r£B.  s§ 
MOORE'S  RURAL  NEW-YORK 
ER. 
Bairu  iiisbaiih'g. 
THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  CORING  CHEESE. 
Address  of  X.  A.  Willard  of  the  Rural  New- 
Y’orker  before  the  Vermont  Dairymen's 
Convention,  Jan.  21,  1876. 
Ajierioan  Cheese  will  not  be  likely  to  reach  its 
highest  excellence  until  more  attention  is  given 
to  the  cowtruction  of  cimng-houscs.  >VTjile  our 
cheese  makers  have  been  desirous  of  learning 
the  best  methods  of  handling  milk  to  obtain  a 
fancy  product,  and  while  in  many  instances  they 
have  been  able  to  make  an  article  equal  h)  the 
best,  up  to  the  time  It  leaves  the  jtress  and  is  I 
carried  to  the  ciu'ing-room,  they  have  found  their 
skill  at  the  vat  not  unfrcqnently  neutralized  in 
the  curing-room,  the  cheese  often  deteriorating 
from  week  to  week,  and  turning  out  a  Hccond  or 
third-class  product. 
There  is  an  erroneous  notion  among  many 
dairymen  and  cheesemongers  as  to  the  proper 
proportion  of  constituents  required  for  itiaking  a 
tirst-closB  cheese.  The  impression  prevails  that 
the  best  cheese  must  necessarily  contain  the 
most  butter  in  its  composition,  and  this  has  de¬ 
terred  many  from  making  improvements  in  the 
true  direction. 
It  is  almost  impossible  to  conrince  cheese 
dealers  and  dairjTnen  that  a  rich,  mellow,  palata¬ 
ble  cheese,  having  the  taste  and  apiKjarance  of 
much  fat  in  Us  eom]>ositlon,  can  be  made  from 
milk  not  panlcularly  rich  in  butter,  and  yet  such 
has  been  proved  over  and  over  again,  not  only 
by  cheese  makers  who  have  had  the  milk  and  its 
manufacture  under  their  immediate  charge,  but 
by  chemists  who  have  subjected  such  cheese  to 
ultimate  analysis. 
It  has  come  to  such  a  pass  at  onr  Conventions 
that  any  statement  of  facts  concerning  this 
question  ia  regai-ded  by  many  as  a  direct  injury 
to  our  cheese  industry,  because,  as  they  say.  It 
leads  to  a  more  extensive  praclio  of  skinuning, 
which,  by  incioasing  a  lower  grade  of  cheese, 
must  eventually  ruin  the  ropntatinn  of  .\nioriean 
cheese  in  foreign  markets.  Thus,  by  suppress- 
iug  truth  and  by  IriMtilliiig  a  false  notion  con¬ 
cerning  the  real  value  of  butter  in  the  cheese, 
dairymen  have  been  led  away  from  one  of  the 
most  important  rcqiiisitea  to  success— the  im¬ 
provement  of  oiu'  cheese  M-hile  imdorgoing  the 
curing  process. 
Ill  disenssing  this  subject,  I  liope  it  will  not  be 
charged  that  I  am  advocating  skim  clieeKe  munu- 
facture,  Tliiit  is  not  my  purpose,  but  rather  to 
eliminate  truth.  If  any  one  is  so  wiirjsxt  by 
prejudice  that  he  must  shut  Ids  eyes  to  the 
truth  ;  if  he  Is  so  set  in  his  own  opinion  that  ho 
will  not  try  to  get  nut  of  the  rut,  but  still  per¬ 
sists  in  wallowing  in  the  mire  of  old  prejudices, 
no  rea.soriiug  of  mine  can  help  him  onivard  in 
the  road  to  progress.  I  know  there  are  many 
such  men,  and  they  ai’c  a  ch'ag  on  the  tlairy  in- 
dustiy  of  the  eouritiy.  They  believe  that  ft 
cheese  is  only  goo<l  in  proportion  to  the  amount 
of  fat  in  its  composition ;  that  all  poor  cheese 
is  the  dii'oct  result  of  skimming.  They  are  con¬ 
tinually  haqiing  upon  the  danger  of  losing  the 
reputation  of  American  cheese  abroad,  and  yet 
they  offer  no  suggestion  and  make  no  effort  for 
improving  its  quality. 
