Vol. XXXIX. 
Whole No. 
No. 40 .1 
1601. S 
NEW 
YORK, OCT. 2, 1880 . 
i Prior Fiyb Cents. 
( $2.00 Per Year. 
[Entered according to Act of Congress, In the year 1880, by the Rural New-Yorker, In the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.] 
I 1 1 
Sairj) §ttsbairtr)L 
THE DAIRY COW-NO. 9. 
HENRY STEWART. 
Apparatus tor Milking. 
Every reasonable person desires to have his 
or her food perfectly clean. Milk and dairy 
products are not always clean, to pnt it only 
very mildly, and the filth that finds its way 
into milk is of a very disagreeable, if not un¬ 
wholesome kind. As a large portion of the 
milk of a family cow—and much of that sold— 
is used by children, owuora of cows should be 
excessively careful to have the milk perfectly 
clean and pure. This is easy to be done if it 
is desired. It requires only the determination 
to do it, and a very little attention. 
The cow is not a cleanly animal by any 
means, and some cows seem to delight in mak¬ 
ing themselves filthy. One of my best cows 
will take pains to lie down directly in her 
droppings, so that the udder is always be¬ 
smeared, and other cows are very careless 
about it, at the best, so that it is necessary that 
a part of every milking apparatus should con¬ 
sist of a pail of water, a sponge, and a towel. 
Before the cow is milked the udder should be 
washed and wiped dry. For this purpose I have 
used a pail arranged as shown in the engraving, 
DAIRY PAIL—EIG. 309. 
which is taken to the barn at every milking. 
Previously the stablo man has brushed and 
carded the cows,and has cleaned and sanded or 
littered the floor, so that there is no coarse filth 
to remove, aud only the remaining smears. But 
if these are left on the teats, the filth will get 
into the pail in spite of all efforts. The pail 
has a hook on one side upon which the sponge 
is carried, aud a box on the other, in which an 
old towel or pieces of cloth are kept. With 
those the udder and teats are washed and dried 
before the cow is milked. The time used—not 
lost—is well spent. 
The milking pail should be provided with a 
strainer, and I have found none made for sale 
free from some obiection, either as regards 
the ditlleulty of cleaning or durability. I have 
my pails made to order with the strainer upon 
the half-cover of the pail at the edge, and with 
a lip at the edge to cause the milk to flow 
easily. There Is no difficulty In washing this 
pail, the wire gauze eaunot be broken in the 
washing, aud it is perfectly cleaned with ease. 
Hairs cannot be kept out of milk at some sea¬ 
sons, aud a fine hair carried lengthwise will 
pass through the finest wire cloth. It is there¬ 
fore necessary to use precautions iu straining. 
A hair will not pass through a cotton cloth, 
and in straiuing milk into a deep pail I use 
the strainer shown at Fig. 810, which has a 
piece of washed, somewhat coarse aud thin, 
white muslin, fastened around the bottom 
hoop. This eauses the milk to pass through 
three strainers at one time, which is sufficient. 
Where the milk of several cows is strained the 
strainer should be rinsed after each use, other¬ 
wise the after milk passes over all the impuri¬ 
ties gathered in the strainer. For shallow 
pans the double strainer, Fig. 311, is excellent. 
The middle strainer fits closely into the bot¬ 
tom of the basin over the fixed strainer, and 
the basiu rests in the perforated hoop which 
stands in the milk pan. A cloth may be tied 
over the top of the basiu if thought proper. 
With all these precautions the moat complete 
cleanliness is within easy reach, and if the 
cow is healthy and Is well fed, the most fastid¬ 
ious person may drink the milk without any 
apprehension. While it is so easy to be clean, 
the conscientious dairyman need have no ex¬ 
cuse for violating propriety, and excuse him¬ 
self by the idea that it cau t be helped. 
