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NEW YORK DAIRYMEN. 
First Annual Convention of the New York State 
Dairymen’s Association and Board of Trade. 
[Continued from Pace 83, last No.] 
SECOND DAT. 
The meeting was opened with a very able 
address from David NY. Lewis of New 
York City, on the 
General Marketing of Daii*y Pro¬ 
duce.—Mr. Lewis sketched the history of 
the cheese trade, comparing it with other 
interests and referring to the various 
methods inaugurated for reaching the 
world's markets. The cheese trade, he 
thought, was not lagging behind other in¬ 
terests, but rather taking the lead of many 
of them. He referred to the growing ten¬ 
dency among farmers for changing the liue 
of their production, and said this was often 
acted upon hastily. If wool was down, the 
sheep are slaughtered; if hops don’t: pay 
the cost of picking and baling, hop poles 
make the kitchen fire burn; if ship loads of 
humanity, from foreign lands, crowd our 
labor markets, children become scattering, 
and school-houses voiceless; but how often 
we have changed from wool to the dairy, 
from hops to stock, or from good, old-fash¬ 
ioned little house and big family and big 
heart to the large house and empty rooms, 
that we regret the bareness of results and 
see the desirability of only deliberate, care¬ 
fully-considered, well-regulated change. 
Transion t expedients and frequent changes 
for apparent temporary benefits, are of 
doubtful utility, while continuous, persis¬ 
tent production in one channel is, as a rule, 
best recognized and rewarded, and the 
farmer who places his product at the top of 
the market, must produce it and reproduce 
it until it secures position as of the highest 
stand of value. This was illustrated by tho 
Herkimer county dairymen, and by their 
market at Little Falls, which has become 
the recognized market of Central New York. 
Quantity of product, as well ns quality, 
gives force and strength in marketing. This 
is shown in tho preference in price for facto¬ 
ries of both butter and cheese over private 
dairies, ami is one of tho several reasons 
why it is better fora community to join 
hand- in a creamery or cheese factory, and 
consolidate their product. 
With uni formity of production and the 
oonstaut tendency toward increased facili¬ 
ties of intercommunication by telegraph 
and mail, wo shall see the strength and use¬ 
fulness of home markets Increased. Each 
district will get more and more to have its 
specialty, and its market center to become 
the headquarters of that specialty, and 
draw* to it an amount of trade and exchange 
in ratio to the importance of its production. 
Business is then brought nearer the farm, 
property is benefited, social intercourse and 
mental culture are facilitated, and the cir¬ 
culation and life of the country kept up 
vigorous and active, the better to offset the 
feverish tendencies of the controlling cen¬ 
ters of population. In home markets the 
producer and consumer, or their agents, are 
nearer together; the friction of exchanges 
is lessened. Each is Instructed in the needs 
of the other, and all are benefited. 
Referring to the credit system, he said 
that credit is the heart of the wholo circu¬ 
lating system of the exchanges of society. 
It is always found largest and strongest in 
the most vigorous organizations and centers 
of commerce, and no market can hope to 
become a center of pulse aud motion with¬ 
out its expansions and contractions. 
The annual address was delivered by Le- 
axdkr W utheuel of the Boston Cultivator, 
upon the subject of 
Dairy Stock and the Food Therefor.— 
This was a very elaborate and learned pro¬ 
duction, eloquently delivered, and was re¬ 
ceived with frequent and hearty applause 
by the audience in attendance. We have no 
space in tho present paper to give a synopsis 
of this most valuable address. It was thor¬ 
oughly practical, aud contained a mass of 
facts of the utmost Importance to dairymen, 
and it fully sustained tho high reputation of 
the speaker as a critical and careful investi¬ 
gator. We shall have occasion to refer to 
this most admirable address in a future 
article. The annual address was followed 
by a very interesting aud valuable paper 
from Edward J. Wickson of the Utica 
Herald, on 
The Chemistry of the Cow. —After 
describing the elements required in the 
construction of the cow, and how com¬ 
pounds formed in tho living animals are 
governed by the same laws which determine 
the combination of dead matter, he said it 
was safe to call a cow a laboratory—a labo¬ 
ratory for the manufacture of chemical pro¬ 
ducts, aud that the chemistry she practices 
is not falsely theoretical nor visionary. One 
of tho most important agencies employed by 
the chemist in bis processus is heat; aud a 
furnace is found in every well-furnished 
laboratory. We find in the cow a furnace 
similar to that in the laboratory. It sup¬ 
ports a life-long flame, for when the warm 
breath oan be uo longer detected, something 
we call life is gone. The lungs uro the fur¬ 
naces in the animal structure. By them the 
air is drawn from without aud placed in 
coutact with the blood derived from the 
food, eto., etc. In a similar way food, di¬ 
gestion and the product of the cow (milk) 
were treated from a chemical point of view, 
making the address original and ingenious 
in its conception, and exceedingly interest¬ 
ing and instructive to his hearers. The ap¬ 
plause which greeted Mr. Wickson at the 
conclusion of his speech, showed the high 
appreciation with which the lecture was re¬ 
ceived. 
