ac?i V . 
FEB, 8 
OOBE’S BUBAL NEW-¥0 
Alairii Husbandri). 
HANDLING MILK FOR BUTTER MAKING. 
Experiments in butter making seem to bo 
camel on with a good deal of system and 
care in Sweden at the present time. Dairy 
schools have been organized by the Govern¬ 
ment, and, through the influence of these 
schools, material improvements in cheese 
making have been introduced, so that the 
present product is said to be universally ac¬ 
knowledged as of superior quality. It i» prob¬ 
ably through this organized system of schools 
that an effort is being made to reduce butter 
making to a science, or at least to establish eer 
tain principles in regard to the treatment of 
milk and cream which heretofore have not 
been fully recognized among practical butter 
makers. 
On the authority of M. Jwhlin-Daunfelt, 
Superintendent of the Royal Agricultural 
College at Stockholm, it appears that by long 
and carefully-conducted experiments it lias 
been ascertained that the more speedily the 
milk is cooled down after being drawn from 
the cow, the more completely is the cream 
separated from it. The water system, there¬ 
fore, which had been adopted at the butter 
factories has been somewhat modified, to bet¬ 
ter meet the requirements of the above prin¬ 
ciple. The pails originally used in the pools 
for setting the milk were 18 inches in diame 
ter, and 24 inches deep ; and, in order t o in¬ 
crease their capacity for cooling, the bottoms 
were taken out and the sides pressed together, 
giving the pail an oval shape, with a small di¬ 
ameter of seven inches, and providing them 
with now bottoms. 
But, in order to further quicken the process 
of eoling, iced-water instead of well-water 
lias been used in the pools. The temperature 
of spring-water Ls ordinarily no lower than 
42 to 45 degs. Fahr,, whereas the temperature 
of water in which ice chopped in small pieces 
is permitted to melt, may be easily reduced 
to S5 to 39 degs. Fahr. When the water, 
therefore, is above 89 degs., the ice-water 
method is adopted for cooling the milk. The 
surplus water arising from the melting of the 
ice is let out by a small pipe placed at the 
upper edge of the water tank. The quantity 
of ice required at the milk-house is calculated 
to be equal in measurement to the quantity 
of milk for the cooling of which it is intend¬ 
ed ; but, with proper management, two-tliirds 
ought to suffice. The ice intended for the 
cooling-tanks u chopped in pieces of about 
three to four inches square. Now, this prac¬ 
tice differs from that usually adopted iu the 
butter factories of America, and the truth of 
the principle announced is of considerable 
importance to our butter makers. If it Ls a 
fact that more butter can be obtained by 
cooling the milk quickly to a temperature of 
35 to 39 dogs., then it is important that our 
butter makers should be made acquainted 
with the principle and adopt it in their 
practice. We hope some carefully conducted 
experiments may be inaugurated at our but¬ 
ter factories the coming season, which shall 
definitely settle the point in question. 
Again, the Swedes find from their experi¬ 
ments that the milk should be delivered as 
soon as possible after the milking is done and 
while it retains as much as possible of its 
original heat. Formerly it was considered 
by them to be of advantage to have the milk 
cooled during the process of milking, or be¬ 
fore being delivered at the factory. But now 
it is affirmed that the more the original heat 
is retained when the milk arrives at the fac¬ 
tory, the more cream will it yield. The rear 
son given is, that the cream begins to rise as 
soon as the milk begins to get cold, and the 
stirring and transportation of the cool milk 
causes a very injurious interruption in the 
rising of the cream, winch, consequently, 
will be imperfect. If Hus principle is correct, 
milk should not be carted a long distance to 
butter factories, and only such patrons a s arc 
favorably located for delivering milk warm 
and in good order should be allowed. 
On the other hand, if the principle is cor¬ 
rect, milk designed for cheese factories should 
always be cooled at the farm, or before trans¬ 
porting it to the factory, inasmuch as there 
would be less ;loss on account of the cream 
rising. But it is well known that, by cooling 
the ruilk a* soon as it is drawn at the farm, it 
is more likely to reach the cheese factory in 
good order, as warm milk, during hot weath¬ 
er, when closely confined in the cans, not un- 
frequently decomposes rapidly, and is in a 
tainted condition when it arrives at the fac¬ 
tory. It is stated, however, that by a thor¬ 
ough system of ventilation, whereby the 
milk in the can may be exposed to the air 
during its transportation, it may be hauled a 
long distance without cooling, and yet will 
arrive at the factory in good order. Some 
have suggested, therefore, that by simply at¬ 
taching a bellows to the carrying can, where¬ 
by air may be forced through the milk dur¬ 
ing its transit to the factory, would suffice, 
for all practical purposes, in holding it in good 
order while going to the factory. It is evi¬ 
dent to those who have paid much attention 
to the handling of milk and the manufacture 
of daily products, that veiy much more 
knowledge is needed on the subject than that 
which now obtains, and that very great im¬ 
provement is yet to be made ui the economy 
of dairy practice. The reason why progress 
in this department is not more rapid, is be¬ 
cause there are comparatively few dairymen 
who know how to conduct an experiment 
properly and get the exact truth. A large 
part of tho experiments made are conducted 
so loosely that the result obtained amounts to 
not! and thus errors are inaugurated in 
practice which are most difficult of eradica¬ 
tion. We have seen many instances of per¬ 
sons so self-opinionated that no argument 
could convince, and who still preferred to 
follow their own beaten track, though shown 
to bo wrong by plain, practical tests worked 
out in their presence. 
