SEPT. 7 
THE MILK OF WHEY-FED COWS. 
1 have seen, ] think, several times, in the 
Rural New-Yorker, your opinion in re¬ 
gard to feeding whey to dairy cows, and 
have noticed that you disapprove its use in 
that way; but, so far as I remember, you 
spoke of the sour whey from factories only, 
and did not give your opinion in regard to 
feeding whey to cows when it is fed sweet, 
or nearly so. as it can be when t he cheese is 
manufactured on the farm. How would 
you regard the following method, which 1 
have tried, and like:—Have the milk barn 
provided with troughs made after the usual 
manner among dairymen, and when the 
whey is drawn from the vat, have it taken 
directly to the stable and put into the 
troughs, without goiug into any sour reser¬ 
voir at all. Of course it will not have time 
to sour but little before the cows, on being 
put up to be milked, will drink it, and will 
have nothing to help the fermentation, as 
it does when run oil' into a wlmy trough or 
vat which always has more or less very sour 
wtaev in it. Your views on this, given in 
the Rural, will greatly oblige at least one 
who lu\s a very high regard for the same, 
who believes in “high feeding," and who 
thinks that whey, unless it has a bad effect 
on the quality of the milk, can bo the most 
efficiently disposed of in the way described. 
—B. B. W„ (JuUn rauijus Co., N. 1'. 
We cannot approve of feeding cows whey 
in the way proposed, though wo have no 
doubt the quantity of milk may be increased 
by such feeding, and especially bo when pas¬ 
turage is short and grass begins to deterio¬ 
rate in nut rition. During hot weather, thp 
milk of cows fed upon whey is inferior in 
flavor and quality, and not unfroquently 
causes serious trouble to the cheese maker. 
The influence of the w hey may not bo so 
strongly marked w hen the milk is worked 
up at the farm dairy, as at the factory, or 
when the whey is fed comparatively sweet; 
still the tendency of such feed is to make 
bad milk, and wo think it better to avoid 
such feeding altogether. 
In the plan proposed by our correspond¬ 
ent, the whey may, perhaps, he kept in 
sweeter condition for feeding than it would 
be if loft in the vats, as usually practiced ; 
still the troughs are liable to get foul and 
sour, and the whey standing therein from 
the time the cheese is made, until the cows 
come into the barn at night to be milked, 
must acquire considerable acidity, and es¬ 
pecially will this bo the case during hot 
weather. Again, the milk, even under 
careful management, is liable to be faulty 
and take on taints. To feed the whey of 
such milk must have an effect to aggravate 
the trouble with these cows giving the de¬ 
fective milk, while it. carries its objectiona¬ 
ble flavor to the other milk which, but for 
the whey feeding, would be good. 
The cause of milk taints is better under¬ 
stood now than formerly, and much more 
attention is being paid to the feed of cows 
and their surroundings, that milk may be 
produced hi good order. It has been long 
known that turnips or onions, when fed to 
milch cows, will leave their peculiar taint 
in the milk; and more recently, the fact 
has been abundantly demonstrated, that 
milk may bo tainted in the bag on account 
of the cows inhaling the odors of carrion 
while at pastor?. Why, then, should not 
whey taints make their appearance in the 
milk of whey-fed cows? We have had some 
experience in feeding cows whey and in 
noting its effect on the cheese when made 
at the farm dairy, and although the whey 
was not conveyed directly to the troughs 
in the barn, as suggested by our corre¬ 
spondent, still we became satisfied that the 
influence of the whey upon milk was bad, 
and therefore abandoned its use altogether 
as a feed for cows. 
We regard whey, when fed to cows in hot 
weather, as liable to do much harm to the 
milk, even though the whey bo fed as it 
comes directly from the curds, and al¬ 
though in cool wegther the harmful in¬ 
fluences are less apparent, yet on account 
of its liability to injure the milk, it ought 
not to be so used. 
There are some other considerations that 
might be named, showing that whey is an 
objectionable food for cows. In the first 
place it may, with reason, be doubted 
whether the health of an animal is pro¬ 
moted by a continual consumption of its 
own secretions. In our own experience in 
feeding whey the animals often “scoured” 
badly, approximating so much to diarrhea 
that the whey had to be, for a time, aban¬ 
doned ; and although we did not observe, 
the loss of teeth and general breaking 
down of' health in the animal, as claimed 
by some as the effect of such whey feeding, 
still the excessive scouring at times, and 
the tendency of the animals to be thin in 
flesh, raised serious doubts in our minds as 
L NEW-VOBKE 
NlOOflE'S B U B A 
to whether the whey was a health} T diet. 