THE  COMPLAINT  AGAINST  AMERICAN  CHEESE. 
What  has  been  and  is  to-day  the  cluef  ctmi- 
plaiut  against  American  cheese  ?  Not  that  it  i.s 
deficient  in  fat,  but  that  it  is  of  bad  llavor,  de¬ 
fective  in  texture,  and  has  a  teudency  to  early 
decay.  Any  character  of  cheese  tliat  is  shui  t- 
lived,  that  is  liable  to  lo.sc  flavor  aud  fall  into 
early  decay  on  the  dealer’s  hauds,  will  be  re¬ 
garded  as  more  or  less  dangerous  to  handle,  and 
buyers  must  be  expected  to  regulate  their  prices 
ill  proixirtiori  to  the  ri.sk  of  Jioldiiig. 
One  would  suppose  from  what  is  frequently 
taught  at  these  (Jonventions  that  nearly  the 
whole  product  of  cheese  sliipped  abroad  is  made 
at  creameries  and  from  milk  which  had  been  de¬ 
prived  of  nearly  all  its  butter.  It  is  couvenient, 
of  courso,  for  w'hole-milk  chouse  miuiufacturers 
to  attribute  low  iJiices  and  their  troubles  in  the 
market  to  the  creameries ;  but  it  is  a  false  as¬ 
sumption  aud  most  mischievous  to  the  well-being 
of  our  dairy  iudusi  ry.  'J'lie  trouble  of  stagna¬ 
tion  aud  low  prices  comes  from  the  great  abun¬ 
dance  of  whole-milk  cheese —choose  not  deliolent 
ill  butter,  but  dofoctive  in  llavor —defective  in 
moisture — either  loo  much  or  too  little — cheese 
badly  made,  and  for  the  most  part  badlj/  aired. 
There  nevei-  was  a  time  when  the  nmrkct  was 
glutted  with  “extra  fancy  cheese  ” — cheese  of 
clean,  sweet,  nutty  flavor — cheese  of  good,  keep¬ 
ing  qualities.  1  say  there  never  was  a  time 
when  such  cheese  would  not  sell  at  good,  fair 
prices. 
COMPARATIVE  PRICES  Of  ENGLISH  AND  AMERICAN  CHEESE. 
Look  over  the  English  mai-ket  reports  for  the 
past  ten  years  and  yon  will  find  that  English 
cheddfti-  has  ranged  not  far  from  90s.  sterling 
per  handled  weight,  year  after  year,  while 
American  vaiies  from  30  to  70  shillings.  The 
following  wero  the  quotations  of  the  London 
market  on  Dec.  11,  1875 : 
English  Cheddar,  first  quality.  928.  per  cwt,., 
equal  to  22}-jC.  per  lb.  cimi'ency  ;  second  quality, 
748.  {ler  cwt.,  equal  to  18c.  cmrency.  English 
Cheshire,  first  quality,  86s.  per  cwt..  equal  to 
21c.  curi'cucy;  second  quality,  768.  per  cwt.. 
equal  to  ISji'c.  currency  ;  third  iiuality,  70s.  per 
cwt.,  equal  to  17c,  ctuTciicy;  fourth  quality,  .uOs. 
per  cwt.,  equal  to  12}^c.  currency.  .Scotch  Ched¬ 
dar,  first  quality,  76s.  per  cwt.,  equal  to  ISt^'c. 
currrticy  ;  second  quality,  548.  per  cwt.,  equal  to 
1.5,t^c.  ciureney,  Dutch  Oonda,  first  quality, 
608.  jxir  cwt.,  equal  to  145^c.  currency,;  .second 
quality,  568.  poi'  civt.,  equal  to  ISJ^c.  ciU'rency. 
