488 
MARCH 28 
Oninj ijuslmmJn}. 
MISTAKES IN DAIRYING. 
HENRY STEWART. 
When persons are willfully blind it is diffi¬ 
cult to open their eyes or make them see. 
And I must, be excused for saying that “J. E. 
H.” (page 34) must either be willfully blind 
himself, or cannot mean what he says, wbeu 
he states that “a farmer can reap the same 
resujts by setting his milk in filthy places, as 
he can by having an immaculate milk room.” 
[This and some other sarcastic remarks were 
made with regard to the farmer's in his sec¬ 
tion only, where tbe Falrlamh System of gath¬ 
ering cream is practiced, and where the same 
price is paid by the creameries for the cream 
whether the milk has been set in “lilthy 
places ' or iu“inimaculate milk-rooms.”—E ds.] 
This is a very pernicious mistake to teach, 
and not only tends to lead persons astray, but 
to cause them to feel injured aud disap¬ 
pointed when they lind the same results are 
not and cannot be reached. Butter and 
cheese sell on their merits, as every other 
thing does. Names do not sell them, nor can 
the very r best reputation sell an article that is 
found to become inferior in quality. No one 
knows this better thau a faucy dairyman, who 
at times may find, for some cause or other be¬ 
yond his control, some of his best laid plans 
go amiss, and then his customers will complain 
at once, and his commission agent will warn 
him that his butter will not do, aud must go 
on the market as so much common stuff. I 
have had this occur at times, notwithstand¬ 
ing all my care, for people will not pay 00 or 
75 cents a pound for butter unless it is better 
than the best creamery butter that comes on 
the market, aud which sells for 40 or 45 cents. 
Again “J. E. H.” badly misleads farmers 
when he says “creameries buy cream from 
funnel's aud mix the clean aud filthy all to¬ 
gether, and pay the same price for all, aud 
purify it by straining the cream before it is 
churned. 1 ' That is a most remarkable and 
misleading mistake. It may r be the fashion in 
Minnesota, in places, perhaps, but 1 know it is 
not in well managed creameries even there, 
and most emphatically it is not the mode of 
doing business in Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin 
aud other leading creamery districts. Cream 
ery men keep a sharp lookout for their own 
interests, aud know their own business, and 
know that straining the cream will not take 
out impurities of the very worst character. 
Of course, the creameries strain the cream, 
because some accidental dirt or dust may get 
into ic in, the gathering, and the straining is 
a precaution that no wise dairyman in 
any creamer? would neglect, although 
there might really be no occasion for it. 1 
never strain cream, because under my 
method of managing there is no occasion for 
it, the cows being clean, the stable clean, the 
milker clean, the utensils clean, the milk room 
clean, and yet the milk, as a precaution, goes 
through three strainers before it is set for 
cream. And if a dairyman supposes that all 
this ear« is of no value to him, and that he 
can just as well neglect it, he makes a woeful 
aud fatal mistake. Again, it is a mistake to 
suppose that cream can be strained effectually, 
or as easily as milk. It is teuacious aud thick, 
aud will draw a bait' through the strainer 
very easily, and, moreover, cream of the oi- 
dinary thickness cannot be strained through a 
sieve fine enough to prevent filth from pass¬ 
ing through. A creamery will not pay the 
standard price for cream so thin that it will 
run through a common fine milk strainer. 
One more mistake should be pointed out, 
viz., that urged by J. E. H., to the effect that 
“ the character of the place where the milk is 
set for the cream to rise, has nothiug to do 
with the quality of the butter.” If tilts is true, 
the milk might he set in the pig pen, or in the 
manure cellar, or in a kitchen where one cooks 
the cabbage or the odorous onion, and where 
the social gathering of hired men, with their 
pipes and their fragrant working clothes, 
strongly scents the air, as well as in a clean, 
well-aired cellar or milk room. 
Let me say that the dairymen who get the 
highest prices for their butter are not selfish. 
On the contrary, they have a strong love for 
their work aud their craft, and try to help 
their brothers to improve aud raise them¬ 
selves. For six years past my regular price 
for butter has bten 50 to 75 cents per pound. 
