suspect that in weighing the milk as it is de¬ 
livered at the factory, rather light weights 
have been returned. If the scales are set so 
as to make a hundred pounds of milk weigh 
but ninety-seven pounds, for instance, it 
might not be any loss to patrons, since as 
the milk of each was weighed at the same 
rate of loss, the relative proportions would 
be the same in the gross amount. Still, in 
calculating the average number of pounds 
of milk to the pound of cheese, it will he 
seen an extra average can be made, because 
the pounds of milk are “ extra big pounds.” 
This thing is practiced, to some extent, for 
the purpose of making a good average of 
cheese, by the manufacturer; but while 
there is no actual loss to patrons from this 
practice, it is a kind of deception that ought 
not to he tolerated. When the milk is of 
fair ordinary quality, and is weighed accu¬ 
rately, it is a skillful cheese maker who can 
make a better average than nine and a-half 
pounds of milk to a pound of cheese. 
In butter making, where the milk is set in 
pans, we believe a fair average for the sea¬ 
son is twenty pounds milk for one of butter. 
Hon. Zadock Pratt of Greene Co., N. Y., 
who had a dairy of sixty cows employed 
for butter making, and who kepi statistics 
of their product for a number of years, re¬ 
ports one year a little less (ban twenty 
pounds milk ns his average for one pound of 
butter. Some years his average showed a 
much larger quantity of milk for n pound of 
butter, one year going as high as thirty-nine 
pounds- of milk. Ills average for three 
years in succession was about twenty 
I have often heard the remark, “ It don’t 
pay to keep hens—they are a bill of ex¬ 
pense,” &c. I propose to give you the re¬ 
sult of my experience with a small number. I 
have, for the past nine years, kept from fifteen 
to seventeen hens, common breed. I give 
you the figures of the past year, which is a 
lair specimen of the whole. The whole 
number of hens was fifteen, and one male. 
The number of eggs sold and used in the 
family was one hundred and fifty-three 
dozen. 
Sold 125 dozen, average 31e, per dozen.$38.75 
28 dozen used in family, say 25c. per dozen.. 7.00 
26 chickens, say 30c. apiece, a low figure. 7.80 
aim fmsbanbrt) 
X. A. WILLARD, A. II., EDITOR, 
> 
O* I.ITTIK Farm, Hsrxivkb County, Vsw York 
i in viv-i i uw m <-ii. if Jiv-ij Avne - Tr _ _ _ T __ ATTT _ -r 
; are coming in the last of March or first of ANSWERS TO IN QUIRIES. 
April, feeding should be commenced as Boon „ , 
as the middle of March, at least. Frost-bitten Combs.—A cure can be effected 
From four to six quarts of com and oat hy applying glycerine to the comb, or an 
meal, one quart of oil meal and eight quarts ointment made of one-fourth of an ounce of 
of w heat or n-c bran, (rye is best,) makes a turmeric powder to one ounce of cocoa-nut 
trood feed, ibis should be fed until the , ,, , 
middle of May, when, if grass is plenty, the ’ A| ply three times a day. 
meal may be dropped off, and about twelve Fowl* for a Dry Climate —(Rocky Mouii- 
qunrts of. bran fed per day, up to the first of tain Boy.)—Brahma or Cochin fowls are well 
January, or until the cow is dry. Corn fod- adapted for the climate you desire; eggs can 
der I consider one of the very best articles . J , . . , . * 66 
of food for the cotv*. It should he sowed or >c safely shipped, to Montana. 
drilled in, and as soon as the pastures begin Enlargement of Liver and Call. —(E. M.) 
to dry or fail, commence feeding it, and con- —The disease troubling your fowls is un- 
Umie to feed until frost comes. It is then fioubtcdly proventriculus, which often occurs 
tune lor the held corn to be cut and shocked. . _„ . , 
This should be fed from the shock until the ! n JVcr "' L 'u fowls or in consequence of feed- 
cows are dry. It pays better to feed it in ing unnatural or over-stimulating food. Feed 
this way than, in any other, and when the soft cooked food, so as to make as little call 
cows arc dry they will be fat, and can be upon the digestive organs as possible; give 
wiinu dd thVh'llesh ^ k * nd °* 1<H ^ cr » aml a grain of calomel every other day for a few 
The cost of feeding cows in this way will '* a F s * ;in ^ remove the bird to dry, warm 
be about. $25 per bead, and they will yield, quarters. 
certainly, two hundred pounds more cheese Ajwplexy in Fowls— (Winnsboro, S. C 
W l L Vi <m V v l t °°> the correspondent.)—Your fowls should be fed 
value of the cows (by feeding) cither to win- „ * ' _ , , , . 
ter or put into the market, will be increased 0,1 ^scanty !Uld kept in a warm, 
by at least $10 per head. dry hennery. Bleeding is recommended for 
And more than this, one-fourth more cows the disease; take a sharp-pointed pen-knife 
van, by feeding, be kept on the same pasture and open one of the largest veins under the 
sz&fXssXMss r* >"»«-» r*« 
blc feed goes on to the farm as manure. the thumb on the vein at aoj point between 
But does it pay ? We will see whether it ,lie opening and the body, the blood will 
does or not. flow freely and relieve the fowl at once. 