Cows fed upon whey appear to yield a 
greater quantity of milk, and considered 
simply from this standpoint, many have 
been induced to feed whey. But the ex¬ 
perience at factories with the milk of whey- 
fed cows, has so plainly demonstrated the 
bad character of such milk, that the prac¬ 
tice is every year goiug more and more out 
of date. Many of the best factories in 
New York now prohibit its use among their 
patrons as a feed for cows, and wo believe 
this is the safe course to be adopted at all 
factories which are seeking to produoe a 
uniform, fine-flavored and high-priced pro¬ 
duct. 
The question raised by our correspondent 
is an important one, and wo call the atten¬ 
tion of the advocates of whey-fed cows to 
the points we have named. Dairymen can¬ 
not be too careful in the production of milk, 
to avoid every influence that, is likely to 
deteriorate it in flavor or quality, forbad, 
ill-flavored goods pay very poorly. 
+ ♦ »- 
HEATING CHEESE-CURING ROOMS. 
Will steam pipes answer as beating ap¬ 
paratus for curing cheese ? The room wo 
want, to heat has stone walls, with concrete 
floor, tlti by 38 feet inside. If you have any 
experience in this matter, you will confer a 
favor by answering the above question.— 
F. Ma loom, tnnerlUp, Ontario. 
Various methods have been employed 
from time to time in heating cheese-curing 
houses, as steam, hot air, and the stove. 
The latter is the more commonly used in 
America, because supposed to bo less ex¬ 
pensive and more readily applied. This 
method of heating is objectionable, inas¬ 
much as the heat is not equally distributed, 
the cheese near the stove often becoming 
overheated while t hat furthest off is at too 
low a temperature. Stove heat, too, it is 
claimed, is of too drying a nature. Steam 
pipes and steam are regarded by those 
who have made a comparative teat of the 
two methods as a decided improvement. 
Steam pipes have been employed with suc¬ 
cess in F.ngland, and many of the Somerset¬ 
shire dairy rooms are provided with this 
appliance for heating. 
Recently, however, hot water distributed 
iu iron pipes arranged through the rooms 
and in connection with the boiler which is 
used for cheese making, are recommended 
as superior to any known application of 
artificial heat for curing cheese. Mr. HARD¬ 
ING, the distinguished exponent of Cheddar 
cheese making in England, affirms that no 
method of heating known to him is equal in 
its result to the hot water arrangement. 
Iron pipes proceed from the boiler fixed in 
the boiler house, and surround the cheese 
room and descending from thence to the 
dairy, pass through it and return to the 
boiler. Thus a Complete system of pipes 
is laid, by which the milk and whey, as well 
as the cheese room and dairy room, are 
heated. To heat the dairy and cheese room 
a cistern stands in one corner of the latter 
filled with water, and this supplies all the 
pipes down to the boiler. As the water 
heats so it circulates and does its work of 
heating all the way round. At the top of 
the. cistern is a pipe communicating with 
the open air and forming a means of escape 
for accidentally-created steam. 
As the water leaves the boiler it is turned 
in the direction required by means of stop¬ 
cocks, and when the operation of cheese 
making is completed it is only requisite to 
stop one and Open another for the heat to 
be transferred from the cheese vats to the 
cheese room. The pipes in the cheese room 
are. laid iu the space between the cheese 
racks and the skirting, thus throwing up 
the heat behind the cheese, where it is 
most required. With this system of heat¬ 
ing, by a little attention, a tolerably uni¬ 
form temperature may be maintained. 
This is the plan adopted by Mr. Hard¬ 
ing with eminent success, but of course the 
arrangement may be varied to meet cir¬ 
cumstances iu differently constructed build¬ 
ings. The cbeese-curing rooms of England 
are usually of stone or brick, and we heard 
of no complaint of dampness on account of 
using either steam or hot water pipes for 
heating. 
.-+4.+- 
Dried Cream in Butler.—l see Mrs. L. 
W. has been troubled with dried cream in 
her butter. I think the cause too much air 
or a current of air, which dries the cream 
while it is rising. Have observed this ef¬ 
fect iu my own milk. If a pantry off tllft 
kitchen must be used through the Summer 
for milk, it should be kept nearly closed 
and darkened, as it may thus be kept at a 
more even temperature—taking pains to 
open it only when the air is coolest, say 
early in the morning. I do not think it is 
possible to make good butter in warm 
weather, where the milk is set in pantry, 
used as pantries usually are.—M rs. L. J. 
EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYES. 
I wish to reply to an “ Every-Day La¬ 
borer,” in Livingston Co., N. Y. He says 
he knows of no instance where an indus¬ 
trious laborer has over dreamed of lodging 
in the poor-house. Perhaps he has not; 
but 1 will inform him that I have. 1 would 
like to ask him this: If he is a man with 
wife and family, of three to six Utile ones 
looking to him for shelter ami food, if 1m 
thinks on twenty or thirty dollars a month 
lie can support them, and pay fifty to sev¬ 
enty dollars a year for house rent, and eight 
dollars a cord for wood—as it, is that here, 
with butter at forty or fifty cents a pound, 
and with other things in proportion; if lie 
can, he is a very uncommon man. I saw a 
case decided in the courts of this town, 
where it was proved that a young man could 
not support a wife on his earnings of twenty 
dollars a month; and I know by reason and 
common sense that it cannot be don©* 
More than that, I have known cases where 
poor men have worked through the season 
and have saved every cent they possibly 
could — good, temperate men — men who 
never spent a cent for amusements, and 
who, when sickness came in their family, 
and they were stricken down and could not 
work, the very men for whom they had 
worked when well, instead of lending a 
hand to help them through, would be the 
first to put them and their family on the 
town. 
Now, my friend, you may differ with me, 
but all 1 ask is, in the name of justice, let 
us bo more kind to the poor aromul us. 
Mow the poor man is content with what he 
gets—only a living, for ho cannot lay up 
anything for a rainy day—is more than I 
can sec. But, my friend, you say ho gets 
his board! that may be, but what does his 
fam ily get at home ? 1 will tell you. While 
he is sittingat your table, his wife and chil¬ 
dren may be in want of food to sustain life 
and health; while he works for tho money 
to get it with, they must wait. After he 
earns it does he always get it ? No, he does 
not. They tell him sometimes they have 
not got the change, and through various 
pretenses, I have known men kept out of 
their pay for nearly a year. 
I speak not for my own town or county, 
for I have seen much of the world and 1 
know it is tho same throughout our land. 
Livingston Ho., N. Y., is no exception. 
Look at both sides. I learned, while young, 
to try and do good to others and obey the 
Holden Rule. 1 have heard of so much 
trouble between fanners ami their hired 
men, that I would take the side that 1 know 
is right. 1 shall ever honor and respect the 
poor man as much as I do the rich. Brother 
farmers, forgive mo if I speak as I do. 1 
do not mean all of you; but I bog of you 
to be kind to the poor and teach them to 
love you and respeot you. Reform. 
Johnstown, Fulton Co., N. Y. 
Mv attention was called to an article in 
vour issue, in which the writer utters a wail 
in behalf of “hired men,” hi a manner that 
might lead one to suppose, if he had no ex¬ 
perience in tho matter, that the employed 
are the only ones that ever suffer; they 
being, of cowsC, always models of honesty, 
uprightness, perfectly trustworthy, etc. 
It may be that is tho case with ” hired 
men” in Pulton Co, If so, a few of thorn 
would do well to visit Cattaraugus Co., 
where such are duly appreciated, and could 
not fail to find employment at good wages. 
If the mail in “obliged to work," so the 
farmer is obliged to employ, and obliged to 
pay all his business will allow him to. Tho 
employed it not obliged to take “ a little 
butter, or pork, or potatoes,” towards his 
pay, for the employer is usually ready to 
pay the money for work, and the employed 
can make his purchases where lie pleases. 
The assertion that the man is obliged to 
begin work at 4 o'clock and work until dark, 
is a mistake, as far as this section is con¬ 
cerned. One of my neighbors informs me 
that lie has employed help at £1.50 per day 
to chop wood, and the man would not get 
ready to strike a blow with the ax before 9 
o’clock. Oti our dairy farms, (luring tbo 
long days of summer, probably 6 o'clock is 
about the time people are up doing the 
“chores,” preparatory to commencing the 
heavier work of the day, which begins at 
about 8 o’clock. On many, and probably a 
majority of the farms, the field work is left 
at about 5 or Y.j o’clock, P. M., for the pur¬ 
pose of attending to the ”chores” again, 
getting through with them at or before sun¬ 
down. 