Cheese Making as a .Science. —This 
quest ion was treated in an aide lecture bj r 
Mr. T. D. Curtis of the Utica Herald. The 
speakor Commenced by definiug clearly tho 
difference between science and art, to the 
latter of which he thought tho present con¬ 
dition of cheese making was applicable. But 
he had fuitb that ultimately cheese making 
will be recognized as properly belonging to 
tho domain of science as much as any other 
branch of chemistry. He affirmed that the 
whole process was chemical, and that me¬ 
chanical appliances are only for t he purpose 
of convenience or for assisting the ehomioal 
changes. We need to have a scientific 
knowledge not only of milk in general, but 
of the identical batch before us. Which we 
are to work up into cheese. And as tho 
presence of any foreign substance or influ¬ 
ence may greatly disturb our operations 
and vary resultB, if not ruin our product, it 
is essential that, we should have a pure at¬ 
mosphere to work in. 
It will not do to have the walls and ceil¬ 
ings of thu room hung with mold aud tho 
air loaded with tho spores of fungi. If we 
do they will settle in our vat, seize upon tho 
nitrogen of the milk and develop a orop of 
products quite different from what We aim 
at. He gave a brief exposition of tho fun¬ 
gi theory, aud said the brewers seem to 
understand this matter of developing acids 
better than the cheese makers, beauso they 
have introduced more science into their 
business. The fungus seeds appear to bo 
t he acid-makers. Knowing this fact, be rea¬ 
soned tbat wo ought to be able to control 
aud direct their work by scientific methods. 
But so far from this, everything is left 
to chance, aud no cheese maker knows 
whether his curd is iu tho lactic state, is 
turning to vinegar, or getting into an intox¬ 
icating condit ion, though sober himself. 
lie referred to the establishment of an 
experimental factory where scientific men 
should bo employed to solve some of the in¬ 
tricate problems connected with milk and 
its products. Ho said when we get waked 
up enough to our own interests to go to 
work in this sensible and scientific way to 
obtain practical ami scientific knowledge, 
we shall not be long in putting cheese ma¬ 
king among the sciences, or at least among 
the human occupations having a scientific 
basis. 
in the evening a very elaborate essay was 
read by Mr. M. Quinby of 8t. Johnsville, 
upon 
The Cause and Remedy of Abortion 
Among' Cows.—The cause was attributed 
to tho excessive use of the male, and nu¬ 
merous facts and arguments were given to 
prove this assumption. In the discussion 
which followed, this theory was combated, 
and many facts given by dairymen present 
whoso herds had been troubled with tho 
disease, that went to show that other causes 
than that suggested were at work in bring¬ 
ing about this serious trouble in the dairies 
( of Central New York. 
The meeting was a very profitable oue, 
and the various papers read seem to have 
been carefully prepared aiul were of a high 
order of merit. 
Btari] of a Jjtoralist. 
DAILY RURAL LIFE. 
FROM THE DIARY OF A GENTLEMAN HEAR NEW YORK CITY. 
Artificial Color of Butter.—Wheii arti¬ 
ficial color of butter is required, we know 
of nothing better than extract of aimatto. 
— Rural, Jan. 6th. 
For four gallons of cream, grate two small, 
or one ordinary sized dark orange carrot 
(the pale yellow carrot will not answer); 
soak the same a half hour iu tepid water or 
milk, and strain the liquid into the churn 
before churning. This will give a natural 
grass color, and something very like a grass 
llavor also, which canuot bo said of aunatto. 
We have practiced thus several winters, 
and always with entire satisfaction.—M rs. 