Dutch  Edam,  first  quality,  C8s.  per  cwt.,  equal 
to  16>4'c.  cm-reucy  ;  second  quality,  56s.  per  c^vt., 
equal  to  i;l%c.  currency.  .Americau,  first  qual¬ 
ity,  5Ss,  j>er  civt.,  equal  to  14c.  cyrruiicy ;  second 
quality,  50s.  per  cwt.,  erpial  to  12c.  currency : 
third  quality,  408.  per  cwt.,  equal  to  cur¬ 
rency.  Such  a  difference  in  values  proves  either 
tliat  our  goods  do  not  enter  into  compi’titioii,  or 
that  the  quality  is  so  inferior  that  our  competi¬ 
tion  is  practically  of  no  detriment  to  the  foreign 
producers. 
Mr.  Lives  of  Derhyshlre,  Eng.,  who  has  made 
a  specialty  in  keeping  the  run  of  these  matters, 
says  in  a  recent  letter  to  me  that  there  lias  been 
scarcely  any  variation  in  the  price  of  first-cla-ss 
cheese  for  many  years  in  the  markets  of  liii- 
glaud.  The  variation  has  been  confmed  exclu¬ 
sively  to  the  common  and  inferior  grades. 
'file  chai'ge,  therefore,  that  creamery  skim 
cheese  is  ruining  the  market  for  yood  Chinese  at 
home  and  abroad  is,  in  my  oi)iuioii,  not  wtdl- 
founded,  aud  demands'  correction.  The  low 
prices  are  on  the  skims  and  lower  gi'ades,  not  on 
the  best.  To  make  a  cmpaiison  let  us  take  the 
article  of  butter,  lii  regard  to  quantity  the 
cheese  product  dwiiidlos  into  iii.sigiiificant  pi'o- 
{Kirtioiis  beside  that  of  butter,  for  it  is  estimated 
that  we  are  unimully  maldug  from  a  thousaud  to 
fourteen  hundred  iidllion  pounds  of  butter,  and 
only  three  hundred  million  ]>ouud.s  of  cheese,  or 
nearly  five  times  more  butter  tbau  cheese,  and 
we  all  know  the  quantity  of  poor  butter  as  com¬ 
pared  with  that  of  checso  is  immensely  greater  ; 
and  yet  there  is  a  premimn  on  a  fine  article  of 
butter,  the  price  not  luifrequeutly  ruuniug  from 
76e.  to  ijil  per  pound.  It  is  so  on  Hour,  on 
meats,  a  lul  on  all  classes  of  goods ;  the  depre-  i 
ciatloii  is  nut  on  the  extra  -  line  article,  which  is 
always  in  demand  at  good  prices,  but  on  the 
coiniiioii  or  inferior  grades.  So  I  think  the 
whole-milk  factories,  which  are  maldug  a  supe¬ 
rior  proiluct,  need  have  no  fears  tiiat  their  busi¬ 
ness  Is  to  be  injured  by  the  slcitn-clieese  men, 
but  rather  that  there  will  be  a  better  demand  for 
tlieir  goods  and  better  prices,  while  the  common 
grades  must  be  the  ones  that  suffer  In  price. 
The  important  point  I  wish  to  urge  in  this  con¬ 
nection  is  the  adoiJtion  of  means  to  improve 
American  cheese  of  all  sorts,  whether  it  be  made 
from  whole-milk,  uulk  skimmed  or  half  skimmed. 
The  way  to  retain  our  reputatiou  at  home  and 
abroad  ia  not  by  resting  on  what  we  have  al¬ 
ready  accomplished  and  by  urging  creameries  to 
abandon  their  business  or  throw  their  skimmed 
milk  away,  but.  oii  the  other  hand,  to  stimulate 
manufacturers  to  continue  to  make  a  better  aud 
better  product  from  tlic  material  in  tlieir  hands. 
If  the  Cheddar  dairjTiieii  of  Somersetshire,  by 
skimming  tho,  night's  milk  and  adding  to  it  the 
moniing’s  milk  can  make  a  cheese  that  will  soU 
at  from  20  to  30  shilliugs  sterling  more  per  cwt. 
than  that  from  our  best  whole-milk  factories, 
then  there  is  room  for  us  to  Improve  our  goods, 
so  us  to  eompete  with  chtslilar  dairymen.  If 
Holland  can  make  a  skimmed  cheese  that  com¬ 
petes  in  [irice  with  onr  best  whole-milk  cheese  In 
tlie  English  market,  is  it  not  time  to  inquire  into 
the  defects  of  our  sy.stem  of  cheese  iiialdiig,  in¬ 
stead  of  making  loud  cries  against  the  butter 
factories,  with  useless  efforts  to  suppress  them  ? 