Oue customer has paid 5U cents a pound on a 
regular eoutract for all that time, and has 
had during three years 1,530 pounds of butter, 
for which he has paid $780. Others have paid 
from 50 to 75 cents, as the market has varied; 
and I could sell ten times as much as I can 
make. The same is true of other dairymen in 
this business; so that there is a market for a 
good deal more fine butter thau is made. And 
those who have this market, knowing this, 
THE RURAL WEW-YORKER. 
are quite willing, and indeed anxious, to help 
others to avail themselves of it, as well as to 
sell their butter at the same prices as the best 
creameries get for theirs, and, therefore, it is 
that, these dairymen through the papers, and 
at their meetings try to tell how others may 
get their share of the high prices going, by 
avoiding tbetoo common mistakes in dair ying. 
CREAM GATHERING IN THE NORTHWEST. 
“J. E. Hi,” on page 34 of the Rural, states 
some truths about creamery butter, and the 
way of gathering the cream he describes as 
customary in his section is the same practiced 
here, and I believe, wherever in the North¬ 
west men are sent around to gather it from 
the farmers. These are not the people who 
should complaiu, for they are saved a great 
deal of work by the gathering system. If 
people in the cities would buy their butter 
direct from the farmers, and Vie willing to 
pay enough for it so that it would be an ob¬ 
ject for the farmers to secure the skill and 
appliances for making first-class butter, then 
people' in the city would get a first-class aiti¬ 
de, and they are not likely to get it till then. 
Hampton, la. o. e d. 
(Jljc S^inriaiT 
COMB FOUNDATION AND THE EX¬ 
TRACTOR. 
PROP. A. J. COOK. 
Since LangstrotlTs great invention of a 
practical movable frame hive, nothing has 
done so much to advance bee-culture as comb 
foundation, and the extractor. When Lang- 
stroth completed his first hive, with movable 
frames, a good Quaker friend who saw it, said 
to the great inventor: “Lorenzo, thee has 
done that which will revolutionize bee-cul¬ 
ture.” Truly he was a prophet. So comb 
foundation and the extractor have revolu¬ 
tionized the bee-keeper’s methods. 
Comb foundation is an article made from 
bees wax. The wax is carefully melted, so 
as not to be at all changed or injured, and 
then is secured in thin sheets by dipping a 
board into it. A thin sheet of wax adheres 
to the board on each side. After one end of 
the board (which is smooth and rectangular 
in form ), has been dipped into the melted wax, 
it is then dipped into ice-cold water; then the 
waxed end is grasped by the manipulator and 
the other end is dipped into the wax. If 
thicker sheets are desired, the dipping is re¬ 
peated. Then, by shaving the wax from the 
edges of the board, two beautiful sheets, the 
size of the board, are removed with no trouble. 
This secures even sheets. Of course, the 
board is always dipped into the cold water 
each time as soon as removed from the melted 
wax. 
These wax sheets are now stamped between 
engraved plates in a press, or run through 
between stamped rollers, which press the wax 
exactly into the form of natural comb just 
after the bees have begun to fashion the 
colls, only somewhat thicker. This added 
thiclmess is really no objection, as the bees 
actually thin it by using the extra wax to 
complete the cells. The important points to 
be secured in molding the foundation are 
thin liases to the cells and quite high walls, 
with the wax forming them but little pressed. 
Fortuuately all the machines—the press and 
the rollers—are now so perfect that they mold 
the wax in the proper manner. The benefit 
to be derived from foundation is great. We 
not only get beautiful, straight combs, but 
we secure much more honey. Wax is a 
secreted article and a very expensive one, as 
the bees must eat 15 or 30 pounds of honey to 
secrete one pound of wax. Suppose they eat 
15 pounds; at 10 cents a pound this makes 
the comb worth $1.50. while a pouud of 
foundation can be bought for from 40 to 50 
conts. This shows graphically what a benefit 
we derive from the use of foundation. No 
bee-keeper can afford to do without this arti¬ 
cle. It pays well, aud there is not the least 
objection to its use in the brood-chamber aud 
in sections. We can by no means utford to 
allow our bees to make comb from wax which 
they secrete. Foundation, though an arti¬ 
ficial article, is exactly like the natural, only 
it is fashioue i by man’s device, and not by 
the bees, 
The Given Press is much praised by all who 
have used it. It makes superb foundation, 
and has one merit not possessed by any roller 
mill—it stamps the foundation right into 
wired frames. Wired frames prevent all 
warping, sagging or falling of the foundation, 
and no one who has once given them a fair 
trial will think of abandoning their use. It 
is easy, however, to put the foundation into 
wired frames, even after it is stamped. We 
have only to lay it on the wires and press 
above each wire. A common button-hook, 
with a groove filed lengthwise of the wire just 
opposite the convex side of the hook, serves 
admirably to press the wire into the founda¬ 
tion. 