W. B. P. 
Cutting Clierry Cions.— dun. 22.— 
Grafting the cherry is generally attended 
with far less success than the pear, apple, 
and other kinds of fruit trees. The princi¬ 
pal cause of failure is that they are uot 
grafted early enough in tho season. The 
young shoots used for cions are very sensl- 
t ive and will uot withstand th© least cheek 
after the buds begin to swell in spring, 
which is generally before most other kinds 
of fruit t rees, hence tho necessity of cutting 
the cions early (this mouth being a good 
time), and then put them away in the cel¬ 
lar, covering with damp moss or some simi¬ 
lar material that will prevent shriveling, 
and keep them sufficiently cool to keep the 
buds from starting into growth. There arc 
thousands of large, thrifty Mazzard cherry 
trees all over the country which bear noth¬ 
ing but small, bitter cherries, that might be 
changed to the liner sorts very readily by 
grafting. Tho operation should be per¬ 
formed iu the usual method of cleft- graft¬ 
ing, and as soon as severe freezing weather 
is past. The cions Bhould be inserted into 
branches of not more than one or two 
inches in diameter, and the greater num¬ 
ber that is put into a large tree the more 
certain will it be to live and remain healthy. 
If all tho top is cut. away and only a few 
ciouB inserted, it. is likely to check growth. 
It is a good plan to only graft one-half to 
two-thirds of tho branches in one season, 
grafting the remaining portion the next, 
Inside Frames in Green-llouses.— 
Jan. 35.—It is now pretty well understood 
by all florists that the atmosphere of an 
ordinary green-house cannot be kept suf¬ 
ficiently humid and warm to insure success 
with cuttings of the more delicate kinds of 
plants, lienee tho necessity of what arc call¬ 
ed inside frames. The propagating beds 
should not only bo covered with glazed 
frames, during the time the out.tings are 
producing roots, but it is also advisable to 
have a similar place to set the young plants 
for a week or two after they are potted. I 
have found it advantageous to keep such 
plants as Begonias, Coleuses, Punches ins 
and Aohyranth uses in these frames tho 
greater part of the winter, at. least those 
that were small and from which cuttings 
were wanted. By having a goodly number 
of inside frames located over the hot water 
pipes, one can succeed with many of the 
delicate specie-; of plants which would fail 
in almost any other situation. The amateur 
florist who inserts a few cuttings iu a pot 
of sand, and then covers them with a glass, 
produces a similar result, although on a 
smaller scale. All cuttings of green wood, 
with leaves attached, require a confined, 
humid atmosphere. 
Propagating Begonias ,—Jan. 21 .—Tho 
Begonias arc becoming general favorites, on 
• account of their beautiful leaves, as well as 
the showy flowers of some few species. They 
are readily propagated from cuttings of the 
leaves, but even some of our florists fail to 
multiply them very vapidly, simply because 
they are in too great haste. Leaves that are 
to bo used for cuttings, should be large, 
healthy and fully mature. There is nothing 
gained in using small, half-grown leaves*, be¬ 
cause they are, more liable to fail than large 
ones, aud tho plants produced are seldom 
as vigorous. A large leaf may be divided 
into pieces of not more than one inch in di¬ 
ameter, but always cut iu such a way that a 
portion of the edge of the leaf shall remain 
on each cutting. Place the cutting edge¬ 
ways iu tho sand, leaving very littlo uncov¬ 
ered. Another plan is, to lake a large leaf, 
lay it the underside down upon the sand, 
pressing it firmly iu place, theu pin it down 
with a number of small wooden pegs. Wher¬ 
ever a peg is driven through tho leaf, buds 
and roots will be formed; aud when those are 
sufficiently well advanced the leaf may be 
lifted aud divided. Of courso a close, 
humid atmosphere is required for this pur¬ 
pose. 
