380 
JUNE S3 
THE BUBAL NEW-YORKER. 
along the borders of the streams, coming down 
from the far-ofT mountains, as well aH along the 
broken foot-hills of the Rocky Mountains; and 
high up, on the main ranges, the Elk are still to 
bo found, sometimes singly, and sometimos in 
considerable bands. In 1870, Dr. Ilaydcn's 
party lulled one, on the head-waters of the east 
fork of the Yellowstone, at an altitude of more 
than ten thousand feet above the sea. They 
will no doubt continue to maintain them solves 
in tho more secluded parts of the country, where 
this, among the noblost of our game animals, 
will occasionally reward the hardy hunter who 
shall with groat energy and toil seel, him in his 
retreat." 
After a full and interesting description of tho 
animal, tho writer goes on to say that it is the 
most promiscuous consumer of all the deer. All 
tho grasses and most of the weeds within his 
roach are taken freely, and tho leaves and twigs 
of all tho deciduous trees are alike enjoyed. A 
considerable proportion of his daily food ho de- 
Bires to be arboreous, yet if deprived of it ho 
will keep in good condition on herbaceous food 
alone. 
In winter he will take the coarsest food ; even 
that which the ox and the horse reject, ho eats 
freely. 
They are gregarious in their habits both in a 
wild and domestic state, although they do not 
keep in close clusters like sheep, or gather gen¬ 
erally in largo droves like the bison. They arc 
more separated in summer than in winter. 
During tho rutting season, the monarch of the 
herd drives olT the other bucks, aud gathers tho 
does Into a band, which lie appropriates t" him¬ 
self as much as possible. Tho other bucks hover 
around in his vicinity, generally keeping togeth¬ 
er, and annoying t he chief by their unwelcome 
presence, and occasionally stealing away a part 
of his harem, f>ir tho does will slip awuy from 
his tyrannical rule whenever they get a chanoo. 
He is grossly nngallant In his selfishness, driving 
a doe from any ohoioe hit she may find, with as 
little ceremony or affection as 1m would a buck. 
Ho lias evidently no idea of love or affection, 
and is only pleased to act the tyrant and seek bis 
own gratification, perfectly regardless of the 
feelings of others. Still there are degrees in 
this regard among different individuals. 
Tho mother, however, has a strong affection 
for her young, and will defend it with great 
energy. Their greatest antipathy is dogs, and 
if one gets Into the park, they harry him with a 
terrible ferocity. The does show this disposi¬ 
tion to the greatest extent; hut the bucks gen¬ 
erally join in the chase, aiul tho w hole herd go 
tearing away at a rattling pace through the 
brush or across the open space, uttering their 
fierce squeals in a way that might frighten a 
lion. If the unfortunate cur is overtaken before 
ho can make his escape, a single blow from tho 
fore foot of tho loading doe crushes him down, 
and ho is trampled to death in a trice. If they 
see a dog through the fence, their oombatativo- 
ness is at once aroused, and they will rush to¬ 
ward him and strike the fence terrible blows. 
Tho dog generally leaves at their first, bidding. 
Sometimes the bucks are vicious and danger¬ 
ous during tho rutting season, but a very wicked 
one is a rare exception ; still all at that time are 
more courageous than at other seasons, and it is 
prudent to avoid auy contest and leave him the 
path if yon meet one in the park. In tho wild 
state, their timidity prevents them from attack¬ 
ing man, and they expend their courage or vio- 
iousnoss on their own species. 
In hot weather they are Inclined to stand in 
tho pools of water in the bed of tho creek, and 
tho males wallow’ in the mud like tho hog, so 
that thoy are often seen well smeared with the 
adhesive Boil, and prescut a disgusting appear¬ 
ance. 
The Elk is not entirely voiceless, yet it never 
utters a sound, except under strong provocation, 
generally of alarm or defiance. Either expres¬ 
sion is on a very high, sharp key, often uttered 
with great force. During the rut, tho master 
buck is often heard in loud defiance, which 
serves as a warning to tho younger males to 
keep clear of him. 
