TWO DOLLARS A YEAR.] 
PROGRESS AND IMPROVEMENT.’ 
[SINGLE NO. FIVE CENTS. 
VOL. IX. NO. U .i 
ROCHESTER, N. Y.,-SATURDAY, JUNE l? h 1858. 
WHOLE NO. AID, 
MOORE'S RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
AS ORIGINAL WEEKLY 
Agricultural, Literary and Family Newspaper* 
CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. MOORE, 
WITH AU ABLE CORPS OP ASSISTANT EDITORS. 
Tim Rural Nkw-Yorkkr is designed to be unsurpassed In 
Value, Purity, Usefulness and Variety of Contents, and unique and 
beautiful in Apiiearance. Its Conductor devotes his personal atten¬ 
tion to the supervision of its varions departments, and earnestly labors 
to render the Rural an eminently Reliable Guide od the important 
Practical. Scientific and other Subjects intimately connected with the 
business of those whoso interests it zealously advocates. It embraces 
more Agricultural, Horticultural, Scientific, Educational, Literary and 
News Matter, interspersed with appropriate and beautiful Engravings, 
than any other Journal,—rendering it the most complete AGKICUi.TU- 
ral Lite hart and Family Journal in America 
_ 
rr Ail communications, and business letters, should bo addressed 
to D. D. T. MOORE, Rochester, N. V. 
For Terms and other particulars, bco last page 
gAAWAU gjWJW ill AUVWW 
FACTS ABOUT MILK. 
The Best Temperature to Facilitate the 
Raising of Cream. —“Will cream rise on milk in 
a few hours in a room where the thermometer has 
low as 35 to 45 degrees, as is claimed by persons 
interested in the sale of Schooley’s Preservatory? 
Their philosophy is that the water of the milk is 
most dense at 39 or 40 degrees, and the cream be¬ 
ing lighter, will rise best when at that temperature.” 
This is one of three questions asked by a corres¬ 
pondent in Erie county, on which we shall endea- 
qor to throw a little light, and perhaps others may 
be disposed to continue the subject and draw in¬ 
teresting facts from their stores of experience.— 
Milk is composed of 4$ parts of caseine, or curd, 3 
hatter, 4j sugar, and 87 of water. The lower the 
temperature, of coarse the more dense the water 
composing so great a portion of the milk, until it 
reaches 39J degrees, at which point water begins 
to expand with the decrease of temperature. The 
cream, would, perhaps, rise more readily at about 
39 degrees than at any other temperature, was it 
not for the fact that the cream as well as the curd 
is made dense by the low temperature at which it 
is kept, in about the same ratio as the water, and 
perhaps greater. 
Every one of experience knows that very little 
cream will rise on milk kept at near the freezing 
point. This arises from the fact above mentioned 
that the water expands below 39.j while the cream 
and curd becomes more dense, so that at near 33° 
there is little difference in gravity between the 
cream and water. At 40° the cream will rise, but 
still more rapidly at 50°, and still more so, we judge 
from our own experience and observation, at 60° 
or 70°, or even 75 c . From this fact we argue that 
the oily matter expands by heat more rapidly 
than water, and of course condenses by cold 
in the same ratio. It does not follow, by any means, 
that it is best to keep milk at such a high tempera¬ 
ture, for the whole mass might become sour before 
all the cream would be separated and rise to the 
surface. By placing a pan of milk over a slow 
fire and gradually increasing the heat ufitil it 
reaches the boiling point, all the cream will rise 
to the surface in a few minutes. This would seem 
to prove that a high temperature is favorable to 
the separation. For practical purposes, we think 
a temperature of about 50° or 55° will be found the 
best 
The Philosophy of Churning.— The cream of 
milk is in the form of minute globules, the oily or 
buttery matter being covered with a thin coating 
of casein, something like the yolk of an egg. The 
object of churning is to break these globules, 
which it effects partly by the increase of the tem¬ 
perature, and partly by the agitation. During the 
operation of churning the heat generally rises from 
five to ten degrees. In cold weather it is some¬ 
times necessary to raise the temperature of the 
cream by pouring in hot water, or by some other 
means, and those who have had much experience 
in churning know from weary experience that it is 
impossible to make butter “ come ” with cold 
cream. The agitation is necessary, but the heat is 
indispensable to break the globules of cream and 
form butter. Where the cream is raised by pla 
cing milk over the fire, in the manner previously 
alluded to, the globules are broken by the heat 
alone, and the butter is formed without much 
churning. It can be finished or “gathered” in a 
few minutes in a wooden howl, with a ladle, or in 
the churn. Butter thus made is relished by many 
for present use, though apt to have an oily taste.— 
It is not made in this way in quantities or for pres¬ 
ervation, in thi3 country that we have learned. 
