i;urn tnisbaniirij. 
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X. A. WILLARD, A. M., EDITOR, 
Or Urn* F*UJ<, Codmtt, N«* Vobk. 
ABOUT ANNOTTO. 
The Little Falls Club anil Prof. Caldwell 
oa Auuotto. 
Prop. Caldwell of Cornell University, 
has made a caretul analysis of several sam¬ 
ples of annotlo senl to him for tlmt purpose 
by the Farmers' Club of Little Falls. The 
anuotto was collected late last, season, from 
some of the finest cheese factories in Herki¬ 
mer comity, and in each case was taken from 
that in actual use at the factory, and it is 
presumed that, each sample was from the 
best basket anuotto that could be procured 
in the market. 
None of the samples sent, according to the 
analysts of Prof. Caldwell, were pure un- 
notlo. In every specimen a large percent¬ 
age of mineral or inorganic matter was found. 
Nearly every sample contained copper, and 
traces of arsenic, it was thought, was discov¬ 
ered in one, though in this case the sample 
•was too small to enable the Professor to 
reach a positive conclusion. The organic 
matter was found to vary from forty-eight to 
seventy-one per cent,, though Prof. C. states 
that it. must not he taken for granted that all 
this organic matter is pure anuotto, as there 
are many organic substances used lor the an invaluable aid to every 
artull.-rations. ,rou "' m ^ er ’ f ° r 11 , Uie 
We may remark here Hint wlieaten flour, exact point of temperature 
four pans, and sec for yourself, how great is 
the difference. We commenced the scalding 
process this week, and this morning skimmed 
the pans, and the cream was twice as thick 
as the others, and far more yellow. We hold 
that a saving of ten per cent., at the lowest 
computation, is made by treating milk in this 
manner. We possess only two cows, “Juno ” 
and “ Daisy,” both of Alderney full blood ; 
and though pastures arc low, and water 
scarce, we make ten pounds of butter per 
week, and use milk and cream for a family 
of five. The cream Is kept in a stone jar, 
and one tablespoonful of salt¬ 
peter is added when the 
cream is first put in; this is 
stirred in every morning, so 
that it becomes well mixed 
with the cream, and prevents 
all tendency to bitterness or 
mold. When ready for the 
churn, another tablespoonful 
is mixed with between eight 
and nine quarts of the cream. 
This we consider a better 
practice than powdering it 
with salt and sugar, and mix¬ 
ing with the butter while 
working it. 
When ready for churning, 
soon as made; and it is well for every small 
dairywmnun to find a consumer who will 
take her butter weekly at a stated price. 
In packing butter in firkins, all the air 
must he excluded. It will not keep well if 
this is not attended to. A heavy pestle is a 
good instrument to pound it down in the 
firkin, which should have been soaked in 
sour milk to remove all woody taste, and 
then scalded thoroughly in brine; salt may 
then be rubbed into it, both sides and bot¬ 
tom. Thus treated, no butter will taste of 
the wood. 
the “ Blanchard ” is thor¬ 
oughly scalded ; the cream 
having been first tested with 
a “ Cream Thermometer”— 
rye flour and turmeric are often used in these 
adulterations, and if there was nothing more 
harmful than flour added, the adulteration 
would only lie a cheat upon the purchaser. 
But mineral poisons like copper and arsenic 
are not the kind of substances to render 
cheese “ a healthy and nutritious article of 
food.” 
It is proper to state, in this connection that 
the new coloring mailer, Annoltome, now 
coining into use among the factories, was 
not included in their analysis. The annot- 
toine, it is claimed, is nothing more or less 
than the coloring matter of I be seeds of the 
plant, Htxa ordinua (extracted by a new pro¬ 
cess,) and claimed to be absolutely lice fioin 
impurities. 
At a discus ion before the Club, some 
time since, several of the members took 
strong grounds against the use of anuotto in 
any form for coloring cheese or butter; not 
only on the ground of its imposing upon 
the dairyman a useless expense, but on ac¬ 
count of the poisonous substances used in 
ihe adulterations of this coloring matter, 
which the dairymen had no means ol de¬ 
tecting. And in order to satisfy the mem¬ 
bers of the Club that the best, basket anuotto 
in market was not free from deleterious 
adulterations, the samples aforesaid were 
submitted to Prof. Caldwell for analysis. 
