552 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ December 18, 18S(J.' 
produce is very far below this was shown by the fact that at the 
present time foreign cheese and butter realised 25s. per cwt. more 
than home produce in our markets. The dealers assert positively 
that no dependance can be placed upon English butter, for it is 
never two weeks alike and its keeping qualities are very low. 
With us the fault is a want of thoroughness or a clinging to rule 
of thumb, and slowness to obtain that thorough dairy education 
"which is now possible. As the County Council meeting at 
Eeicester saw their way to voting £300 for agricultural education 
there can be no reason why similar aid should not be forthcoming 
generally, and it will be if asked for. 
Turning to cows, it was well laid down that the milk of 
each cow should be subject to a frequent test, as it is quite 
certain very many cows are not worth the food they eat. If 
a cow does not give more than 500 gallons she is not worth 
keeping. We put it plainly to home farmers. Do you apply any 
sort of test as to the quantity or quality of milk of individual 
cows ? Hardly ever do we see a herd of cows without inferior 
animals greatly predominating, and yet they cost just as much 
to keep as the good ones. Only a few hours before sitting 
down to write this paper we watched a herd of Leicestershire cows 
toeing foddered out on an open pasture, with a bitter east wind 
blowing fine hard snow across the pasture ; a small quantity of hay 
was thrown about the pasture out of a cart, each cow not getting 
more than a few handfuls, as the farmer wished to compel them to 
cat down the old fog left upon the pasture, and remember this 
foddering at midday had to suffice for the whole twenty-four 
hours. Well, the cost of food was reduced to a minimum there, 
and we suspect the returns were very much in proportion to it. 
The owner of the herd milks twenty-five of them, and he would 
certainly find it more profitable to reduce the number of his cows 
by half, to adopt a more liberal dietary, and an altogether more 
humane method of treatment. 
The importance of cleanliness in every way was fully entered 
into by Mr. ISTuttall, and he also laid stress upon the kindly treat¬ 
ment and thorough milking of the cows, the last of the milk in 
the udder always being the richest. He recommends the use of 
glass test tubes in all dairies; but for large dairies we strongly advise 
the use of the Victoria milk tester which we recently described } 
as being altogether more reliable and sure. In describing his own 
process he explained that he allowed the cream to ripen for about 
thirty-six hours, and put 1 lb. of salt to every 10 lbs. of cream. 
That quantity of cream which unripened would yield 8 lbs. of 
butter would, if properly ripened, yield 9 lbs. It was impossible 
to get rid of the caseine until the cream had time to ripen, and 
butter will never keep well if the caseine is not got rid of. He 
•explained that this use of salt in the cream did nothing but good 
and did not affect the freshness of the butter, as all the salt was 
taken away in the buttermilk and caseine. To keep butter well 
not only must the whole of the caseine be removed from it, but 
no salt be put into it. This refers more especially to butter not 
intended to be used at once, or in a few days after it is made. It 
is put down in pans or jars, and salt water placed over it and 
■changed once a fortnight. When the butter is taken out for use 
salting is done by using a brine consisting of 2 lbs. of salt to a 
gallon of water. 
Much stress was laid upon the churning. The churn should be 
cleansed first with cold, then with hot, water the day before using 
■using salt for the scouring instead of soda, which ought never to be 
used for a churn. The butter should be churned at 54°, and then 
allowed to rise to G5°. The churn should not be turned at a great 
speed, thirty-five times per minute being a safe rate of speed. If 
the churn was without dashes it might be turned forty-five or fifty 
times per minute. Mr. Nuttall asserted that he had butter made 
twelve months since, and it was as good now as it was when he put 
it down, as it had no caseine in it, and nothing could attack pure 
butter fat. 
The sum and substance of the lecture was really systematic 
practice based upon the teachings of science. The entire work of 
butter making is purely mechanical, and strict attention has only to 
be given to the necessary points and to thorough cleanliness to 
ensure butter of uniform excellence. Where this is not striven for 
in the right way it is far better not to attempt butter making at all, 
but rather to dispose of the milk to a factory or dealer, and so 
avoid the certain loss of attempting to sell inferior butter. We do 
not advise such a course, but would rather urge upon every dairy 
farmer the importance of better practice, and of being satisfied 
with nothing short of butter of the highest quality always. 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
Now that the cows are settled down in the yards for the winter 
especial attention must be given to keeping up the quality of the dairy 
produce for the house, that being an especial test of good management 
for the next two or three months. With nothing but “ stale ” cows the 
difficulty is much increased, but with a cow calving every fortnight it 
becomes comparatively an easy matter to have plenty of good butter. 