In Devonshire, England, where much bntter is 
made, and of very superior quality, a system some¬ 
what similar is practiced. As soon as the milking 
and skimming processes are over, the warm new 
milk is placed in a brass pan. A small quantity of 
cold water is placed in the pan, and here it stands 
in the day time for six boors, or at night till lhe 
following morning. It is then carefully placed 
near a slow fire, so as to he heated to a certain 
poin f , but not permitted to boil. It is a delicate 
matter to have a fire just brisk enough to prevent 
the milk from curdling in summer, and still not so 
hot as to cause it to heave or boil. A firm consis¬ 
tency on the surface, and a tough consolidated ap¬ 
pearance are the criterions usually depended upon 
for the proper amount of heat. When sufficiently 
scalded, the pan and its contents are removed to a 
cool place in summer, and covered over, until cool, 
with a woolen cloth in winter, when the cream is 
taken off. The churning may then either be per¬ 
formed at once, or delayed a day or two. The pro 
cess of churniag is very simple; the cream is 
placed in wooden howls, it is then briskly stirred 
by the hand, or by a “whisk” of peeled willows, 
until the buttermilk separates from the butter, 
which is usually effected in some ten minutes. 
We have never eaten butter made in this way 
that we thought first-rate, and always considered 
it injured by the heating. Butter, too, we think is 
injured in the same way by too rapid churning.— 
The fact that one churn will make butter in a 
shorter time than another is no evidence of its su¬ 
periority, as its rapid action may raise the temper¬ 
ature higher than is necessary or beneficial 
The proper temperature for cream when placed 
in the churn is about 55°, and this coolness it is 
difficult to obtain in the heat of summer, unless the 
churning is done very early in the morning, or the 
dairy house is unusually well adapted to the business. 
In skillful hands cold water is nseful, and every dairy 
farmer should have an ice-house where a constant 
supply of ice can be obtained for regulating the 
temperature of the milk. In winter warm water 
and a warm room can be made use of as desired.— 
The temperature of Schooley’s Preservatory can he 
regulated very easily, and we thiDk favorably 
of it We only designed to present a few factH on 
this subject, and have exceeded the space we pro¬ 
posed to occupy. It is, however, an interesting 
subject, and we would like the opinions of experi¬ 
enced dairymen. 
THE PROGRESS OF ENGLISH AGRICULTURE. 
The April number of the London Quarterly Re- 
vitto contains an essay upon the subject indicated 
by our title, the perusal of which has given us so 
much pleasure that we fain would share with Rural 
readers the many good things it contains. To this 
end we purpose to condense, within the limits of 
three or four brief articles, the various matters 
therein discussed. 
Live Stock. —In tho year 1856 a number of Eng¬ 
lishmen crossed the channel with their best stock 
and implements, at the invitation of the French 
Government, and entered into competition with 
the picked agricultural and mechanical skill of 
Continental Europe. They found themselves the 
first in the arts and sciences required for producing 
meat and grain in the most economical manner, 
under a climate not eminently favorable, and on 
land which has long lost its virgin fertility. The 
live stock of the British islands are distinguished 
for three merits—the early period at which they 
arrive at maturity, the great amount of food they 
produce in return for what they consume, and the 
large proportion of prime meat they yield. 
The cattle of “ancient days” were chiefly valued 
for dairy qualities or for draft, and were only fat¬ 
ted when they would milk or draw no longer. The 
greater number of breeds were large-boned and 
ill-shaped, greedy eaters, and slow at ripening— 
while, as very little winter food was raised, except 
hay, the meat laid on in summer was lost or barely 
maintained in winter. Fresh, meat for six months 
of the year was a luxury only enjoyed by the 
wealthiest. First-class farmers salted down an old 
cow in autumn, which, with their flitches of bacon, 
supplied their families with meat until the spring. 
Esquire Bedel Gunning, in his Memorials of Cam¬ 
bridge, relates that when Dr. Makepeace Thacke¬ 
ray settled in Chester, about the beginning of the 
present century, he presented one of his tenants 
with a hull calf of a superior breed. On his in¬ 
quiry after it in the spring, the tenant replied:— 
“Sir, he was a noble animal—we killed him at 
Christmas, and have lived upon him ever since.” 