Take, if you please, thirty-two cows with Stimulating food should not be given to 
no feed but grass. Each cow will yield about ^ ill, 
four hundred pounds of cheese. Tt 
twelve and a-half cents per pound. 
CHEESE FACTORIES AND CHEESE 
MAKING. 
Cost of feed....18.25 
Profit.....$3530 
The fowls were not confined at all, but 
had free access to the dunghill and orchard, 
and no attention was paid them hut to feed 
them regularly twice a day. I fed my hens 
corn and corn meal, oafs and buckwheat. 
They were furnished with pure water, lime, 
old mortar, gravel, and during the winter 
months with fresh meat once a week.— John 
II. Severson, Known smile, N. T., 1870. 
DIPTHERIA IN FOWLS 
kerous sores. The cause appears lo me to 
be unsuitable quarters—either damp, un¬ 
clean, or so open that cold drafts and winds 
can play on them when roosting—or neglect 
in feeding, which compels them to seek food 
where they can, when it is wet or very cold 
Out of my nearly dozen cases only one 
proved fatal, (then the fowl was more dead 
than alive before its condition was discover¬ 
ed.) The treatment was as follows:—half 
ounce of tincture of myrrh: one drachm 
powdered borax; one drachm powdered 
chlorate of potash ; dissolve t he borax and 
chlorate of potash in three and a half ounces 
of hot water, and when cold put in a vial, and 
add the tincture of myrrh ; apply this solu¬ 
tion plentifully with a feather or camel’s hair 
brush, three or four times a day, to the mouth 
and throat, and rub the outside sores with 
some cooling ointment. An ointment, made 
from white wax one part, lard four parts, is 
very good but much better is some medicated 
salve, such as many keep by them for burns, 
scalds, sores, &c. Mr. Avery’s ointment 
may be very good for sprains and bruises , 
but for these fever sores something more 
soothing than ointment, made from strong 
penetrating oils is needed. 
Feed with dough of some kind, give them 
drink, and in a few days if treated as above 
your ailing fowls will be all right; then see 
that they have comfortable quarters, and are 
regularly and, in stormy weather, abundantly 
fed. When wet provide a dry light place for 
them to run in. Then your fowls will not 
trouble you with sickness but will be a source 
of profit and of pleasure. Hammond. 
Bedford, Brooklyn, N. Y., March, 1870. 
In your issue of February 12th, I noticed 
a communication from “ Bloomfield,” in 
which your correspondent complained of a 
disease affecting his fowls, accompanied 
with sore throats and a “ most fearful 
smell.” At the time B. wrote 1 had a simi¬ 
lar case on hand, and since then have had 
several. The disorder has also attacked my 
turkeys; have been successful in treating it, 
but as a full statement of my mode of pro¬ 
ceeding would require too much space, I 
will just say that the application of a little 
lunar caustic to the windpipes will arrest 
the progress of the ulceration; then treat 
the bird as any homoeopathic physician 
would membraneous croup in a child. Im¬ 
mediate separation from the other poultry, 
prompt action, and careful nursing have 
been crowned with success on my part, thus 
far. I should like lo ask if this disease is 
not a form of diptheria, as the symptoms 
are very similar to diptheria in the human 
subject.—J. F. M., New Monmouth , N. J. 
On page 170 of Rural, March 13, 1809, a 
similar case was given, and we then stated 
that the onl} r cures we had heard of were 
effected by the use of nitrate of silver and 
powdered borax. The ulcers were cleared 
away as much as possible, and the remedy 
was applied to the flesh left bare thereby. 
The powdered borax seemed to be the most 
effective. As a preventive, a quarter of an 
ounce of chloride of potassium to a half 
gallon water, given the fowls to drink, was 
recommended. 