We are glad to report that the demand 
for while or uncolored cheese seems to lie 
steadily increasing. Bom© ot the Herkimer 
-•fancy factories” have been making this 
kind all the season, and the sales have been 
at the highest* rates received at the Little 
Falls market/ 
If it. were not for the London trade and 
the requirements of certain English mar¬ 
kets, there would be no difficulty in banish¬ 
ing all coloring material from the cheese 
vats. So far -ts the home consumption of 
Cheese is concerned, our people would soon 
Irani to prefer the uncolored article, and 
especial v would this be the case if it, was 
generally understood that the anuotto used 
in coloring cheese was adulterated with 
poisons. 
BUTTER. 
Makiu* and Fuelling Bin lev for Winter Use. 
Bi tter made from fresh autumn pastures 
is belter, in our estimation, for table pur¬ 
poses, than that made in June; because it 
h is not endured the intense beat ot the sum 
mer, and it the cows are well led, and the 
milk and cream nicely oared for, the product 
of October and, i! the season is late, of No¬ 
vember, is always preferable. But extreme 
care must be taken. Milk and cream will 
absorb the least taint ; if apples, cheese, cod¬ 
fish, and a mingled debris of nut. cake, bread, 
cookies, etc., arc. all kept in the milk room, 
the butter cannot possess a sweet, nutty fla¬ 
vor, but will have a taste of all sorts of con¬ 
diments. Milk mast be kept, by itself. This 
is one of the greatest necessities in butter 
making, and is the reason why “ spring- 
house” butter so far exceeds any other that 
can be manufactured. 
A dairy room at this season, should be 
kept at a temperature of 60’, else the milk 
will stand too long before the cream can all 
rise. Few small dairies can procure such a 
temporal ore; but if the milk is allowed to 
stand twelve hours, and then is placed upon 
a wire toaster and healed until the cream 
crinkles, then stands another t welve or t wen¬ 
ty hours, the cream will rise “thick as a 
leather apron,” and far more yellow than 
that which is not scalded. If you doubt, this, 
my friend, try the experiment with three or 
needed to produce the but¬ 
ter. It, is easily cleansed, and 
is a desideratum for every 
dairy. The “Blanchard” 
churn is a great improvement upon all 
other dasher churns. We wish we bad the 
power to present one to the poor women 
who twice a week exert all their muscular 
powers in working over butter, which this 
admirable churn can do for them in twenty 
minutes, or even less time. We would never 
recommend the washing of butter that is to 
be packed down ; if it is eaten directly there 
is not so much injury done to it; but the 
sugar of milk, upon which depends the sweet? 
ness of butter, is soluble In water, aud will 
surely he washed out. Pieces of ice put into 
the churn, if the butter is soft, will tei.d to 
harden it, and aid the extraction of the but¬ 
ter milk, without taking its sweetness away. 
If butter is intended to be lu-pt until the 
later winter months, it should have sugar as 
well as salt well mixed Into it. To every 
pound, an even tablespoonful Of sugar, aud 
the same of salt, should be added, taking 
great care not to heap the spoon, but 
smoothing it off with the finger. Now 
work it thoroughly in with the crank of the 
chum reversed. 
When cows are taken from fresh grass 
feed, the cream loses its yellow tinge, and 
some kind of coloring matter is required. 
We have always used carrots grated into a 
little new milk, and scalded, then strained 
through a thick cloth; but pure annotlo is 
much used now, and is far more convenient 
to apply. In an “ Essay ” by O. S. Bliss, 
upon butter making, he says:—“It is a 
purely vegetable extract, and the Brazilians, 
who manufacture it, make use of it to tint 
very manv of the most delicate aud luxurious 
dishes served at tlieir repasts. We have a 
friend who lias traveled extensively in South 
America, and who is acquainted with its 
nature and the process of manufacturing it. 
He speaks of it as analogous to our butter in 
some respects; one of which is that the 
really pure article is of a comparatively im¬ 
perishable or self-preserving nature, and it 
imparls to milk, butter and cheese, in some 
degree, this preservative principle.” 