The improvement of the breeds of live-stock is 
one of the events which distinguish the progress 
of English Agriculture during the last century.— 
Prominent among those who labored to this end, 
was Robert Bakeweli., of Dishley, the founder of 
the Leicester sheep. He also had his favorite 
“long-horn cattle,” and “black cart-horses,” and 
though he failed in establishing these, he taught 
others how to succeed. Surrounded by the titled 
of Europe he talked upon his favorite subject, 
breeding, “with earnest yet playful enthusiasm;” 
there, “utterly indifferent to vulgar traditional 
prejudices,” he enumerated those axioms which 
must be the cardinal rules of the improvers of live 
stock. “ He chose the animals of the form and 
temperament which showed signs of producing the 
1 most fat and muscle,” declaring that in an ox “ all 
was useless that was not beef”—that he sought 
“by pairing the best specimens, to make the 
shoulders comparatively little, the hind-quarters 
large—to produce a body truly circular, with as 
short legs as possible, upon the plain principle that 
the value lies in the barrel and not in the legs, and 
to secure a small head, small neck, and Bmall 
bones.” As few things escaped his acute eye, he 
remarked that quick fattening depended much 
upon amiability of disposition, and he brought 
his bulls by gentleness to be as docile as dogs. In 
sheep his object was mutton, not wool, disregard¬ 
ing mere size. 
Archbishop Wiiately, in his Treatise on Logic, 
illustrates a position by adducing Bakeweli.’s 
theory, and ho puts in a clear light the great cattle 
breeder’s mode of proceeding, as follows:—“He 
observed in a great number of individual beasts a 
tendency to fatten readily; and in a great number 
of others the absence of this constitution: in 
every individual of the former lie observed a cer¬ 
tain peculiar make, though they differed widely in 
size, color, etc. Those of the latter description 
differed no less in varions points, but agreed in be¬ 
ing of a different make from the others—these 
facts were his data. * * * * His principal 
merit consisted in making these observations, and 
in so combining them as to abstract from each of 
a multitude of cases, differing widely in many re¬ 
spects, the circumsi ances in which they all agreed.” 
But “fine-boned” animals were not in fashion 
when Bakeweli. commenced his career, and to the 
majority of people it seemed a step backwards to 
prefer well-made dwarfs to uncouth giants. At 
Ipswich fair it was proposed to present a piece of 
plate to AuTnuK Young for the public service he 
had rendered in introducing the South-Down sheep 
into Suffolk, when a counter-proposition was put 
forth, “ that he was an enemy to the county for en¬ 
deavoring to change the best breed in England for 
a race of rats.'' The glaziers reasoned that “a 
beast could not get fat unless there was room to lay 
the fat on." This was the position maintained by 
the majority, hut there were those not slow in see¬ 
ing the truth. A South Down ram belonging to 
Arthur Young got by accident to a few Norfolk 
ewes of a neighboring farmer. When the butcher 
came in summer to select some lambs, he drew 
every one of the South Down breed, which, he said > 
“ were by much the fattest in the flock.” The own¬ 
er took the hint. After this period the principles 
of Bakeweli. were more favorably received, and 
some of the pupils succeed in improving upon the 
stock of the master. 
The brothers Collinges, in Durham, established 
the “Short-IIorns,” and these soon snperceded all 
other kinds where both flesh and milk were re¬ 
quired. Mr. Robert Morgan, the great cattle sales¬ 
man, who sells about four hundred cattle each 
week, states that, while other favorite breeds are on 
the decline, this, with its crosses has increased up¬ 
wards of ten per cent. Quaktly took the curly- 
coated North-Devon under his especial care.— 
Price took up the Hereford, and Ei.lman the South- 
Down sheep. The emulation gave rise to the fore¬ 
runner of the modern fat cattle show, in single 
oxen of monstrous size, dragged round the coun¬ 
try in vans. These shows shook the prejudice of 
modern graziers, and those who did not know any¬ 
thing of Arthur Young, or his agricultural works 
—and would not have believed if they had seen 
them—were staggered by personal interviews with 
the gigantic Short-Horns. 
In 1798 the “Little Smithfield Club” was estab¬ 
lished, “for exhibiting fat stock at Christmas time, 
in competition for prizes, with a specification of 
the food on which each animal had been kept.”— 
This Society has rendered essential service by 
making known the best kinds of food, and by edu¬ 
cating graziers and butchers in a knowledge of the 
best form of animal. In 1806, in defiance of Mr. 