We avoid artificial colouring altogether, and always regard with a 
suspicious eje fresh butter in midwinter with the rich golden colour of 
midsummer butter. The latter is natural, the former is artificial, and 
does not please the eye for that reason. Butter pure and unsophisticated 
at this season of the year is of pale colour even from Jerseys, but is 
nevertheless very palatable. With plenty of the best hay as the chief 
thing, and some bran, Carrots, and Cattle Cabbage, pure water, and access 
to rock salt, there can be no taint in the milk from the food. See that 
no cow with a morbid appetite has access to foul stable litter, of which 
it may partake greedily, and so spoil its own milk and that of any other 
cow mixed with it. Next to careful feeding and cleaning of cow 
houses comes cleanliness in milking. Clean hands are just as important 
asiclean pails, and we not only take care to provide the milkers with 
means of washing in the cow-house, but see that they use them. It 
requires a little time to get men into habits of thorough cleanliness, but 
once acquired the habit of washing before milking clings to them. 
Calves are now taken altogether from the cow after the first day, 
and are fed with milk from a stale cow, as the fresh cow’s milk cannot 
be spared. The calves have very snug quarters in a separate compart¬ 
ment, with good light and ventilation, but quite closed. Older calves 
are also kept altogether, shut in for the winter, and are well fed upon 
a mixed dietary of chaff, crushed oats, bran, and a little of the compound 
Waterloo round cake with milk, according to the age of the calves. 
Such a dieting is ample, and care is taken not to overdo it. Our aim is 
to promote free growth and lusty condition without forcing the young 
stock on so fast as to incur any risk of loss from black leg. We find our 
care well repaid by the healthy, thriving condition of the stock, and 
very rare indeed is it that any sickness or loss occurs among them. 
Where young stock have not such care, and are left out on pasture 
exposed to the weather, with just a bit of hay once a day, how fre¬ 
quently during winter does one hear of another stirk being bad, and 
then of its speedy death. The wonder is how invariably this goes on 
every winter on Midland pastures, without any effort at a radical change 
in winter management. 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
ftoots for Exhibition (//.A. IF).—We have received your letter. 
The requisite information cannot very well be compressed into the form 
of a brief reply. Rich deep soil with liquid manure and heavy 
manurial mulchings in summer are the chief essentials to success. 
The subject shall have further attention. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
CAMDEN SQUARE, LONDON. 
Lat. 51° 32' 40" N.; Long. 0° 8' 0" W.; Altitude, 111 feet. 
DATE. 
9 AM. 
IN THE DAT. 
3 
*3 
1890. 
December. 
2 03 -e « 
03 Jr? rW 
Hygrome¬ 
ter. 
0 . 
J3 a 
Qo 
a s° 
v oo-H 
H 
Shade Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
sun. 
On 
grass 
Sunday. 7 
Monday. 8 
Tuesday .... 9 
Wednesday.. 10 
Thursday.... 11 
Friday . 12 
Saturday .... 13 
Inches. 
30.142 
29.962 
30.071 
30.206 
30.198 
30.149 
30.135 
deg 
35.4 
33.6 
34.8 
29.1 
27.4 
25.0 
24.8 
deg. 
33.2 
31.1 
34.1 
29.0 
27.4 
24.8 
24.8 
E. 
S E. 
N.E. 
N.E. 
N.E. 1 
N.E. 
N.E. 
deg. 
38.9 
37.9 
87.8 
37.4 
37.0 
36.6 
36.0 
deg. 
33.1 
36.0 
;37.9 
33.7 
32.8 
32.9 
30.0 
deg. 
33.4 
32.6 
31.4 
27.2 
22.9 
22.3 
21.9 
deg. 
45.8 
37.3 
39.8 
42.6 
32.2 
41.9 
80.0 
deg. 
28.1 
26.3 
25.2 
23.7 
24.0 
17.7 
16.3 
In. 
80.123 ( 30.0 
29.2 | 37.4 34.5 
27.4 
38.5 23.0 | — 
REMARKS. 
7th.—Fair, with a little sun in afternoon, 
sth.—A sprinkle of snow early ; fair day. 
9th—Overcast day ; misty evening. 
10th.—Fog early ; sun shining through slight fog from 10 A.M. till 3 P.M.; fog again in 
evening. 
11th.—Fog till about 11 A.M., then clear, but slightly foggy all day. 
12 th.—Slight fog early; bright sunshine from 11 am. ; fair afternoon and evening. 
13th.—Fog early ; bright sunshine from It A.M.; clear evening and night. 
A very cold week, temperature quite 12° below the average. No rain or snow. 
-G. J. SYMONS. 