M. Daunfelt states some other points lu 
butter daily management which differs from 
the American practice, and which wo shall 
allude to in a future article. If tho facts giv¬ 
en are what they purport to be, the result of 
numerous and exact experiments in the hand¬ 
ling of milk, they are of value, and we urge 
our dairymen to test the principles an¬ 
nounced, that we may have further proof of 
their accuracy. 
TREATMENT OF NIGHT’S MILK. 
* ' What effect has removing the cream from 
the night’s milk upon the quality and quanti¬ 
ty of cheese made f” was discussed by the 
Jeff. Go., N. Y., Farmers’ Club, at its meeting 
Jan. t'.th, eliciting the following facts One 
lb. of butter can bo made from the cream of 
11)0 pounds of milk set over night; that after 
making butter from the cream taken from 
tho night’s milk, it required 9)i pounds of 
milk to make 1 pound of cheese ; that if the 
cream ouCO separates from the milk, it passes 
through chemical changes that render its ab¬ 
sorption by the caserne, excepting through 
cohesion, impossible; that in a majority of 
cases where the cream is returned to the milk, 
it became incited in cooking and passed off 
with the. whey in oil ; that if the milk is kept 
in motion by an agitator, or other means, to 
prevent the cream from separating from the 
milk, there is danger of churning, and thus 
losing the oil. Where cheese is made from 
milk thus treated, viz.; the cream from the 
night’s proportion made into butter, it should 
not be cooked us high and should remain in 
the whey longer. If properly made, there is 
no perceptible difference between this cheese, 
and that iu which the cream has been re¬ 
turned. Query If the oil is retained by the 
oaseiue by cohesion, is it not liable to become 
rancid and cause the cheese to be “off flavor 
PREPARING RENNET. 
The Secretary gave Mr. L. Barnum’s 
method of preparing rennet as follows Put 
a given number of rennets into a cask of suf¬ 
ficient size to hold the liquor, fill the cask 
one-half full of water, adding all salt used in 
curing the rennets ; let them souk 48 hours, 
rubbing them thoroughly ; take the skins out 
into a pall of brine ; let them soak in tins 24 
hours, rubbing them occasionally • test this 
liquor, if it will coagulate milk readily in 30 
minutes, arid it to liquor in the cask, putting 
the skins into new brine; repeat this opera¬ 
tion, Carefully testing the liquor each time; as 
long as it. will coagulate milk, add it to the 
liquor in the cask ; when all the strength has 
been extracted from the skins, throw them 
away—bury them. You now have a cask of 
prepared rennet. A certain number of 
ounces to 1.000 pounds of milk will coagulate 
it in from 20 to 25 minutes. There being no 
skins in it, it will keep sweet ns long'ax pork 
or beef briue, if sufficient salt has been used. 
Enough may be prepared iu the Spring to 
last the entire season. It. is a great sa ving of 
rennet, as the exact strength is til ways known; 
no more need be used than is necessary to 
coagulate the milk. It also extracts the en¬ 
tire strength from the skins, which is not apt 
to be the case when the skins are allowed to 
remain in the first liquor, and new skins and 
whey added each day. 
Watertown, N. V, W. R. Skrelk, Sea’y. 
--- 
TROUBLE IN CHURNING. 
In answer to a farmer’s daughter, who is 
puzzled to know why ereurn will not always 
bring butter at this season of the year, I 
would say in the first place, don’t let the 
cream remain on the milk too long. 1 skim 
third or fourth meal ;Vhat rises after that 
time will not make butter ; scald the churn, 
heating the cream about <‘<0°. I hare followed 
the above plan more than forty years. I have 
given directions to many, all of whom have 
adopted it with success. E. h. 