Fumigating Plants. — Jan. 25. — Al¬ 
though the hundreds of little Lady Birds 
which T have introduced into my greenhouse 
to feed upon the green aphis or plant lice 
have been constantly active, still they fail 
to keep them in cheek. I have had to com¬ 
mence fumigating with tobacco, the only 
sure thing with which I am acquainted for 
destroying this great pest of plants. A few 
live coals from tho furnace, placed upon the 
ground or in a pot, and then covered with 
tobaooo, will usually produce sufficiently 
strong fumes to kill the lice. But to be sure 
of making clean and thorough work it is 
well to fumigate two nights in succession, 
for those that are only weakened the first 
are sure to die the second, Befoi-e fumigat¬ 
ing, the plants should he wet over-head, iu 
order that tho stems and leaves may be 
moist; for the smoko seems to settle upon 
thorn more closely when iu this condition 
than when dry The next day after fumi¬ 
gating the plants should be thoroughly syr¬ 
inged with clear water for the purpose of 
washing off smoke, dead lice and other filth. 
Evergreen Cuttings Rooting.— -Jan. 
26.—The evergreen cuttings which I refer¬ 
red to iu my Diary of Oct. 20, are now pro¬ 
ducing roots quite rapidly. They were 
made and planted during November—some 
of them In December,—all being placed iu 
shallow boxeB filled with pure sand. Tlieso 
boxes were set under the center staging 
of my green-house, on stinps of plank two 
inches thick. Of course they receive uo 
bottom heat, and being so near the ground 
the temperature is never very high. 1 put 
in 15,000 of the choice species and varieties, 
and from present appearances there will be 
few failures. The cost of growing ever¬ 
greens in such a situation is cei-tainly a mere 
trifle, except the procuring tho first stock 
of trees to out from, as the space they now 
occupy is of littlo vulue for any purpose. 
Repotting Fhints .—Ja n. 27.—Nearly all 
early spring flowering plants that have been 
grown In pots during winter should be shin¬ 
ed into a larger size just before the buds 
begin to appear. The roots at this season 
will usually have grown out against the side 
of tho pots, and uulcss given more room, 
the plant will not, as a general rule, bloom 
freely. Such plants as CineruTics and Cal¬ 
ceolarias require special care at this time, 
not only iu giving abundance of room for 
their roots, but in keeping thu young flower 
stems free from insects. 
iThc Naturalist. 
MANAGEMENT OF RABBITS. 
Some time in the spring or early summer 
information was asked for about managing 
rabbits. No notice has been taken of the 
subject, so far as I have seen, aud I now 
propose to say ft few words. In Euglaud 
some men make it an important business to 
raise young rabbits for sale. Every doe has 
a. box to herself with a place partitioned off 
like a parlor bed-room, where she makes 
her nest and deposits her young. When 
this takes place it is carefully noted down, 
and three days after she is again placed 
with t he male. These boxes are furnished 
with a manger and rack like a miniature 
stable, aud whatever is good feed l’or a horse 
is good feed for them. They are the only 
animals tbat I am acquainted with that 
feed upon grasses, that prefer rod clover to 
any other green feed. They will feed on 
any kind of grain, but chopped staff, I 
think, is preferable. Those who live near 
to a brewery feed largely of brewer’s grains. 
No drink of any kind is ever furnished. Iu 
tho summer they get all needful moisture 
from clover, cabbage leaves, lettuce, &c.; 
in the winter from any roots tbat are at 
hand. They do not seem to like potatoes 
as well as turnips, carrots or beets; but 
they are hearty feeders and arc not very 
particular which. Excess of moisture Is 
Injurious. If allowed to roam at large, 
beneath an English sky, dropsy sets in; 
they soon sicken and die. 
His plan of close confinement does very 
well there, where, if It make a good deal of 
work, there are plenty of hands to do it; 
but here it would be better to allow them 
more room. They remain perfectly healthy 
ir permited their liberty; but, all things 
considered, they are much better confined, 
being as destructive as wild rabbits when at 
large. If it was desirable to keep many, a 
room as largo as a common wagon house 
would bo the right thing. Socially they are 
decidedly Mormonitlsh. Boxes should bo 
placed round the room for tho accommoda¬ 
tion of each doe. Tho place should; be rat- 
proof, and, if possible, out of tho reach of 
very severe frost. 
I have never tested it, but have an idea 
a given quantity of meat could bo produced 
as cheaply as so much poultry. 1 will 
merely add that the required number in¬ 
tended to be kept, whatever it may be, 
should be placed together at once, for they 
are extremely victim* and quarrelsome, and 
when they become thoroughly domesticated 
if a stranger should be introduced among 
them, they would probably kill it. o. 
—-*“*■♦- 
We shall be glad to receive any interest - 
ing facts for this Department from any of 
our readers; also inquiries for answer. 