We intend to act upon Mr. Bliss’ advice, 
and send for the anuotto as soon as our but¬ 
ter loses its bright hue; for yellow butter is 
far more attractive to the seuses than a lardy 
article can ever be 1 
If butter is well made, the cream free from 
all extraneous flavors, well worked, and not 
too heavily sailed, it may still be spoiled by 
not being properly packed. The custom ol 
making it into two pound “rolls,” stamped 
on each side with a design of flowers or 
fruit, and wrapping it neatly in thin white 
cotton cloths, is growing in favor every sea¬ 
son. Consumers will pay a much higher 
price for butler “ rolls” which look “ pretty.” 
There is more work in thus preparing it, no 
doubt; but ten to fifteen cents a pound 
higher price will amply pay for that. “ Ex 
tra labor, extra price,” is a well established 
rule in all markets. These “rolls,” if not 
sold directly, can be kept fresh and sweet for 
months in a brine composed of three pounds 
of salt, six quarts of water, one pound of 
saltpeter, and one pound and a-half of white 
lump sugar; mix the ingredients, pour on 
the water boiling hot; let it settle and cool; 
then strain through a thick cloth to remove 
Fiq. 1.— Barren Full-Fkatheued Sebright Bantam Hen- 
When butter firkins are filled, cloth cov¬ 
ered over them, and the cover well nailed 
down, they will spoil if allowed to stand 
where the air is close or impure. A cellar 
where potatoes are stored will spoil butter; 
a pantry filled with spices, stores, etc., will 
also ruin it. There is no article of food 
which absorbs taints so quickly. If butter 
is kept in a store room with kerosene, it will 
taste of it. Butter is an aristocrat in every 
sense of the word, and must he kept aloof 
from all that can contaminate. If these 
simple hints are attended to by all onr read¬ 
ers who are making butler for market , they 
will he sure to produce “ gill-edged butter” 
which will command the highest price, and 
then it will not be said that “ Only one tub 
of blitter in ten can be called A No. 1.”— 
s. o. J. 
is represented in Fig. 1, is certainly one of 
the most extraordinary on record, for the 
hen has not merely taken on the appearance 
of the male of her own variety, but has be¬ 
come still more masculine. Every poultry 
fancier knows that a Sebright bantam cock 
is what is called a hen-feathered bird—viz.: 
it lias a square tail like that of a hen, and is 
destitute of the flowing sickle and saddle 
feathers and long pointed hackles that ordi¬ 
narily distinguish the male species of domes¬ 
tic poultry. It might have been anticipated 
that the barren Sebright hen would have 
only assumed the male characters proper to 
the breed to which she belonged, such as a 
largely developed comb, elongated spurs, 
and the masculine crow ; but this specimen 
acquired the long sickle and saddle feathers 
and pointed hackles of an ordinary full- 
feathered cock, still retaining the beautiful 
lacings or markings peculiar to the variety 
to which she belonged. 
“ The hen died in the autumn of last year 
before she had quite got through her moult, 
consequently the sickle feathers are not so 
long and curved as they would have been 
bad she lived a few weeks longer. She was, 
however, carefully preserved for me by Mr. 
E. Ward of London, and the engraving is a 
very faithful representation of her appear¬ 
ance. 
“ The converse of the assumption of male 
plumage by the hen is the putting on the 
female plumage by the cock. There are, as 
is well known, several varieties of domestic 
poultry in which the cocks are hen-feathered, 
as in some breeds of Hamburghs and game. 
This peculiarity is generally hereditary, and 
in the old days of the cock-pit, hen-cocks 
were well known. There is, however, a re¬ 
markable distinction between the two cases 
described. A ben that lias assumed the 
male plumage does so from being barren, 
and in consequence of disease or degenera¬ 
tion of the ovary. A hen feathered cock, on 
the contrary, is perfectly fertile, and usually 
produces chickens with plumage like his 
own. The change of plumage from the full 
feather of the cock to the sober attire of the 
hen has never, 1 believe, been recorded, ex¬ 
cept by myself. It was a Game Bantam Hint 
was kept by me as a stock bird for bis first 
season, and that changed at the second au¬ 
tumnal moult into the plumage of a hen of 
the same variety—namely, brown-breasted 
red. During his second breeding season, 
and as long as he lived afterwards, he pro¬ 
duced chickens, some of which were full- 
feathered cocks, aud some hen-feathered like 
himself.” 