Ban e, Mass., 
CLIMATIC CONDITION OF THE PACIFIC 
SLOPE, 
Compared with that of the Atlantic States 
During the Winter Holidays And Some 
Other Things. 
vACAvir.i.E, Cal., Jan. 1,18T8 .9 
Friend Mooke Wishing you the compli¬ 
ments of the season, it has seemed to me that, 
as once upon a time (first of January, ISliO) I 
wrote you from my Island Home, the “Villa 
of the Banyans,” in the Flowery Kingdom, 
an account of the appearance of a Winter 
garden on New Year's day, in that Celestial 
Empire, which was published in the Rural 
of June 30, of that year, your readers might 
perhaps be interested in a brief sketch of the 
appearance of the vegetable kingdom, the 
climat ic influences and the Winter prospects 
for the coming season of fruit and vegetable 
and cereal, on the Pacific slope of the Golden 
Htate; arid in some comparisons (not. wilfully 
insidious) between the appearance of Lhe face 
of nature here mid that of your side of the 
Continent, bordering on the Atlantic Ocean, 
in this Winter holiday season. 
On Christmas day, in the bleak regions of 
New Hampshire, I saw, by telegraphic re¬ 
ports, that the weather gauge indicated 80 to 
50 degrees below zero; here it was 00 degrees 
above zero at 9 o’clock in the morning; at 
12 M. at. 01 deg., and at) IS P. M. and 12 mid- 
uight, tho mercury indicated ISO above zero; 
and the day after Christinas it was 04 deg. at. 
meridian, making a difference of only 114 de¬ 
grees between the two localities. And while, 
during the great holiday week, your railways 
and thoroughfares are bunked with snow, so 
as to Btop travel, and avalanches of ice and 
snow iu the. vicinity of New York mid Bos¬ 
ton, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washing¬ 
ton, are doing great damage, and people are 
1 1 cozing to death, not a f$w, here, whence I 
*iow write, in a quiet little village nestled 
among the scattering foot-hills t hat stud the 
base of the last coast range of mountains, on 
the western borders of the groat Sacramento 
Valley, and where r have established my 
home, the apple and the peach and almond 
have not yet put off their summer garb of 
foliage; roses, hyacinths, oleanders, and their 
kindred companions, are in bloom; the orange 
and the beautiful drooping pepper tree are 
looking fresh as iu spring in our gardens. In this 
vicinity may be seen orange trees twelve to fif¬ 
teen feet high, laden with then* golden fruit; 
the fanners have their gang-plows in motion, 
plowing and preparing their fields for grain 
and Spring crops; lands which the warm, 
genial rains have made mellow and friable, 
and which give promise of fruitful crops the 
coming season; and tne fin it growers are 
trimming their vines and orchards. The 
landscapes around the hills and vallics are 
carpeted with the gr een verdure of Spring, 
anil the gladsome notes of the song birds 
swell the merry Ch ristmas carols. Theimom - 
eterou this New Year’s day, on my verandah, 
stands at 58 deg. above zero. Six hundred 
acres of wheat that \ had thoroughly har¬ 
rowed, in October, for a volunteer crop, are 
looking fresh and green, and promise an 
abundant crop. 
This matter of volunteering a grain crop in 
California Ls a very simple and inexpensive 
process. It will not succeed well on land foul 
with weeds, but I had my land fed off clean 
by sheep, so that no foul stuff was left and 
none permitted to shed its seed, then sum¬ 
mer - fallowed in the Spring; and, lying 
through our long, dry Summers, when no 
vegetation will start in the way of weeds, if 
thus killed out, so that 1 had only wheat, and 
that very clean, lienee I considered it safe to 
volunteer my land for this one season only, 
which costs nothing but the harrowing— 
about fitty cents per acre—not requiring any 
seeding even, as the .seed scattered over the 
field in harvesting is generally found to be 
abundant. Sometimes u volunteer crop has 
been found to excel the original crop ; it will 
depend something upon the season. 
The farmers of our State are now sanguine 
of a fair grain crop the coming season ; there 
has already been a rainfall of from ten to 
fifteen inches in portions of the State, so that 
with the ordinary late rains a full crop may 
reasonably be expected. But of what ad¬ 
vantage are good crops to the farmer if he 
allows himself to be done out of all his profits, 
as he has been in many cases tho past year, 
by wheat ring sharps and railroad an ship¬ 
ping monopolies. Forewarned is to t fore¬ 
armed ; and after the experience of t, e past 
season, when the farmer’s wheat has iad ail 
embargo put upon it—has had to pay £25 to 
$80 per ton freight to the Liverpool market 
when it should not have been over $10, but 
for these grain rings, these “ Bread Bucca¬ 
neers,” these ship monopolists—if, Isay, after 
these experiences the farmers suffer them¬ 
selves to he swindled out of their hard-earned 
gains, It will be their own fault, A State 
Farmers’ Union has been organized for the 
| protection of the farmers’ interests and to aid 
j in extricating them from the clutches of those 
remorseless mnnop<.lists who, while wheat 
was selling for over $00 per ton in Liverpool, 
only paid the fanner hero $30 per ton, or 
ninety cents per bushel, because these rings 
had monopolized all the ships and could com¬ 
mand their own price for freights. 