I  say  UHolosH  efforts,  because  butter  and  .skim 
cheese  will  continue  to  be  made  so  long  as  they 
yield  satisfactory  profits.  If  more  money  is  to 
he  got  by  tuniiiig  skimmed  milk  into  cheese 
than  into  moat,  it  will  be  hard  to  convince  those 
who  are  making  a  haudsoiiie  profit  in  this  way 
that  it  is  better  to  abandon  that  business  in  or- 
1  der  that  the  reputation  and  profits  of  their 
I  neighbor  who  makes  whole-milk  cheese  may  be 
I  increased.  Tho  time  way,  it  seems  to  me,  ia  to 
I  accept  the  situation,  and  then  all  hands  go  to 
work  to  improve  om’  product,  thereby  lueieasiug 
our  reputation  aud  profits.  This  can  be  done  by 
studying  the  requii’emouts  of  tho  curing  pro¬ 
cess,  by  placing  tho  cheese  under  certain  condi¬ 
tions  that  favor  its  perfection,  instead  of  allow¬ 
ing  chance  to  have  control  in  this  matter. 
THE  THREE  POINTS  IN  CURING. 
I  The  chuddar  dauymun,  by  long  -  continued 
I  practice  and  exiiuriinent,  have  established  three 
I  points  in  the  ciu'ing  of  cheese.  First,  that  a 
temperature  of  from  70  to  75  deg.  is  the  proper 
range  for  sociuing  meliowiicss  in  texture,  sweet, 
'  clean,  nutty  fiavor  and  loiig-kueping  ciualities ; 
second,  that  this  temperature  must  be  main- 
I  tallied  tlu'oiighout  the  curing  process,  and  tliat 
I  uneven  temperatures  much  above  and  then  sink¬ 
ing  below  the  range  named  is  prejudicial  to  fine 
flavor;  and  third,  that  excessive  di'yness  of  the 
atmosphere,  like  tliat  produced  from  the  heat  of 
stoves,  injures  texture  and  flavor  by  produciug  a 
too  rapid  absorption  of  moistiu  c.  Take,  for  in¬ 
stance.  the  Imup  of  curd  as  it  comes  from  the 
press.  If  it  has  beeu  weU  made  froui  ft\-erage 
whole  iiiilli.  we  have  a  tough,  curdy-liku  mass, 
consisting  of — without  assiuaing  to  be  exact— of, 
say,  23  per  cent,  of  butter.  40  per  cunt,  of  water, 
and  some  mineral  matters.  It  is  in  this  condi¬ 
tion  about  as  unfit  for  food  as  unbaked  dough. 
Now,  what  is  required  of  this  ijiece  of  raw  ciud 
to  fit  it  for  the  palate  of  the  fastidious  cheese 
eater  of  England  ?  Well,  in  the  fli'st  place,  the 
caseinc  must  be  completely  broken  down  and  iii- 
tiniately  mingled  with  the  butter,  while  a  por¬ 
tion  of  the  water  must  be  eliminated  and  tho 
baluiicu  so  di.stribiited  through  the  mass  as  to 
make  the  whole  a  homogenous  suh.staiioo  -  mel¬ 
low,  plastic,  delicious,  ^fhe  moisture  must  be  so 
Intimately  mingled  through  the  whole  that  it 
cannot  be  easily  separattal  or  distiiiguislivd  from 
tho  other  parts,  but  ratlier  giving  one  the  im¬ 
pression,  when  a  bit  of  the  cheese  Is  pressed  un¬ 
der  the  finger  or  tasted  In  tho  mouth,  that  it  is 
rich  in  butter.  lu  addition,  the  several  parts, 
while  undergoing  this  change,  must  have  re¬ 
tained  a  clean,  sweet,  nutty  fiavor.  Now.  we 
know  by  analysis  how  much  moisture  should  be 
held  in  a  pruiierly-curcd  chceso.  The  analysis 
of  the  very  liest  of  the  clteddar  cheeses  when  six 
months  old  show  that  it  contains  nearly  34  per 
cent,  of  water,  a  little  more  than  33  per  cent,  of 
butter  and  28  jior  cent,  of  easeine.  ;Vu  analysis  | 
of  the  best  .Ainericau  ohoeso  fiidicutos  about  27 
per  cent,  of  water,  35^  per  ceut.  of  butter  and 
26  per  cent,  of  caseine.  In  ntber  words,  it  has 
2}.^  per  cent,  more  butter  and  3  per  cent,  less 
water  tlian  tho  English  cheddar,  thus  Uidicatlug 
that  the  3  per  ceut.  of  moisture  in  the  English 
Cheddar  in  excess  of  that  in  the  American  is 
made  to  take  the  place  of  butter,  producing  a 
more  palatable  and  desirable  cheese,  and  one 
that  will  sell  for  more  money  iu  the  English 
market  than  the  iVmericau. 