. -- - 
MARKETING POULTRY. 
extra fine poultry to send to market, 1 would 
recommend to put paper over each layer 
before placing the straw on it; this prevents 
the dust settling on it, and adds much to its 
appearance. 
The box should have the initials of the 
consignor, the number and variety of the 
contents, as well as the name of the con¬ 
signee, marked on it. The necessity for 
marking the number and variety of contents 
is, that in case the box is broken open and 
any portion of the contents missing before 
delivery to the consignee, they will be ena¬ 
bled to make a correct bill for the missing 
poultry. Another advantage is, that the 
consignee knows by a glance at the box 
whether it contains the desired variety he 
wishes; if not, he need not open it, and the 
contents will not receive a needless handling; 
for some parties prefer a mixed box, while 
others do not, and all dealers prefer selling 
the entire contents of the box to one person, 
as it avoids error in weighing and keeping 
the accounts. 
To those wishing to market capons I 
would say, they should be dry picked, with 
the feathers on around the head and the tip 
of the wings; also the tail feathers left in; 
the small or pin feathers should all be re¬ 
moved. 
Send geese for Christmas, as they are more 
in demand at that time, and will bring more 
money than any other, as all Irishmen and 
many Germans think it is not Christmas 
without a goose for dinner. Send all large 
turkeys before New Year’s, as they are want¬ 
ed to adorn the New Year’s table; and they 
depreciate immediately after that day in 
price. Small turkeys are then in better de¬ 
mand, while chickens and ducks can he sent 
any time after they are fattened, and never 
until then. 
Persons living at a distance from this city 
and desiring to send their poultry to market 
for any particular occasion, should allow at 
least two days longer for its transportation 
than usual, so that it will not miss the mar¬ 
ket for that occasion; for the dealer had 
better receive it a day or two sooner than 
one hour too late. Now and Then. 
New York, Oct., 1870. 
POULTRY : 
Irregular Sexual Variations of Plumage. 
This is a subject that lias of late attracted 
considerable attention of breeders, not only 
in this country but also in England and 
France. Some time during 1869 a corres¬ 
pondent, and particular friend of the Rural 
New-Yorker entered a complaint against 
a well-known breeder, of having been swin¬ 
dled by him. lie (the said correspondent) 
having purchased a pair of fowls and repre¬ 
sented to us that instead of receiving a male 
and female bird he had got two male birds. 
Some time afler lie again wrote us that one 
of Hie birds hud every appearance of being 
a cock bird, bulb in plumage and action, but 
laid an egg every day, with the regularity of 
clock-work. He could not account for this 
curious freak of nature. He set the eggs of 
this product, but never had any of them 
hutch ; seemingly none of them were im¬ 
pregnated. 
(ports tmttt. 
NOTES FOR SPORTSMEN. 
Fig. 2. — Fertile Hen-Feathered Game 
Bantam Cock. 
We now get, through the London Field, 
impurities. Pour this over your “rolls” of illustrations of birds of this character, which 
butter; keep them under it with a heavy we herewith transfer to our columns, with a 
weight, and it will be as sweet in April as in condensed report of the same as made to the 
October. But if your butter is well made, Field, by the well-known author W. B. 
and of good flavor and color, you will have Tegetmeier. He says: “ The case of 
no difficulty in selling it at a good price as assumption of male plumage by the lemale, 
Valuable Hints from “Now and Tben.” 
In a late number of the Rural New- 
Yorker, I noticed an article on “Market¬ 
ing Poultry,” ami thinking it not quite defi¬ 
nite enough to instruct Hie young beginner, 
I take the liberty of offering a few sugges¬ 
tions in addition. 