“If he wants a horse to use ” occasionally, 
he has it, and a wagon too, if he wishes; 
and it costs him nothing. At loast, we 
would consider him a mean man that would 
refuse to lend a horse to hired help some¬ 
times, provided the horse was properly 
treated. “Reform” omitted to scute (bat 
trusty hired help is such a rarity that any 
farmer, when ho once finds such, la not will¬ 
ing to part wit h it. Lt is nothing strange 
(because not uncommon) for a hired man, 
when left alone for a day, to go and lie on 
the hay in the barn a portion of the time, 
go hunting, or manage to pass a part of tho 
day iu some other way oquully profitless to 
his employer. It is uncommon to find a 
hired man that will treat a team properly, 
or take good care of farm tools and ma¬ 
chinery. Regarding wages iu New York or 
New England, I am Riiro they are as good 
as, or better t han are paid by farmers gener¬ 
ally between the Mississippi and the Rocky 
Mountains, where land is cheap and the un¬ 
employed, if they choose, can take home¬ 
steads and bo be ” their own employers.” 
I venture to say that ” Reform” has hod 
very littlo experience with hired man, nr 
lie could see clearly that there is as much 
need of a reformation on the part of tho 
employed as upon the part of the em¬ 
ployers. C. M. IL 
Napoli, ( 'uUnmugua Co., N. Y . 
<$lic § oilman. 
HORSE STABLE FLOORS. 
I have no patent to offer to the public 
through your columns, but l most heartily 
agree with you in your protest against Mr. 
J. Wilkinson's bare floor of any con¬ 
struction for anj’- animal. A dishing floor, 
as ho describes, may be very safe against a 
horse rolling himself up on his back against 
the partition; but let him try standing all 
day and night with tho outside of his shoe- 
sole raised even a little, and try a race the 
next day with an equal, who has slept in a 
good bed. I have known several good, very 
good horses, that would not stale upon his 
bare floor go as to completely empty tho 
bladder in a month, very much to their in¬ 
jury. Horses paw their bedding for two 
reasons. When tired they want their heels 
raised, and try to pile up the straw for that 
purpose, if the floor stands very much 
backward, my remedy is, to take an inch 
board about four inches wide, bevel it to 
nearly an edge on one side. Nail this (thin 
edge forward) to the floor, across the stall, 
just where the heels of their fore feat 
come, when they stand at ease after eating 
their meals. They will soon learn to use it 
and not paw the bedding if It is properly 
spread. Improper spreading of bedding is 
another reason for pawing. If it is not put 
far enough back for the hipR to lie upon it, 
the horse will try to fix it. T have pur¬ 
chased several bad pawers and never have 
failed to break them by a long bed and 
standing rest. The fools ary generally at 
t he small end of the halter. 
About staling on a clean bed. It shows 
how much the animal dislikes to spatter 
his clean legs. When the groom goes in the 
stable to put down bedding, first throw a 
little straw—or sawdust, if preferred—in 
tho proper place to catch the urine, letting 
it make noise enough for the animal to hear 
it. Let them bo quiet fora moment and 
they will bo sure to use it, when it should 
be scraped out clean and the bed put down. 
A tired farmer will not stop to buckle 
pads upon the tender parts of his horse, nor 
will the horse thank any one for putting 
straps and strings about his limbs to hold 
ou pads. j. w. Beech. 
(Joldwater, Mich. 
- 44-4 -- 
NOTES FOR HORSEMEN. 
(Sprained Foot of Horse,—Can you or 
some of your readers tell me a cure fora 
horse injured long since by stepping through 
a crack in u bridge with one of his hind feet? 
The joint became enlarged but never seemed 
to inconvenience him particularly, until lust 
Fall he passed anight out-doors in acid 
rain, and the cold he took settled in his [eg 
at the. place of the old trouble (just above 
the foot), tlm swelling became much larger 
and has ever since been very large;; it 
troubles him continually, especially if he 
takes a little cold. It has discharged a 
watery fluid, and at present discharges 
matter. The horse has no appetite and (s 
kept reduced in flesh by his apparent suf¬ 
fering. Hoping to obtain a cure through 
your paper.— Momem Allard, J?orL Jlmv - 
urd, Wl8. 
We should never expect to cure such an 
old hurt. Treat it as you would a sprain 
on your own ancle, bv keeping it iu a warm 
bandage, with fomentations of wormwood 
and vinegar and such, and keep the horse 
from cold and wet. 