Of the Red Deer or Stag of Europe, an allied 
variety, tho writer remarks that he can hardly 
hesitate to say that it is a degenerate descendant 
of the same parents to which our Elk owos its 
origin, and that this degeneracy is most markod 
in those of tho most northern countries. I f orig¬ 
inally from the same stock, long egos must havo 
elapsed since their final separation by the inter¬ 
position of a physical barrier which could not be 
overstepped; during these eons they have grown 
on independently, with no possibility of inter¬ 
mingling to bring them back to greater simili¬ 
tude to tho common parent, during which their 
different conditions of life must have established 
physical peculiarities in each, which would finally 
become hereditary, and these peculiarities must 
have become multiplied and magnified in each 
■With the continuance of time and generation, 
and so the diverging lines would become contin¬ 
ually more and more separated. 
In reference to American Moose and the Scan¬ 
dinavian Elk, it is remarked that the former is 
larger in size and darker in color than the latter. 
There is also an obscrvible difference in the ant¬ 
lers, although in both tho general characteristics 
of these are tho Bamo. With those slight points 
of difference there are a multitude of features in 
which both animals closely resemble each other. 
Of these, u few of tho most markod are that thoy 
both occupy tho northern portions of both con¬ 
tinents, being only exceeded in their northern 
range by the reindeer. They must live in a wood¬ 
ed country. They affect the same kinds of food 
aud arc the ouly deer which we find habitually 
browsing upon conifers. The whole form of the 
animal presents many peculiar characteristics, 
entirely wanting in all other animals; among 
which one cannot overlook, that peculiar tuft of 
black hair on tho inside of tho hock, which is 
exactly alike on every individual of both varie¬ 
ties, so far as it haH been possible to examine, 
while never a gland or tuft of hair is found on 
the outside of the hind leg, although this is ex¬ 
ceptional in the genus. Perhaps the most re¬ 
markable feature of all is, both are monogamous 
in their habits, a peculiarity which has been as¬ 
cribed to no other animal except to one other 
European species of doer (C'crvun Caprcolux) and 
to some of the monkey tribe. 
Tho ongravings on our first page are specimens 
of tho numerous illustrations with which this 
valuttblo work is adorned. This l* at once inter¬ 
esting in its subject, clear in Its treatment, and 
graceful in its style, and not only does it merit 
tho attention of all naturalists, but it should also 
bo read by every boy and girl in the land anxious 
to know more about tho noble animals of America 
aud Europe. 
lairs 
w Co 
!)usbani)rg. 
SETTING MILK FOft CREAM. 
A whiter in tlie Philadelphia Times says it is 
not to be wondered at that the average dairyman 
of our State is puzzled to know what to do for 
tho best. Prof. Wilkinson tells him plainly that 
nothing but shallow pans and subearth ducts 
will do; while Prof. Hardin is equally certain 
that deep pans (20 inches) sunk to tho rim in 
water, at. a temperature of f>0 deg., alone insure 
the largest yield of the best quality of butter ; 
and now both of these are overtopped by the 
new Cooley system, which proposes to inclose 
the milk in a deep, narrow can, with a water¬ 
tight lid and sink it under water, w hich is care¬ 
fully kept at a low temperature by the use of ice. 
Our own experiments satisfy us that both ex¬ 
tremes are right, provided certain rules, as un¬ 
alterable us those of tho Modes and Persians, are 
observed. At a temperature above 60°, deep 
cans will not do ; the milk will usually sour bo- 
fore all the cream reaches the surface. Whon 
this temperature is unavoidable, shallow and 
broad pans will give the best results. When 
cold water is abundant and the means of keeping 
it at 50-' or lower are at hand, it will he found 
that cans, 20 inches deep and eight or nine in 
diameter, will sa ve much labor, and at tho same 
time make quite as much and better butter. 