Coke’s toast, “Small in size, and great in value,” a 
prize was given to the tallest ox. In 1856, a little ox 
—Devon breed—of an egg-like shape—which is 
the modern beau-ideal—gained the Smithfield gold 
medal in competition with gigantic Short-IIorns 
and Herefords of Elephantine proportions; and in 
1855 a large animal of Sir Harry Verney’s was 
passed over without even the compliment of a 
“commendation,” because he carried on his car¬ 
cass too much offal and more three-penny than 
nine-penny beef. 
A RAINY DAY IN THE LIBRARY.—No. II. 
It kept on raining, and I kept on writing — the 
Transactions of the State Agricultural Society for 
1856, still under consideration. 
The extract from an Essay in the Transactions of 
the Royal Agricultural Society of England, by J. 
Thomas Way, “On the relative Nutritive and Fat¬ 
tening properties of different Natural and Artificial 
Grasses,” is a very valuable paper, and is worthy 
of the widest dissemination. It is probably the 
most perfect and thorough of anything of tho kind 
that has yet been made. 
The Address of Mr. Jessup, of Pennsylvania, at 
the Fair, has some capital suggestions in it, and 
§h^.' ■ 
KIRBY’S AMERICAN HARVESTER. 
The above engravings represent Kirby’s Ameri¬ 
can Harvester, a combined machine for which a 
patent was granted to William A. Kirby, of Buffalo, 
N. Y., in 1856, and which, though comparatively 
little known, is now being generally introduced, in 
the belief that it will successfully compete with the 
older and better known Reapers and Mowers.— 
Though we know little of this machine, practically, 
the reports and certificates of those who have 
used it during the past two reasons, are such as to 
lead us to form a favorable opinion in regard to its 
merits, and good judges are confident it will ere 
long rank among the most popular and successful 
combined harvesters in use. We shall embrace 
the first favorable opportunity to witness its opera¬ 
tion in both grass and grain, and shall then be 
able to speak of it from our own knowledge.— 
Meantime, the above illustrations, and following 
description of the machine by tho manufacturers, 
will give our readers an idea of its construction, 
points of excellence, and operation: 
“ At the trial of Reapers and Mowers made by tho 
United Btates Agricultural Society, at Syracuse, 
in July, 1857, Siihy's Amnican Harvester wnu iv 
successful competitor. As announced in the Re¬ 
port of the Trial, it was awarded the Silver Medal, 
as * the second best combined machine,’ and also a 
Diploma for ‘ cheapness, and ingenious adaptation 
of cutter to uneven surfaces,’—notwithstanding the 
Committee report them as having drawn some of 
the worst lots in the field. 
“ The marked peculiarity of this machine is its 
adaptability to uneven surfaces. The finger bar 
and driving wheel act independently of each other, 
each following its own ground. This peculiarity 
the financial calamity which overtook the country 
last fall is a proof of the soundness of his positions. 
He says: 
“ We canuot fix too high a value upon personal 
labor nor study too much to elevate it * * 
* * There is a supposed elevation of the man 
who lives without labor, over him who toils; as a 
consequence, many of our young men flee from 
the farm to the counter, and to the professions, and 
too frequently fail of success. * * * * Had 
they been contented in their fathers’ most honor¬ 
able vocation, certain success would have attended 
their efforts and they have lived an honored and 
useful life.” 
He ought to have included farmers’ daughters as 
well as the sons. Don’t pout out your rosy lips my 
pretty friend, it’s as true of you as of your brother, 
who, to escape from personal labor, must off to the 
city to clerk it You would not work in the 
kitchen, and do the drudgery of the farm, and so 
you go out to keeping school, and do embroidery', 
and let your kind but mistaken mother do the 
house-work. Unless onr friend Mr. Plowhandle’s 
Susan has been better brought up than most far¬ 
mers’ daughters of the present day, I will wager 
three big apples that if Sam gets Sarah, she will 
make the most desirable farmer’s wife of the two. 
Now “Susy” don’t get angry, for there are a great 
many “ school-marms ” and but a precious few good 
house-keepers. Personalproductive labor must be tho 
rule, if people ever mean to be prosperous or happy. 