The French mode of killing is preferable, 
when the head of the bird is to be left on ; 
but that is not necessary, neither is it desira¬ 
ble; but when the head is taken off, the skin 
should always he pulled over the stump and 
tied. The mode of picking while the bird is 
warm is called “dry picking,” and is the fa¬ 
vorite method of dressing poultry for the 
Philadelphia market. There is one objec¬ 
tion to tliis system, that it does not improve 
the appearance, although it does tiie flavor ; 
and while cooking it will “ plump up” and 
come out of the oven looking much finer 
than when it went in. In addition, it will 
keep much longer than when dressed by the 
other mode. 
Another plan is, after the bird is picked, 
as above described, plunge it in a kettle of 
very hot water, holding it there only long 
enough to cause the bird to “plump," then 
hang it up, turkeys and chickens by the feet, 
and geese and ducks by the head, until thor¬ 
oughly cooled. This scalding makes the fat 
look bright and clear, and to appear much 
fatter than it would if picked dry. This is 
the usual mode of dressing for the New York 
markets. 
All poultry should be thoroughly cooled 
before packing. Then provide boxes, for 
they are preferable to barrels ; place a layer 
of rye straw that, has been thoroughly clean 
ed from dust, on the bottom; commence 
packiug by placing the head of the fowl 
against the end of the box, the bird lying 
on its breast, with the legs extended behind 
it; the last ones of the layer must be revers- 
s ed, the feet passing under each other, so that 
the heads are against the other end ot the 
box. This gives a uniformity of appearance, 
and a firmness in packing, that will prevent 
moving during transportation. Over this 
layer, place straw enough to prevent one 
layer from coming in contact with the other; 
then add other layers, packed in the same 
manner, until the box is filled. 
Care should be taken to have the box 
filled full, in order to prevent any disar¬ 
rangement of the contents; for should it be¬ 
come misplaced, the skin may become so 
Catching Pickerel through Ice. 
I am glad to see that you have opened a 
department for country sportsmen?®: Near 
us is a pond which contains lots of fine 
pickerel. Some fishermen make a very good 
living catching these through llie ice in win¬ 
ter. I don’t know bow they do it, but I 
should like to know, and 1 thought perhaps 
some of the Rltral New-Yorker’s read¬ 
ers could tell me how to do it. Also if 
other kinds of fish can be caught in the same 
way.—J ames L. Good. 
Bait for Bush. 
A have read, with a great deal of inter¬ 
est, what lias been said in the Rural New- 
Yorker about catching bass. But I have 
not seen soft crabs recommended as a bait 
for this fish. I have been told that they are 
an excellent bait, but have never tried them. 
Have any of the Rural boys?—A New 
England Boy. 
Trapping Rabbits. 
It will soon be time to trap rabbits. Can 
any of your readers tell me the best way to 
do it? Any mode of trapping them suc¬ 
cessfully, or the best way to hunt them will 
be interesting and profitable to me, since 
the)' are a great pest among our trees.— 
Rustic. _ 
Arelicry for Americans. 
Innocent sports ought to be cultivated 
in this country more than they are. Cro¬ 
quet is very popular; but 1 have often won¬ 
dered that archery has not attracted the at¬ 
tention of elegant Americans, as it com¬ 
mands that of English youth. It is an ele¬ 
gant and exciting amusement.— An Eng¬ 
lishwoman. 
Cleaning a Shot Gun* 
I am glad to .see a Department in the 
Rural New-Yorker for sportsmen. 1 
have wanted to ask the best way to keep a 
shot gun clean, the best way to clean it and 
the best material to use in cleaning it. Some 
of yoftr readers, I am sure, can give me 
valuable hints on the subject. P> 
Moreton. _j_ 
To Caleb Muskrats. 
Take a steel trap with a single spring, s< t 
it one inch and a-balf under water, hang 
part of a sweet apple over the foot plate, 
and chain the trap l<> a stake or rush. J "e 
reason why we set the imp under waUn is 
that when the muskrat meets the apple t 
will jump for it; when he comes down he 
gets his paws iu the trap.—A Reader. 
How to Tan Squirrel Skins. 
Rollin Fessenden, a Pennsylvania boy, 
asks some of the Rural New-Y orker kos 
to tell him how to tun squirrel skins. e 
have tanned them in the same w av as mm 
badly disfigured as to cause a depreciation been recommended in the Rural tui 
of the value to the owner. To those having I ning woodchuck skins. 
V 