Those dairymen whoso situation is covered by 
tho first case, should bo cautious in the use of 
deep cans. It is no doubt for tho want of a 
proper observance of these simple rules that wo 
now have a conflict of sentiment as to the com¬ 
parative merits of deep and shallow setting. 
In this connection, Philip Hazard, in “Rut¬ 
ter and Rutter Making,” says:- “It Is a mooted 
question as to the depth tho pans shall he filled 
for Hotting tho cream, and the arguments are 
strong for both deep and shallow pans, those 
who argue the matter generally remaining firm 
that their own way is tho best. Those in favor 
of deep pans, which should hold about twelve 
quarts, or rather deep setting of tho milk, argue 
that tho cream will rise to the top under all cir¬ 
cumstances, and therefore there is Iobb exposed 
to tho air to become contaminated or ctioesy and 
form into a skin, as it will do if exposed too long. 
Now, this objection is obviated if the milk is 
skimmed regularly every day, as it should be. 
Wo favor tho shallow setting of tho milk, say 
from three to four inches, as wo believe there 
will be more surface to receive tho cream, aud the 
whole of it will rise, and less will ho retained in 
the milk from auy effort to rise. If the air of 
tlie nulk-houso is kept pure, and so that the 
winds will not blow over tho surface of the pans, 
the cream will come out all right; if disturbed 
while the cream is rising, it becomes agitated too 
much for the perfect separation of the two. 
“ In many of tho butter factories the water is 
in tanks or vats about eighteen incheB deep, sunk 
in the earth, in which are set tin pails twenty 
inches deep anil eight to ten inches in diameter, 
the milk standing seventeen inches deep in tho 
pail. The cream nearly all rises in twenty-four 
hours, is never allowed to stand ovor thirty-six 
hours, and is rkimmed before the milk sours. Iu 
largo dailies the setting of the milk in deep ves¬ 
sels saves the washing of many shallow oneB; 
and if tho temperature is kept about 6(P uni¬ 
formly, the deep ones will probably be tho most 
economical. 
“ The milk should not be set more than thirty- 
six hours, and it is better if skimmed in twenty- 
four hours, aB what little might be lost in quan¬ 
tity would be gained in quality. Rut the time 
depends npon t he temperature; j nut long enough 
for all the cream to rise, and no longer, is the 
rule. It should be skimmed before it becomes 
acid at all or thickened. Mauy who make first- 
rate butter, let it stand thirty-six iiours before 
skimming; but if it once begins to turn partly 
to water, tho cream will havo a bitter taste that 
can never be overcame. Tho first cream that 
rises is tlie best, both in flavor and color. It 
should be slightly acid before it will make but¬ 
ter, and in cool weather it must be put iu a warm 
place for that purpose. It is unnecessary to 
scald the milk or cream : also, it gives tho butter 
an unpleasant flavor, and it is useless labor. An 
ounce of fine salt to a throe-gallon jar of cream, 
whon you begin to fill, is an improvement, and 
an addition of salt to the cream malms it churn 
quicker. Cream should not be longer than 1hr«e 
days, or a week at furthest, in collecting before 
it is churned, to make the sweetest butter. Ai 
a genera] rule, tbo quicker cream is converted 
into butter, tbo Bwceter and better is the butter. 
At the proper time to be removed, it will have a 
bright, healthy appearance, a rich yellow, uni¬ 
form color, and an adhcremio of particles. Hour 
cream contains more cascitio than sweet, and will 
not retain its fine flavor so long, nor will the 
butter made of it havo so fine aroma ; slightly 
acid can hardly be detected. It is one of the 
mooted pointB, wo confess, whether sweet cream 
yields as good and long-keeping butter as cream 
from sour milk. The rule with very many in 
Chester County is to skim from sour milk, as, 
they say, all the cream Is not obtained from 
sweet milk. Rut it is considered an important 
point to skim as soon as possible after tho acidu¬ 
lous formentation has commenced, so as to avoid 
all danger of absorption." 