Mr.  Heed  of  Ilorkiiiier,  who  for  some  years 
kept  au  accurate  record  of  the  weight  of  clieese 
from  the  tinio  it  was  made  up  to  diiTerent  dates, 
found  llio  average  shiiukage  of  choose  during 
the  first  thirty  days  after  manufactiu’e  to  be— in 
Jime,  10  per  cent.;  July,  12  ixir  cent.;  .August,  6 
per  rent.;  rteptember,  3  jnu-  cent.;  October,  3 
per  cent.;  November,  4  per  cent.;  December,  3 
per  coat.  TIuis  showing  that  us  lomperatm'e  de¬ 
creases  in  the  fall  tlie  shrliikugo  also  decreases. 
It  is  well  known  that  onr  best  choeso  is  of  Heji- 
teiuber  moke.  'Tlie  temperature  of  tbo  weather 
during  September  and  October  approximates 
more  nearly  to  70  deg.  than  in  June  or  July. 
1  lliiuk  It  may  be  safely  a.ssumcd  that  iu  all 
.«weIl-oilrfid  cheese  of  desirable  quality  and  flavor 
we  must  have  at  least  from  30  to  33  jicr  cent,  of 
molaliire,  or  else  an  excess  of  fat  to  more  than 
supply  the  deficiency  of  nioisturo  when  the  latter 
runs  below  33  jier  cent.  The  defect  complained 
of  in  American  factory  cheese  when  well  inade 
is  a  tendency  to  dryness.  In  some  of  our  home  ' 
markets,  like  Boston  and  PhUadclpliia,  for  In¬ 
stance,  a  gi'ade  of  cheese  made  in  Ohio  has  ob¬ 
tained  some  popularity.  It  is  softer  aud  more 
jilastic  Uian  the  ordinary  slupping  cheese  of  New 
York.  Much  of  it  has  tlie  appearaiux!  of  pos¬ 
sessing  an  excess  of  fat;  it  Is  not  fat  but  moist- 
iire,  wliich  is  so  intimately  blended  with  the 
soUds  as  to  bo  taken  for  wliat  the  cheesemonger 
denominates  “good  stock.” 