POULTRY PROFITS 
The following account is the exact num¬ 
ber of eggs that I obtained during 1869 from 
twenty laying fowls of the Brahma, Black 
Spanish and common breeds. The number 
for each month was, viz: — January, 75; 
February, 155 ; March, 210 ; April, 252; 
May, 159; June, 218 ; J uly, 95 ; August, 205; 
September, 188; October, 91; November, 13; 
December, 0. 
FACTORY VATS —STYLES OF 
CHEESE, ETC. 
Will you Tk*%1 kind as to advise me what 
manufacture of vats is considered best for 
factory use? And in your opinion which 
are better, seif-heaters or those heated by 
steam ? Also, what size and weight of cheese 
is it most desirable for factories to make ?—C. 
E. Bush, Shorefmn , Vt., Feb., 1870. 
In small factories, where but one vat is 
to be used, the “ self-heater,” or vat witli 
beater attached is the cheapest, and, oil the 
whole, the best.. 
When several vats are to be used, old 
dairymen prefer steam. The boiler being 
set in a room by itself, and connected to the 
vats by pipes, not only makes tilings very 
handy, but avoids litter and slop in the 
“ making-room.” 
The most, popular shape for cheese to ex¬ 
port is the Cheddar. It is from fourteen and 
A-half to fifteen and a-half inches in diame¬ 
ter, and from nine to ten inches high, —the 
cheese weighing from fifty to sixty pounds. 
This style is also quite popular for the home 
trade. 
In some of the home markets a flatter 
cheese than the Cheddar is desired—a style 
of cheese about half as high as it. is broad 
and weighing not above sixty pounds. If 
the manufacture is to be exclusively for the 
home trade, we should advise a smaller 
cheese, one weighing say from thirty to 
forty pounds. The advantage, however, of 
the Cheddar shape is that it is adapted to 
both home and foreign markets. If pressed 
in fourteen or fourteen and a-half inch 
hoops, it can be made of fifty pounds' weight 
and yet be high enough to meet English 
views as to style. 
Total for the year being 1,729 
eggs, or an average of 86 for each hen. At 
a fair rate of twenty-five cents a dozen, they 
would amount to $36. 1 fed them mainly 
on boiled potatoes, (which on a farm can be 
raised with little trouble,) occasionally giv¬ 
ing them a few oafs. Besides, have raised 
nearly forty young pullets, which will lay 
this spring. The whole expense for bought 
food, &e., was under ten dollars, leaving a 
net profit for the year of twenty-six dollars, 
together with the above number of pullets.— 
F. W. Babcock. 
In the fall of 1868 our fowls numbered 
twelve—one cock, nine pullets, (early May 
chickens,) and two one-year-olds; were a 
mixture of Brahma, Shanghai and Creole. 
Some were from the fifth to the tenth gen¬ 
eration from pure blood. On the 20lh of 
November they began to lay; two of them 
were killed in August ; in October they 
stopped laying. Account kept of all eggs 
gathered showed one hundred and forty- 
nine dozen and ten eggs. Delivered to fami¬ 
lies iu the city of Watertown, 134% dozen ; 
price, 20 to 35 cents—$36.34; 5 3 4 lbs. chick¬ 
ens, $1 15 ; 5% Ills, old hens, 85 cents. To¬ 
tal, $38.34. Our account the year previous 
with twelve hens—laid from January 23d to 
October—shows sold 150 dozen eggs, $38.87; 
30 lbs. chickens, $5.56; 27 old hens, $4; 
6 live chicks, $2.05. Total, $50.48. 
We keep grain (barley If we have it) by 
them all the time. In winter we feed, in 
the morning, cooked corn meal or potatoes, 
and fresh meats, (boiled, when we have it,) 
&c., warm from the table, seasoned some¬ 
times with red pepper, Occasionally we 
give burnt bones, (powdered,) ashes, lime, 
and sand. In summer the feed is loppered 
milk and water daily. The hen honse is 
seven hy eight feet; yard, ten by twelve 
feet. Keep them shut in till 4 P. M., then 
let them rim, except when making garden, 
and while the old hens, which. we let out to 
take care of themselves, are getting ready 
to sit. In July or August, when any of 
them begin to sit, we shut them in a coop a 
day or two, feed coni, and let them run a 
day; they will generally go to laying when 
they go back. I believe a hen will eat, in a 
year, ninety pounds of grain, five pounds 
of meat and potatoes, six gallons of milk, 
with water, worms, grass and stones, Q. S.; 
wall live on less, no doubt, and may eat 
more, and lay from thirteen to fourteen 
dozen eggs. Last spring barley was two 
dollars per bushel; now, it is not far from 
seventy-five cents. Reader, it is for you to 
say how much profit there is in poultry.— 
C. M., Jefferson Co., Feb., 1870. 
FEEDING FOR MILK COWS. 