Of tbe roller machines, I wish to call special 
attention to the Pelham Mill, made by W. C. 
Pelham, Mayville, Ky., as it is a matter of 
general interest. This mill, which I have 
tried, works admirably, aud the foundation 
is excellent. But the iinportant consideration 
is its cost. It is made in sections, which are 
formed as we mold bullets; so it costs far less 
than other machines. It is sold for *15. The 
others cost from $80 to $50. Here, then, is a 
machine so cheap that every bee-keeper can 
afford to own his own mill and make his own 
foundation. I call attention to this fact, as 
it should lie known by all. 
The value of the extractor consists in the 
fact that by its use we can secure at least 
three-fourths more honey, and often double 
the amount we could get without employing 
it. The honey is just as good, and as it can 
be sold for about half the price which must be 
asked for comb honey, it is important to the 
cousumer as well as the producer. In fact, the 
extractor brings a most wholesome sweet 
within reach of the poorest in the community, 
aud so is really a blessing to society. 
The extractor, by use of centrifugal force, 
throws the honey from ihe comb. It is best to 
extract before the cells are capped, when it is 
very easily and rapidly done. If capped, 
however, we can still extract with little labor, 
as by use of the beveled Wiife the labor and 
time required to uncap are very slight. Ex¬ 
tracted honey should always be kept in a dry 
room, and for a time after uucappiug, iu a 
warm room. Then we shall never be troubled 
with souring. Even comb honey often fer¬ 
ments in a damp, cool room. The fungus 
which causes honey to ferment seems to thrive 
in a damp, cool a tmosphere. 
Before closing, I wish to refer to two new 
improvements which Mr. E. T. Lewis bas 
added to the United States Standard Extrac¬ 
tor. By the simple turn of a button the 
comb carrier can be lifted at once from the 
extractor. The central shaft is also omitted, 
which permits one to torn the combs in the 
extractor in an instant without lifting them 
from the machine. As every one will see at 
once, these are substantial advantages. 
Agricultural College, Lansing, Mich. 
f arm Ccmumuj. 
THE “MIXING” OF VARIETIES. 
It is a matter of some importance to every 
gardener who attempts to gather his own seed, 
aud especially to every seed-grower, to know 
the vegetables, different varieties of which 
may be grown near each other without danger 
of their becoming “mixed'’ through cross- 
fertilizatiou. I have been surprised to find 
how little I have been able to gather from 
books upon this important question. No hor¬ 
ticultural work to which I have referred 
treats of this subject. The most elaborate 
works upon botany, so far as I know, are silent 
upon it. Herman Muller, the famous German 
student, has compiled a work amounting to 
(500 closely printed pages, entitled “ The Fer¬ 
tilization of Flowers,” which I supposed would 
exhaust this subject; but, to my surprise and 
disappointment, it mentions few of our culti¬ 
vated plants. I have learned as much upon 
this point by converging with a few seed- 
growers as l have been able to lind in books, 
and I write this letter with the hope that per¬ 
sons experienced in the growing of seeds will 
contribute something from their fund of know¬ 
ledge upon this subject. 
There seems to be no question that varieties 
of beans belonging to the same species are 
liable to become mixed through cross fertili¬ 
zation if planted near each other. From ex¬ 
perience, I judge that varieties of the pepper 
grown in proximity are sure to become cross¬ 
ed. I am told that varieties of the cabbage, 
beet, and onion are also liable to become 
“mixed” in the same way. In regard to the 
carrot and parsnip I desire information, hut 
from the number of insects that visit their 
flowers I should expect that the varieties 
would have to be isolated to be kept pure. 
The stamens and pistils of the turnip and 
radish are in full sight when the plants are in 
flower, and 1 should expect that the varieties 
of these would become “mixed” if grown 
near each other. There seems to be a differ¬ 
ence of opinion in regard to the touiuto Some 
affirm that tbe flowers are not cross-fertilized 
by insects; but I am told that at least oue of 
our prominent seedsmen never allows his 
varieties of this plant to be grown iu proximity 
when intended for seed. I have noticed so 
much variation in varieties in this plant that 
I have found it very convenient to ascribe a 
part of them to cross-fertilization 
It is well known that varieties in the gourd 
■ family are much subject to mixture. Some 
even claim that the different species in this 
family are sometimes hybridized by insects. 