One  of  Uic  prominent  faults  in  cm-iiig  cheese 
ia  a  too  rapid  eviqiorution  of  nioisturo  in  tho 
early  slagee  of  curing.  The  water  does  not  have 
a  chance  to  assimilate  witli  the  other  parts  be¬ 
fore  passing  off ;  hence  dijnicss  and  apparent 
lack  of  butter.  If  the  evaporation  had  beeu 
gradual  and  time  given  for  the  water  to  boeonie 
assunilated  or  “fixed,"  so  to  speak,  iu  the 
cheese,  the  curing  process  would  be  eiirried  ou 
more  perfectly,  aud  tlie  evaporation  thereafter 
would  of  necessity  be  more  slow.  1  saw  this 
exemplified  In  tho  experiment  made  at  the  Mc¬ 
Lean  factory  last  summer,  when  it  was  at¬ 
tempted  to  cure  cheese  by  a  process  of  applying 
dry  steam  iu  tJic  way  liunber  is  sea.simed.  The 
cheese  came  out  insipid  aud  almost  tasteless  so 
far  us  a  development  of  a  cheesy  flavor  was  con¬ 
cerned,  and  altJiough  it  was  placed  in  the  curing- 
room  and  kept  there  u  long  time,  it  did  not  again 
taku  iiu  a  good  lliivor  or  hecoiiie  mellow  like 
clieese  projieiiy  cured.  Agaiu,  when  the  fer- 
J  lueulfttlon  IS  curried  on  unevenly— at  one  time 
hastened  by  high  teniperatiire  aud  tlie.n  checked 
by  a  low  temperature — the  chee.se  is  apt  to  put 
oh  a  bitter  taint.  1  uscil  u.  think  this  bitter 
taint  came,  for  the  most  part,  from  weeds  which 
the  cows  ale  (and  it  does  take  taints  in  that 
I  wayj  I  blit  J  have  found  from  experiment  that  a 
bitter  taint  can  be  developed  in  any  cheese  by 
alternately  stimulatiug  and  chocking  fennentu^ 
tiou,  anil  tills  reiieiiUxlly  under  high  aud  low 
temperatures. 
There  are  imnicuso  quantities  of  cheese,  well 
made  at  first,  that  are  suriously  iujoicd  by  this 
bitter  taint.  It  is  of  various  degrees  of  inten¬ 
sity,  according  to  conditions  in  curing,  but  all 
leaving  au  unpleasant  taste  in  the  mouth.  It  is 
particularly  cAiJecUouable  to  English  buyers,  who 
are  geuerally  experts  iu  discriiiunating  defective 
flavors  in  cheese. — (Conclusion  next  week. 
®I|f  §frl)smiin. 
HOLSTEIN  CATTLE. 
Isaac  Auqur,  ageut  of  the  West  Pittsfield, 
Mass.,  Shakers,  writes  to  the  New  England 
Farmer  thus ; 
Having  heard,  from  time  to  time,  comments 
through  the*pubUc  journals  and  verbafiy,  some 
iu  favor  aud  some  opposed,  I  offer  a  few  remai'ks 
w'hioh  have  grown  out  of  actual  experience  con¬ 
cerning  the  merit  of  this  noted  stock  during  the 
past  eighteen  months.  Having  owned  two  bulla 
and  two  cows,  thoroughbred,  and  having  seen 
tboir  product  in  milk  and  butter,  I  feel  able  to 
say  sometliing  in  their  favor. 
One  cow,  seven  years  old  iu  the  spring  of  1875 
calving  March  17,  has  given,  ou  au  average, 
twenty  quarts  per  day  to  the  present  date.  I 
tested  her  milk  in  butter  from  the  13th  of  Juue 
for  seven  days,  during  which  time  alio  made 
foui'teen  pounds  of  nice  butter,  with  no  extra 
feed  and  no  more  than  a  common  pusturo. 
The  second  cow,  six  years  old  in  the  spring  of 
1875,  calved  Sept.  22.  1875,  mid  lifter  four  or  live 
days,  her  milk  was  resorveil  by  itself  mid  .set  for 
cream,  after  lotting  the  calf  suck  what  it  would 
three  times  a  day.  From  tho  surplus  of  seven 
days,  I  found,  oii  weighing  the  butter,  thirteen 
poimds  of  a  fine  article,  and,  in  total  quautity 
per  day,  after  three  weeks  id'  the  time  of  the  calf 
sucking,  she  had  averugeil  from  twenty-four  to 
twouty-six  quai'ts  per  day  of  milk. 
Novembi-r  24tli,  1874,  I  bought  a  thoroughbred 
imported  Holstein  hull,  one  yeiii-  old  past,  and 
his  gain  in  tea  mouths  is  four  hundred  pounds, 
making  au  average  of  forty  pouiid.s  per  month, 
and  not  on  high  feed. 
They  aixj  a  fine  growing  Mtock,  large,  good 
feeders,  and  I  can  say,  with  all  freedom,  that 
they  ai‘e,  in  my  estimation,  the  best  for  nimket, 
milkers,  butter,  cheese,  oxen  and  beef  of  any 
thoroughbred  sto<'k  now  known  in  our  couutey. 