Every dairy utensil should be of tin. No 
wooden vessel should be used in milking, as 
the wood absorbs milk which sours in the 
pores and there curdles, and every particle of 
curdled milk, whether effected by rennet or 
by acidity, like the leaven of yeast, is an active 
agent for souring other milk. As curd of milk 
is hardened by heat and made Insoluble, dairy 
utensils should first be washed with cold water 
and soap, and when thoroughly well cleaned 
they may then be scalded. Curd is dissolved 
by alkali, aud the free alkali of the soap not 
only removes the grease of the milk, but also 
any particles of milk which by any accident 
may have been retained in a crevice or corner, 
and there soured or curdled. To make the 
cleaning of dairy vessels more easy it is well 
to have no sharp corners, but to have all the 
joints made round, and this may be done 
easily if one has the milk pails made to order. 
Hfrisraan. 
HEREFORD CATTLE. 
A. B. ALLEN. 
Owing to their large size, flue points, good 
form, quick feeding, early maturity, hardi¬ 
ness, and the excellent quality of their beef, 
quite a boom has sprung up latterly for these 
cattle, particularly for stocking our groat 
Western plains. The importations of Here- 
fords from England thus far this year, I be¬ 
lieve, number fully 200 head, or possibly more, 
all of which have gone to the Western States 
and Territories for breeding purposes exclu¬ 
sively. 
STRAINER.—PIG. 811. 
The first Hereford importation into the 
United States, so far as I can learn, was made 
in the year 1816 or 17, by the late distinguished 
Kentucky statesman, the Hon. Henry Clay, 
and kept on his farm at Ashland, near Lexing¬ 
ton. Soon after this, Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin, 
of the English navy, sent a Hereford ball, and 
possibly a cow or two, to his friends in Massa¬ 
chusetts. I hear of no other importations till 
1840, when upwards of 20 were brought to Al¬ 
bany, New York, from which place their pro¬ 
duce went to other parts of the State and the 
West. A large herd was kept for some time, 
and may still be, on a farm at the head of 
Otsego Lake: but they did not find much gen¬ 
eral favor for some time among onr cattle- 
breeders ; not because they were wanting in 
merit, but owing to the greater fancy for 
Short-horns, which took precedence at once 
over all other breeds, and will probably still 
continue to do so. Other small importations 
continued to follow from time to time in 
the United States, but in larger numbers 
in Canada. 
In the past century the Herefords were 
usually of a dark-red color, approaching 
sometimes almost to a brown. Among 
them, now and then, was a gray or roan, 
or a pure white with red ears. Now 
the fashionable color is a yellowish to a 
deep mihogany red with white or brack led 
face, a line back, and white sometimes down 
the neck, on the chest, and under the belly. 
The horns are long, usually standing out 
straight from the sides of the head of bulls, 
but with cows, and more especially with bul¬ 
locks, they take a lofty, upturned form, which 
gives the animals a very noble appearancs. 
DOUBLE STRAINER—PIG. 312. 
The modern change in color of the Herefords 
some attribute to a stolen Short-horn cross ) 
which may probably be the case in a few in¬ 
stances; but I should think it may be derived 
from crossing those of a white and roan 
color on the dark-reds, which would easily 
make the present difference of colors. I much 
prefer those of the yellow or golden red min¬ 
gled with some white; for f have found such 
more compact in form, with finer, softer hair 
and better handlers. They are said also to 
mature a little the earlier, are more easily 
kept, and are quicker feeders. The cows also 
of this color are better milkers lhau the dark- 
reds. The English breeders have not culti¬ 
vated the milking quality to any extent, being 
satisfied if a cow can bring up her own calf. 
At the West this is rather an advantage, as the 
calf is usually allowed to run with the cow till 
she weans it herself when it is five to seven 
months old, according to circumstances. The 
same practice used to be followed in Ohio and 
adjacent States formerly with Short-horn 
cows, and as manj^of these were great milkers, 
and the calves did not suck all they made till 
pretty well grown, it gave the cows great pain 
to retain a part, and often ruined their bags 
and some of their teats. 
