemed really delighted to get them at that 
price; they valued so highly the ability to eat 
eggs without a thought of caution. So it is with 
many other things, especially bacon and sausages. 
A friend of mine cures all his young side pork as 
bacon, taking out the ribs, dry salting and rubbing 
with sugar, and I believe pepper, at any rate with a 
recipe of his oum, and likely so to remain—smok¬ 
ing very mildly and putting up very neatly in 
muslin dipped in whitewash, and has a demand for 
it which he can hardly supply at nearly double the 
usual prices. The bacon really is excellent, and 
fries as crisp as pie crust, while still almost as 
white as snow, crisper than most bacon is when 
fried quite brown. 
Retailing: one’s own Cheese. 
At the Dairymen’s meetings at Utica, to which I 
have before alluded in these columns, I met a very 
plain, common sense man who described how he 
had worked up a home demand for his cheese. His 
statement was to this effect: He thought he could 
not afford to sell the product of his dairy at what 
other dairy cheese was bringing. (The readers of 
the American Agriculturist doubtless know that in 
the New York market, and throughout the country 
too, “ Dairy” butter and cheese means that made by 
individual farmers in distinction from “Factory” 
cheese and “Creamery ” butter made on the co-op¬ 
erative or factory plan.) The cheese was most con¬ 
scientiously and intelligently made, and more was 
sold as his which did not come up to the standard 
and do the maker credit. He marketed it himself 
at first among his friends and those to whom he 
was referred by them, gradually extending his cir¬ 
cle of regular customers and having a demand each 
year for an increased quantity from those whom he 
once supplied. The result is his entire crop is 
taken, and he holds, or even advances, his price in 
the face of the general depression in values. That 
it was no fancied superiority which his cheese had 
over the common run, was made manifest by the 
sample which he had with him, which was rich and 
high flavored and delicious, and of excellent tex¬ 
ture. Of course everybody can’t do this. Every¬ 
body can’t make such cheese. Very few can do it. 
Very few can make really “ gilt-edged ’’ butter. Yes, 
very few of those who think they do make it, and 
whose crying up of their own wares enables them 
to work off a few pounds of fair butterat gilt-edged 
prices, really know what the very best butter is. 
If they think they do, let them go into the market 
as buyers, and they will have the conceit taken out 
of them. The judgment of the open market is 
the taste of “the million,” and the voice of the 
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Fig. 1.— GROUND FLAN OF PART OF MR. SAMUEL J. SHARPLESS’ STABLES, 
people is pretty near right. If a man can not tell 
good butter and good cheese when he sees it, is it a 
wonder that he cannot make it ? We ought to have 
A Training- School for Butter and Cheese 
Makers. 
If one or two first rate buyers would give lessons 
to butter makers, simply in the art and mystery of 
knowing good butter and cheese when they are 
met with, I think the quality of our produce 
would be rapidly enhanced. Suppose twenty tubs 
of butter of all grades, oleomargarine included, and 
as many cheeses, were presented to the class for 
classification, each pupil being required to exam¬ 
ine and grade for himself first, and then to go 
through the lot after the samples are properly grad¬ 
ed by the master, according to the market, and 
train his own perceptions 
to detect the subtle dif¬ 
ferences, and, at first im¬ 
perceptible, excellencies. 
It seems to me such a class 
could easily be formed, 
I am sure 1 would like 
to join it and think that 
dairyfolks, men and wom¬ 
en, might very well spend 
a week or two in New 
York and pay SI for each 
lesson, and thus surely fit 
themselves to make better 
butter and cheese than ever before. With those 
who attended the class there would at least be one 
result. They would make a good deal less com¬ 
plaint of the commission dealer who is unable to 
get as high a price for their products as they think 
them worth. I verily believe that this project can 
be carried out if the Editors of the American Agri¬ 
culturist will consent to have the letters addressed 
to them, and invite correspondence on the subject. 
Stanchions for Milch Cows. 
It becomes us- all to submit with good grace to 
the inevitable; to meet without faltering that which 
we cannot escape, to yield, if possible, with a show 
of satisfaction to that which is stronger than we. 
So it is with cows in stanchions ; their philosophy 
is that of necessity, and they are happy in it. We 
think that we would be miserable, fastened thus by 
the head ; they are not. They 
are comfortable, cleanly, hap¬ 
py, if we can judge by their 
easy keeping, good yield of 
milk, aptitude to fatten, and 
their entire willingness to re¬ 
turn to their torture after hav¬ 
ing been mercifully relieved 
for an hour or two. Stan¬ 
chions are variously made: 
some are adapted to bruising 
the cow’s knees, which is 
cruel; others press too tight¬ 
ly upon their necks. “The 
merciful man is merciful to 
his beastand whether a man 
would be counted merciful or 
not, it is policy for him to 
practice making his animals as- 
comfortable as he can. The 
sills in which the stanchions 
are set must be low and thin. 
The edges of all parts brought 
in contact with the animal’s- 
neck, shoulders, or knees,, 
must be rounded and smooth. 
The floor must be nearly level,, 
so that cows will never slip- 
upon it. It is preferable to 
have each cow’s feeding- 
trough completely separated 
from those of her neighbors,, 
for then cows are not reaching 
after the feed which is not 
their own, and made uneasy 
by the sight of that of others, 
as is frequently the ease. 
We regard as an essential 
feature such length of floor 
must drop their dung into the 
In order to accomplish. 
4 / 10 11 
o 
that the cows 
liberal gutter behind them, 
this, as cows vary greatly in length, the floors of 
different stalls must vary. It is therefore both 
useful and comely that this variation be uniform, 
and a row of stalls is at one end adapted to large 
cows, and at the other to small ones. Thus all 
cows are accommodated. Some cows lie down in 
stanchions as if it were the easiest, most natural 
and comfortable thing you ever saw ; others look, 
thoroughly uncomfortable. It is hard to judge of. 
the comfort or discomfort experienced by our do¬ 
mestic animals. A cow will sometimes lie down 
in the pasture upon an angular stone, in a way that 
we should think would really hurt her, and not 
mind it at all—at least, hardly at all—not enough to 
get up and change her position. It is not necessary 
Fig. 2.— SECTION OF THE STABLES SHOWN IN FIGURE 1. 
to give ourselves up to imagining the discomforts- 
of cows who appear perfectly happy, live in good 
health, produce both calves and milk regularly and. 
abundantly, and die full of years and of honors, 
and of fragrant memories. Some months ago, in 
one of the articles entitled “ Among the Farm¬ 
ers,” allusion was made to 
Mr. Samuel J. Sharpless’ Cow Stable. 
He has kindly furnished us with drawings which. 