■fun. 8 .—Since commencing the foregoing, 
1 have been to San Francisco to attend a 
meeting of the Executive Board of the Fann¬ 
ers’ Union. We have not got our organiza¬ 
tion Into very effective operation as yet, but 
it is hoped we shall be able to do something 
to aid the farming interest and to prevent 
the impositions under which they have been 
suffering the past few years. Resolutions 
were passed in opposition to t he la w taxing 
the farmer’s growing crops, to aid the farm¬ 
ers in obtaining their grain sacks at first, cost, 
and to guard against being “cornered” by 
another grain ring the coining season, and to 
enable them to borrow money when neces¬ 
sary with which to harvest and move their 
crops to market, without having to pay, as 
now, from one and a-half to two percent, a 
month for the use of money when these very 
grain rings and ship monopolists are accom¬ 
modated by the city banks and capitalists 
with what, money they wa rd at the rate of 
eight, or nine per cent, per annum. 
San Francisco, where more attention is 
paid to the cultivation of flowers than in tho 
country, is all aglow with floral eluirms. 
Passing along her streets on New Year's day, 
you will see roses, and geraniums, and pinks, 
and jasurnins, and honeysuckles, and callas, 
all in fresh bloom, with almost every variety 
of flowers. And passing through Snnsome 
street, at early dawn, you will see both sides 
of the street, for several blocks, lined with 
market, wagons, loaded down and heaped up 
with fresh, green vegetables, such as cab¬ 
bages, turnips, onions, celery, beets, et.e., etc., 
just, taken from the gardens in the suburbs 
and the adjacent country ; and in the fruit 
markets you will see fresh fruits of almost 
every variety. Verily, I often have to stop 
and think what season of the year it is ; in 
fact,, we have but two seasons, Springtime 
commencing about December and ending 
with May ; the balance of the year is our 
Summer. 
L do not wish it, understood that we have 
no cold weather in California, for we do have 
very respectable white frosts, sometimes, and 
ice as thick as a pane of window glass ; we 
had several of these in December, with the 
thermometer down to 30 dogs, above —not 
below zero as with you. We had this iu Ban 
Francisco, as well as In this garden of the 
Golden State ; yet, as you have seen, it is not 
severe enough to destroy or hurt our vegeta¬ 
tion materially. 1 have seen it many degrees 
colder in New Orleans, on a New Year's day, 
and yet the oleanders and oranges there, as 
here, held up their heads, as brave as ever, 
after a few days of sunshine. 
My thermometer, this 8th Januai-y, indi¬ 
cates 54 degs. above zero, and the air is mild 
and agreeable. T. Hart Hyatt. 
--. 
DEPARTMENT OF AG. SEED BUSINE8S. 
I CANNOT quite agree with you about the 
Seed Division of tin; Department of Agricul¬ 
ture. I think very many are benefited by 
seeds sent out by Unit Department. 1 think 
I have been, myself. I raised oats last sea¬ 
son that yielded eighty bushels per acre, 
when the best of the common oats only went 
about forty bushels. These oats were the 
White Bclieonan, sent, out by the Department 
four years ago. There are so many hum bugs 
sent, out by private individuals that people 
are afraid; for instance, the Norway oats 
made many a man disgusted. But the ques¬ 
tion dors arise, Who gets them from the De¬ 
partment ? 1 am sorry to say it is the few 
and not the many; and often those who do, 
do not make good use of them.—II. P. Band- 
ford, (Maxed Co., Kan. 
Orn correspondent, at the close of his ar¬ 
ticle, concedes all, nearly, that we complain 
of. The few are occasionally benefited, but 
the many, who receive no benefit, have to 
foot the bills. Then there are thousands of 
packages of seed of common vegetables sent 
out—seed which may be obtained at any of 
our seed stores— at the expense of the public 
treasury, which fgo into the hands of poli¬ 
ticians and their satellites, und yield no 
public benefit whatever. It would be strange 
indeed if occasionally some one derived no 
benefit from this seed distribution ; but the 
question is, Does it benefit the whole people 
what it costs them, i We have no evidence, 
and do not believe that it does. On the con¬ 
trary, we believe it a waste of public money. 
4 
-'XSS 