I recently saw it stated in an agricultural pa¬ 
per that cucumbers and melons should not be 
planted together owing to their liability to 
"mix.” I have never noticed such an occur¬ 
rence. Squishes and pumpkins often become 
“mixed,” but these are in many coses of the 
same species. Whether varieties of lettuce, 
egg-plant aud celery are subject to mixture, 
or not, 1 do not know. The pea is generally 
supposed to be free from danger of cross-fer¬ 
tilization by natural agencies. Two different 
seed-growers, however, told me, tbe past Sum¬ 
mer, that when purple and wliite-flowered 
varieties are grown side by side, purple flow- 
era will often appear on the plants of white- 
flowered varieties, and vice versa. I think, 
however, we are justified in believing that 
there is little danger of mixture in varieties of 
tbe pea. Darwin mentions a case where the 
same variety was grown with others for 20 
years, and aJ ways came true. 
One who watches the movements of the 
bumble bee in a seed garden, will, I think, 
soon come to the conclusion that in most veg¬ 
etables the danger of mixture of varieties is 
very great. It is pretty well acknowledged 
by scientific men that cross-fertilization has 
the tendency to increase the vigor of plants, 
and that in many species the reproductive or¬ 
gans are so arranged as to facilitate this ope¬ 
ration through the agency of insects. But 
nature does not reeoguize varieties, and the 
careful gardener, who desires to keep his veg¬ 
etables true to type by saving his own seed, 
labors under serious disadvantages. Even 
tbe seed-grower, who grows acres of a va¬ 
riety, experiences no small difficulty in keep¬ 
ing many of his varieties pure. “elm.” 
♦ ♦ ♦ 
ENSILAGE HAS COME TO STAY. 
DR. G. C. CALDWELL. 
For one who was among the first to give an 
account in the agricultural press of this coun¬ 
try of the French system of eusilage as a mat¬ 
ter worthy of the attention of our farmers; 
who has watched the progress of the idea from 
small beginnings; who has seen it survive tbe 
extravagant praise of some of its champions, 
with perhaps other axes to griud: aud finally 
become established on a sound, common-sense 
basis in our system of stock feeding, it is in¬ 
teresting to sec how it is taking root in Eng¬ 
land in very much the same way as it did 
here. It is curious that it should have to be 
transplanted from Frauce to America, and 
then back again across the ocean to the very 
next door ueighhor of the country from which 
it came to us, aud where they have been 
preaching and practising it for many years. 
Oue cannot perhaps deny that even too much 
praising may Imre hastened the spread of the 
idea; sleepy, conservative fanners on both 
sides of the water were wakened up by such 
loud talk, who might otherwise never have 
given a thought to the matter. 
There is hardly an issilj of the English Agri¬ 
cultural Gazette of late, that does not contain 
some reference to this subject; aud one of the 
last numbers at hand has a leader on it, open¬ 
ing with these words: “ The work of opening 
silos goes on briskly—all the more so, that 
successand not failure can mostly he recorded 
in what often looked a more than doubtful 
experiment.” It goes on to mak especial ref¬ 
erence to the fitness of the new fodder espe¬ 
cially for the dairy, to “ help out the roots 
and oil cake with which it lias been the cus¬ 
tom to supplement the Winter’s fodder, often 
to the great detriment of tlu\ or, both in milk 
aud butter.” And when the editor speaks of 
the possibility of making, with ensilage to 
feed the cows, “ butter of Bummer quality at 
double Summer prices,” one is strongly re¬ 
minded of the prominence that has been given 
to this very point in favor of ensilage by so 
many of our own dairymen, who have spoken 
from experience. The Agricultural Gazette 
is a level-headed paper, and such words as 
these from such a source will justly carry 
much weight. 
In my opinion the time has passed by for 
discussing the usefulness of this system of pre¬ 
serving fodder as if it wore adoubtful question. 
Wbeu 1 see it stated that in one place silos are 
standing empty, and that in another place 
such an ill-smelling product was turned out 
as almost to make men sick to staud near it, 
etc., 1 want to see how such farmers manage 
their affairs generally, before I accept their 
results and opinions as valid against ensilage. 
Familiar, as every reader of the papers must 
bo with the oft-repeated accounts of palatable, 
wholesome, aud not ill smelling fodder, often 
even good-smelling fodder, that these silos 
yield if properly made and properly filled, 1 
should be too much ashumed of myself if I got 
such bad results as these, and then talked about 
them; I would bury the stuff out of sight and 
try again, resolved to do as well as hundreds 
of others had done. I would as soon think, if 