Sir. Horsfall’s experiments are very interest¬ 
ing, and what before has been conjecture now be¬ 
comes fact. Thus he shows, beyond all dispute, 
that it requires, upon an average, fourteen quarts 
of milk to make a pound of butter; and this is also 
the testimony of some of our best dairymen. He 
also shows that materials used as food for cattle, 
represent double the value they would do if used 
for manure, whilst that portion converted into food 
fitted for the use of man, represents a value thir¬ 
teen or fourteen times greater than it would as ma¬ 
nure. And he draws the conclusion from his 
experiments,- “that it is clearly for the feeder’s 
profit to use his produce as much as possible, as 
food for cattle, with the view to convert it with the 
utmost economy into food for man, and thus in¬ 
crease rather than enrich his manure heap.”— 
Those farmers who have heretofore giver, so much 
of their farms to wheat, would do well to note this 
fact His manner of preparing food commends 
itself to all farmers who have many animals to feed, 
and is peculiarly fitted for this country. All dry 
feed is steamed before it is given to the animal,— 
and then fed warm. If the same were done with 
of the machine enables it to work on very rough 
land, and adapts it to all kinds of work, whether 
mowing, reaping, or gathering grass and clover 
seed; and every variety of soil, whether sand, clay, 
or wet marsh—whether soft or hard, rough or 
smooth, stony or hilly. The lloger bar can be set 
so as to work at any height, from two to eighteen 
inches, and the change can be made in an instant 
Also, by a very simple arrangement, the driver can 
with one linger lift the bar over any obstruction.— 
The driver’s seat is made to act as a lover, by means 
of which the weight of the driver counterbalances 
the weight of the frame and throws the whole upon 
the driving wheel—thus adding to the power of 
the wheel, materially lightening the draft, obvia¬ 
ting the side draft, and relieving the horses from 
the pressure and weight of the pole and forward 
part of the frame. 
“ The mower is all iron, except the seat and pole, 
consequently very strong and durable, while it is 
at the same time the lightest machine in use. It 
is a perfect combined machine, working equally 
well whether mowing or reaping, and the change 
from mower to i t aper is made in a moment. Blm- 
plicity, strength, durability and efficiency are at¬ 
tained in tho highest degree by the ingenious and 
simple combination of all parts of the machine. 
“The Harvester is manufactured by the Buffalo 
Agricultural Machine Works, at Buffalo, N. Y.— 
This is a reliable Stock Company, organized under 
the general law, for manufactcring all kinds of Ag¬ 
ricultural Machinery, among which this Reaper 
and Mower takes first rank. Farmers, dealerp, and 
others desiring more specific information are refer¬ 
red to the advertisement in this No. of the Rural.” 
I us during our long, cold winters, the saving in the 
consumption of food would be very great. Jn 
feeding he says:—“My feed for milch cows, after 
having undergone various modifications, has for 
two seasons consisted of rape cake, five pounds, 
and bran, two pounds, for each cow, mixed with 
a sufficient quantity of bean straw’, oat straw, and 
shells of oats in equal proportions, to supply them 
three times a day, with as much as they will cat.— 
The whole of the materials are moistened and 
blended together, and after being well steamed, are 
given to the animals in a warm state. Gicen food 
is given in addition, consisting of cabbages from 
October to December, Kohl rabi till February, and 
Mangold till grass time. But to keep a nice flavor 
the supply of green food is limited to thirty or 
thirty-five pounds per day, and four pounds of 
meadow hay allowed at each meal.” Bean straw 
has not been considered as useful food for cattle, 
being dry and unpalatable, but he continues:—“By 
the process of steaming it becomes soft and pulpy, 
emits an agreeable odor, and imparts flavor and 
relish to the mess.” The analysis by Prof. Way 
shows a percentage of 
Mois:ure.. .14.47 
Albuminous matter_ 10.38 
Oil or fatty matter. 9.28 
Woody fiber_ 25.87 
Starch, gum, &c__.__.31.66 
Mineral matter. 9.45 
Total.100.00 
The albuminous matter which seems especially 
valuable for milch cows, is nearly double the pro¬ 
portion contained in meadow hay. This fact gives 
increased importance to bean culture, for it shows 
that the straw is more valuable than meadow hay, 
pound for pound, where properly fed to milch 
cows. It seems also that bran undergoes a great 
improvement in cooking. And every person who 
has fed cooked corn meal to their cows in the win¬ 
ter, can testify to the greatly increased flow of 
milk that followed. 
As rape cake is not made in this country, cotton 
seed, or cotton seed cake, or linseed cake, would 
make a good substitute, with meal and bran. And 
would not corn-stalks, if cut and steamed, upon 
Mr. Horsfall’s plan, be better than oat or wheat 
straw? If so, how largely the farmers store of for¬ 
age would be increased. 
The quantity of manure each cow made daily, 
he puts down at eighty-eight pounds, which would 
make for the year, upwards of sixteen tuns, worth 
at his estimate, about $30. High feeding, there¬ 
fore, is as profitable to the manure heap, as to the 
pail, or the shambles. The subject of stall-feeding 
is but little understood in this country at present 