ing of stock for the dairy. Much depends 
on breeds and breeding, it is true; but there 
is another Important element in securing 
large milkers ivldch must not. be overlooked, 
and that element is food—food that is nu¬ 
tritious, milk-producing, abundant, and of 
easy access to the cows. The best cows, of 
the best breeds, will yield but poor returns 
when fed on " scanty pastures and moon¬ 
shine.” MUk is made from the food that is 
given to the cow, and a large yield requires 
a large supply of nutriment. Great; milkers 
are universally great feeders. Wc have 
never yet been able to obtain a cow that 
would yield a large amount of milk on a 
small amount of food. If there are breeds 
of this kind they have not come under our 
observation. We have no faith in cows for 
the dairy that are dainty eaters. In select¬ 
ing milch stock, of whatever breed, the ca¬ 
pacious stomach and the hearty eater are 
marks not to be ignored among the other 
well known characteristics usually sought 
for iu a good cow. 
We notice from time to time accounts of 
remarkable yields of milk made by cows of 
different breeds; and dairymen often over¬ 
look the matter of food and feeding, think¬ 
ing that the great product is due wholly to 
the particular breed named. Now, while we 
would not for a moment underestimate the 
good results to be obtained by judicious 
breeding of stock for the dairy, the fact 
must not be lost sight of that a great share 
of ibe dairymen’s success lies in the* art of 
feeding. 
The importance of providing a liberal sup¬ 
ply of food for dairy stock was pretty well 
illustrated by Mr. White of Kenosha, Wis., 
at the recent Dairymens’ Convention at that 
city. We are acquainted with Mr. WniTE, 
and know that his reputation stands high at 
the West as a practical and successful dairy¬ 
man,—one who gets large yields from his 
cows. The subjoined remarks made by Mr. 
WiriTE at the Kenosha meeting, we presume 
embody the result of his experience, and we 
give his system of feeding, not for the pur¬ 
pose of recommending it as the best, system, 
but rather to show the difference in results 
lo be obtained from ordinary and extra feed¬ 
ing. The principle we believe bolds good 
generally that extra feed gives an extra quan¬ 
tity of milk, though in some sections this 
Milking Tube*.—Patent milking tubes are ad¬ 
vertised. A correspondent, of the Practical 
Farmer says that forty years ago rye straws 
were used for this purpose—one of these insert¬ 
ed in each teat produced a constant flow of milk 
until the udder was emptied. Turkey quills 
were found better than straws. The writer find¬ 
ing the supply of milk diminished, and learning 
that in cows thus milked the teat became hard¬ 
ened, and lost the power of contracting to such 
an extent that the milk was wasted iu t he fields, 
the tubes were abandoned, only being used in 
case of a sore teat which could not be squeezed 
without giving pain or preventing it healing. 
The writer says if he had a dairy of titty good 
cows he would use these tubes on only one (and 
that a low priced one) for at least a year before 
adopting them altogether. 
an. .as as an average inrough the season, 
ten pounds of milk is considered a fair es¬ 
timate for one pound cured cheese. Some 
manufacturers make better averages than 
this, reporting a pound of cheese from nine 
and n-half pounds of milk, and not unfre- 
| quell fly even a less quantity of milk to the 
a. pound of cheese. Of course, milk varies in 
v quality from various causes, but w hen very 
> large yields of cheese are made from a given 
quantity of milk, old dairymen are apt to 
Parisian Mode of Preserving Milk.— A simple 
method of keeping milk fresh for a long time is 
now extensively practiced is the vicinity of 
Paris. This consists merely iu adding to each 
quart, of fresh milk, before th® cream has risen 
upon it, about six grains ol' bicarbonate of soda 
or potash, and then placing the milk in bottles, 
which are to be tightly corked, for four hours in 
a water bath heated to a temperature of about 
190", taking care not. to go beyond this limit. 
When the bottles are removed from the bath, 
they are to be made perfectly tight by coating 
the cork with wax, and the milk can be kept a 
long time unchanged. 
Inquiries for and from Poulterers. —“A Rural 
Reader” asks u What is the best egg-producing 
food for ducks? Is oat meal and warm water 
good for them? What is tho best food for the 
young ducklings, and bow should they be man¬ 
aged ?”—A. McR., Traverse City, Mich., asks 
why her hens’ legs and feet appear scurvy and 
rough, and at last swell and look like crumbling 
burned boue. It does not affect the health of 
the fowls, apparently, nor cause them to be lame. 
It appears on the oldest hens. 