--*-*-*- 
GUENON’S MILK MIRRORS. 
While willing to concede considerable utility 
to Guenon’s theory of milk mirrors, we havo 
heretofore referred more than once to tho diffi¬ 
culty, in ordinary cases, of thoroughly under¬ 
standing its intricacies, and always insisted that 
it should be supplemented and elucidated by 
other observations. There are some, however, 
who have very littlo faith in this method of 
estimating the yield of milk from a cow, and 
among these, Judging from a recent articlo of 
his iu the I'rairio Farmer, one might very easily 
place Mr. L. H. Hardin. Indeed, he says: 
“ Of all the unmitigated humbugs that were 
ever Imposed upon a long-suffering and patient 
people, this Guenon theory of tho milk mirror is 
tho greatest. When first starting my dairy, I 
was anxious to know how to pick out good cows, 
as It was easy to see that my profits or losses 
would depend greatly on tho quality of tlie cows 
I bought. Iu studying and reading up on this 
point, I came across Guenon's escutcheon theo¬ 
ries, and, like many others, concluded I hud 
found a clear-cut road out of the wilderness. It 
was only necessary to unravel tho mysteries of 
tho Flanders, Salvage, Carvoline, Bioorn, Demi¬ 
john, Limousin, Square, aud Horizontal escutch¬ 
eons, with their exceptional bustards, tufts, and 
ovals, to step into tho herd and find tlio cows 
reaily stamped, sampled and branded . to my 
order. Here at least knowledge was power, 
now I would got away with my uulcurucd neigh¬ 
bors in buying their heifers or competing with 
them at auctions, for 1 soon learned they had 
never heard of this wonderful discovery! I de¬ 
termined to master this science; and to be suro 
of its proper application, 1 made careful draw¬ 
ings of the escutcheons of the cows I already 
owned, anil all others in the neighborhood with 
whoso performances at the pail 1 was personally 
familiar. 
“ As all the writers upon dairy matters either 
approved directly or spoke most respectfully of 
Guenon’s theory, I was much mortified with the 
result of my careful investigations. Thinking 
my own herd might be au exceptional ouo, I vis¬ 
ited, book iu hand, many of Dio milk dairies near 
the city, had tho boBt cows pointed out, and 
marie careful comparisons with the book. Also, 
1 found it required either the ingenuity of a 
Frenchman or the faith of an enthusiast to make 
howls or tails of those wonderful theories. To 
bo sure, the rules and the cows sometimes agreed, 
and sometimes they didn't. It was nip and tuck, 
with tuck generally in the lead. Being anxious 
to fiud out if there really was anytkiug in this 
theory, I wrote to many of the reputed best and 
most intelligent breeders in the country, and 
while they generally approved of it theoretically, 
yet none claimed ever to have been successful 
hi its application. 
“Since that time T have examined herds of 
cattle iu company with nearly all tho celebrities 
who praiBe this theory, and have invariably re¬ 
quested them to pick out the best cows by the 
escutcheon, leaving tho owners of the cows to 
tell us of the correctness of the decision. The 
modesty of these gentlemen has proved too 
great to allow of pressing them to a test. Whon 
hunted down, they all think there is something 
in it, but tho mystery is a little deeper than they 
have yet investigated. I have made tho matter 
a close study, have compared the theory with tho 
combined and individual mirror of many herds, 
aud my experience makes mo firm in tho belief 
that this whole escutcheon business is mere 
folly. 1 havo not been ablo to deduce a general 
rulo in favor of any one of Guenon's theories. 