The Herefords excel in the brisket and loin, 
two important points in all animals destined 
for the butcher; hut they are apt to drop from 
the hucklebones to the tail, and here and In 
the hind-quarters, they are not generally nearly 
equal to the Short-horns. Their breeders 
aware of this for some time past, have been 
endeavoring to improve them in these points, 
in which I heartily wish them success. 
A strong rivalry is destined to go on here¬ 
after between the Herefords and Short-horns, 
to stock the broad Western plains; and which, 
ever finally takes precedence will be obliged 
to do so by showing superior merits. I think 
the latter at present the best animal, especially 
for grading up the produce of native cows, and 
making acceptable steers for supplying Euro¬ 
pean markets. The only objection I ever 
heard to Short-horns is, that some of them are 
a little tender; but this is owing entirely to 
their being over-fed when young, and tenderly 
brought np. I have seen them for years in a 
cold, Western climate, and found them to be 
as hardy as the native cattle there, or any 
other breed whatever. 
THE AMERICAN MERINO. 
The American Merino is one of the triumphs 
of American breeders. The thorough acclim- 
atiou and adaptation of the Spanish sheep 
to our peculiar circumstances and necessities 
is a remarkable and conspicuous instance of 
successful efforts to reach a desired end. Our 
native-bred Merino now stands first in the 
ranks of fine-wool sheep Iw-the world, and is 
sought by foreign breeders as a source of im¬ 
provements in their flocks. Its fleece is the 
heaviest, the staple is the longest and as fine 
as the finest, and its carcass the heaviest of 
any living Merinos. No other sheep is so well 
adapted for the purposes of a people who de¬ 
sire strength and durability as well as beauty 
in their dress staples, or as a basis upon which 
to build up different cross-breeds which may 
be profitably kept upon arable as well as graz¬ 
ing farms, to supply the best mutton, as well 
as every class of raw material for onr native 
manufacturers. 
The Meriuo is the oldest domesticated sheep. 
It supplied the ancient Romans with the fine 
wool from which the imperial purple robes 
were manufactured, and with 6ueh care was 
the wool grown, that the sheep which bore it 
were continually blanketed or otherwise pro¬ 
tected, even in the warm climate of Spain. 
From that time up to 1809 and 1810 the Span¬ 
ish Merino stood first as a wool producer, and 
in those years nearly 4,000 of those sheep were 
imported into America from the choicest flocks 
of that country. A few importations had been 
made in 1800 and the following years ; and it 
was from the importations of 1802, by Col. 
Humphreys, that some of the best strains of 
Vermont Merinos have descended. The his¬ 
tory of these Merinos and their descendants 
has been varied and eventful, and their “ups 
and downs" have been wonderful. Animals 
have sold for one dollar at one time, and $10,- 
000 have been refused for one at another time. 
But, after all, we have now arrived at a steady, 
substantial condition in which this sheep, ex¬ 
cellent in every respect, stands upon its merits, 
as the first variety in the world as regards 
utility. It is the basis of onr enormous wool 
production of 250,000,000 pounds per annum, 
worth to-day $100,000,000. It supplies direct¬ 
ly the material for the fine cloths used for 
men’s garments, the finer fabrics for ladies 
woolen clothing, the mixed fabrics of wool 
and cotton known as delaines, and by other 
names recognized only by ladies, as well as for 
an infinite variety of articles of lesser note. 
Its wool is not only carded, but is combed and 
therefore supplies a wide range of uses. In¬ 
directly, as the parent of grades, it helps to 
produce wools fitted for nearly every use, from 
the carpets under our feet to the hats upon our 
heads, the umbrella® which shelter us from the 
shower, and the broad flag which waves over 
and shelters every citizen from foes at home 
or abroad. 
Formerly Its carcass furnished but a poor 
quality of mutton, but now its mutton is re¬ 
spectable both as to size and flavor. Crossed 