I  should  be  pleased  to  show  these  above  samples 
to  any  aud  all  who  may  be  pleased  to  call. 
STEAMING  FOOD  FOR  CATTLE. 
The  etlitor  of  the  New  England  Farmer,  sums 
up  his  conclusions  in  regard  to  stoamiug  food  as 
follows  : 
If  one  has  considerable  quantities  of  coarse  or 
inferior  fodder  to  work  up,  aud  wishes  to  make 
up  for  its  inferiority  by  tho  use  of  gram,  mid  if 
tho  principal  object  is  selling  milk  by  luoasuic, 
without  special  regard  to  quality,  and  if  the  num¬ 
ber  of  cows  kept  is  largo,  say  twenty  or  more,  aud 
one  expects  these  conditions  to  exist  several 
years,  it  will  pay  to  purclmse  a  good  steam  boiler 
and  cixik  the  feed  for  the  cows ;  but  if  the  umn- 
ber  of  animals  Is  sinull,  Um  quality  of  the  vei^ 
best,  as  when  the  ohjeot  of  feeding  is  anything 
hut  making  milk  for  inarkel,  he  hud  bettey-make 
his  stiihlcs  as  warm  and  com  fort  able  as  possible, 
and  feed  his  hay  whole  and  raw,  rather  than 
incur  the  expeu.se  and  extia  labor  necessary  for 
steaming  food.  Wo  also  believe  that  many  who 
have  adopted  steaming  and  have,  at  the  same 
time,  made  their  barns  warm  and  comfortable  by 
tighter  covering,  or  by  the  fire  from  tho  furnace, 
or  by  both,  and  have  also  warmed  the  water 
drank  by  the  cows,  would  find  It  not  a  littio  puz¬ 
zling  to  decide  just  now  bow  much  of  the  im¬ 
provement  in  the  condition  of  the  aiumals,  the 
iucrousc  in  Uio  amount  of  milk,  and  tlie  saving 
of  fodder  i.s  due  to  steaming  or  cooking  tho  food, 
and  how  much  to  the  general  improvement  in  the 
care  and  management  of  tlie  animals  which 
usually  accompanies  the  introduction  of  a  steam¬ 
er  ou  the  fam. 
- ■  ■  ■ 
SULPHUR  OINTMENT. 
Tue  North  British  Agriculturist  says  : — Sul¬ 
phur  ointment  is  generally  prepared  by  melting 
one  pint  of  tlowors  of  suliduir  with  four  or  six  of 
laid,  paJiii  oil,  or  other  fatty  matter.  For  niauge, 
scull,  and  some  of  the  simpler  inflaniniatoiy  con¬ 
ditions  of  the  skin  of  animals,  .sulpliur  ointment 
prove.s  a  soothing  ch'ossing  ;  but  it  is  by  no  means 
tlie  most  effectual  appUcatiou  for  the  destriictiou 
of  tliose  vegetable  parasitic  growths  popularly 
known  a.s  ringwonn.  For  sucli  purposes,  if  sul- 
phuj’  ointment  is  used,  it  is  advantageously 
I  mixed  with  about  oue  part  of  the  dark  brown, 
I  impure  carbolic  acid  to  si.x  nr  eight  of  sulphur 
ointment.  Silver  nitrate,  zinc  cliioridc  solution, 
copper  and  iron  sulphates,  aud  other  such 
powerfid  astriugeuts  and  autiseptics,  applied 
carefully  in  tolerably  coaconteatod  solution,  de- 
Htioy  the  vegetable  puraoite,  and  thus  prevent 
the  complaint  spreading.  In  luost  cases  where 
the  bare  circular  spots  of  ringworno  first  show 
Uiemselvos.  they  are  easily  arrested  by  tiie  in¬ 
rubbing  of  any  common  oil  or  salluo  astringent 
solution,  especially  if  the  animals  ai  e  not  exposed 
to  fresh  spores  of  the  disease  usually  developed 
amougst  dump  old  straw,  and  pai  ticularly  prone 
to  occur  where  barley  straw  in  chiefly  used, 
whether  for  food  or  Litter. 
g  _ _ _ _  .  c 
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