That Is, I find just as many exceptions to his 
rules as cows agreeing with his rules. In fact, 
it is nearly impossible to find ft cow that does not 
hear bail as well as good marks, no matter how 
good a milker she may bo. I find just tho same 
variations in tho mirrors between good cows as 
between good aud bad cows. There are the 
same variations iu tho shape, size, and forms of 
tho milk mirror that there are in the horns, 
heads, or colors of cows, and with just about 
the same relation to the milking habit. In fact, 
I look upon a crumpled horn indicating a gentlo 
disposition as infinitely better than a Flanders 
escutcheon. 
“ It is an easy matter to describe what to your 
taste is a good form for a mileb cow, including 
general shape, color, and escutcheon, but where 
a herd is gotten up with no eye to beauty of 
form, and with the sole purposo of giving milk, 
many of the clumsiest and meanest - looking 
members o i tho herd, in point of profit, arc the 
best cows in it. This fact suggests that we 
should bo very careful in attributing much vir¬ 
tue to any outward signs. But at the same 
time, as a general rule, with numerous excep¬ 
tions, there is a certain correlation between the 
hidden qualities and outward signs of a cow." 
--—♦♦♦-- 
HOW TO INCREASE THE FLOW OF MILK. 
A lady correspondent of a Southern paper, 
writing from Arkansas, gives the following recipe 
to increase the flow of milk in a cow. Bho says: 
“Tepid water, slightly salted, given twieo a day, 
will increase tho flow of milk ouo-third ; if tho 
cow will not drink it at first trial scatter a hand¬ 
ful of bran or meal over tbo top of it. They 
soon booomo very fond of it, and will drink all 
you give them. I tried this plan throe years ago 
witli perfect success. ! hod ouly one cow, and 
she was of the common scrub stock of the coun¬ 
try, and after sho began to drink tho water, pre¬ 
pared as above, Bhe fur«i«hod me twice a day 
two ordinary water-buckets full of milk, and by 
feoding a littlo corn boiled with cotton seed tho 
milk yielded butter enough to supply my table 
bountifully aud leave me a few pounds to sell 
every week. I gave her throe gallons of water 
twice a day." 
LOSSES OF SHEEP, 
Bueei* husbandry is extensively practiced iu 
Great Britain, not only for tho wool aud mutton 
yielded by the animals, but also on account of 
the fertilizing affects of pasturing them on the 
land. After centurion of constant cultivation, 
most of the soil there is to-day as productive as 
many of the freshly - cleared districts of this 
country, which have never undergone the ex¬ 
haustion incident to pasturage and cropping. 
No small share of this persistent fertility is at¬ 
tributed by the farmers and laud - owners to 
sheep manure, which is held in such high esti¬ 
mation that landlords usually stipulate that 
each tenant shall keep a specified number of 
sheep on the form, in order to contribute towards j 
maintaining the richness of tho soil. With an 
area of 87,920 miles in England, Wales and Scot¬ 
land, Groat Britain has to-day nearly twenty- 
nine million shoepi whereas tho United Htates, 
with an area thirty-tour and a half times larger, 
had, according to the census of 1870, only twen¬ 
ty-eight and a half millions. It should also be 
borne in mind that, owing to the comparative 
density of the population there, and tlie largo 
extent of country consequently occupied by fac¬ 
tories, market-gardeuB, etc., tho space suitable 
for sheep husbandry is proportionately much 
smaller than that indicated by a comparison of 
the general areas of both countries. By careful 
attention to this department, however, and by 
diligent efforts to secure first-dass breeds both 
for wool and mutton, tho British farmer, though 
handicapped with a heavy rent, manages to 
draw a fair profit from keeping sheep. His 
gains, however, would bo much greater wore all 
preventable accidents avoided, and a great deal 
of attention has lately been devoted to this sub¬ 
ject. The importance of the queBtian is en¬ 
hanced, in view of the fact tliat considerably 
over a million sheep aud lambs are annually im¬ 
ported iuto the country to meet the ever-in¬ 
creasing wants of tho population. A correspond¬ 
ent of the London Times makes some valuable 
