36 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
January 16 
the most desirable of the breeds considered from a 
business standpoint, and among them, almost any one 
should be able to get a breed that would be satisfac¬ 
tory either for business or pleasure. f. h. v. 
The Farmers’ Club. 
[Every query must be accompanied by the name and address of 
the writer to insure attention. Before asking a question please 
see whether it is not answered in our advertising columns. Ask 
only a few questions at one time. Put questions on a separate 
piece of paper.l 
COTTON-SEED MEAL FOR POULTRY. 
now MUCH CAN BE SAFELY FED ? 
What has been your experience with feeding cotton-seed meal 
to poultry ? There is some controversy as to whether this food is 
suitable for poultry, and we wish to obtain all possible facts 
about it. How much may be safely fed ? What other foods are 
best fed with it ? 
For several years, I have not fed any cotton-seed 
meal to poultry, as I found that an abundance of 
green Crimson clover answered the purpose equally 
well, or rather better, and was, apparently, decidedly 
more relished by the poultry. When I did feed it, I 
found it decidedly beneficial, as evidenced by the 
glossy plumage and quantity of eggs laid. But I did 
not feed it on the principle of “Root, hog, or die.” 
The poultry received their regular rations, while a 
quantity of cotton-seed meal, mixed with an equal 
portion, by measure, of linseed meal, was placed 
where they had ready access to it. Some days, they 
ate quite a quantity of the mixture, while on others 
they scarcely touched it. When the brute creation, 
including poultry, has access to the things requisite 
to its welfare at all times, I believe that, ordinarily, 
instinct will guide it in the quantity necessary to be 
consumed at a time. Stock will actually suffer when 
lavishly supplied with the best of food, if this is of 
too one-sided a nature. Cows, for example, if fed 
too freely with highly nitrogenous substances, will 
soon be found eating their bedding of straw, and, 
unless fat-formers are furnished more liberally, the 
muscle-makers will undergo a second chemical de¬ 
composition, to the loss of the feeder. This is another 
illustration of the value of The R. N.-Y.’s Primer Sci¬ 
ence. Although we can calculate the ration for a 
hen, we cannot so easily administer it, as each hen can¬ 
not well be fed separately. This is what induced me to 
be governed by the instinct of my poultry when feed¬ 
ing such a concentrated food as cotton-seed meal, and, 
if ever I have occasion to feed it again, I shall be gov¬ 
erned by the same rule, rather than mix it with a 
mush and make them eat it whether they want it or 
not. The way I fed it was quite satisfactory to me, 
and unless I have positive proof of a better way, I 
see no reason for making a change. j. c. senger. 
Virginia. 
When trying to feed cotton-seed meal to laying 
hens, a number of years ago, the hens would not eat 
it, and they would eat but sparingly of grain mix¬ 
tures containing large proportions of the meal. As 
grain mixtures containing liberal quantities of dried 
blood have always been readily eaten, I have not, in 
recent years, tried to feed much cotton-seed meal. It 
may, perhaps, be injurious to poultry, but I do not 
know that the fact has been definitely proved. I am 
of the opinion that common fowls having a liberal 
allowance of the ordinary foods, would not eat an in¬ 
jurious amount of the meal. Grain mixtures contain¬ 
ing a little cotton-seed meal have been fed with good 
results. One mixture containing, by weight, four 
parts corn meal, two parts each of wheat bran and 
buckwheat bran, and one part each of wheat mid¬ 
dlings, ground oats, linseed meal (o. p.), and cotton¬ 
seed meal, has been fed with, certainly, not bad 
effects. If much of the meal be fed, I should prefer 
feeding, also, liberally of succulent vegetable food 
and a fair allowance of the ordinary whole grains, 
wheat, barley, oats, and cracked corn. 
Geneva Experiment Station. wm. p. wheeler. 
I have had a very limited experience in feeding cot¬ 
ton-seed meal to poultry. I have fed about 10 per 
cent in the morning feed, with seemingly good results. 
I generally feed in connection with bran, ground 
meat, corn meal, oat feed and linseed meal. I think 
that the cotton seed somewhat counteracts the loosen¬ 
ing effect of the bran, meat and linseed meal. 
New Jersey. J. e. stevenson. 
Making Small Cheeses at Home. 
H. It., Alton , III .—I should like to learn how to make Limburger 
and the yellow cake or cream cheese. 
ANSWERED BY H. STEWART. 
Limburger Cheese is a special product, like some 
others which depend for their flavor on a peculiar 
process of curing by which a certain decomposition 
of the curd is produced. In this decomposition, the 
curd becomes much like butter, soft and rich to the 
taste, by a well-known change which occurs in the 
casein—as in all nitrogenous matter—producing an 
unctuous substance commonly known as adipocere, 
and which is contained in all fully cured cheese to a 
less or greater extent. It is this change in cheese by 
which the larger quantity of fatty matter is produced 
than could be expected or warranted by the actual 
fats originally contained in the milk. Two kinds of 
Limburger cheese are made in Belgium, the Herv6 
and the real Limburger; these differ mostly in the 
special curing, the former being eaten when com¬ 
paratively fresh, while the latter is kept longer and 
is exposed to warmer temperature to develop a fur¬ 
ther change in the casein referred to. The Limburger 
is somewhat extensively made in Wisconsin, and the 
makers are enviously charged with quite unpleasant 
methods of producing the special odor and flavor ap¬ 
pertaining to their cheese, as, for instance, burying 
the cheese in fermenting manure to get the highly 
pronounced characteristics. Of course this is wholly 
imaginary, and while some may believe the story, yet 
it may be said to be totally unfounded, and more of a 
humorous reference to the highly flavored character 
of the cheese, than any serious matter of fact. 
The process is as follows : The new milk direct from 
the cow is mixed with the requisite quantity of ren¬ 
net, and set to curd, for one hour. The curd is im¬ 
mediately put in molds of the desired size, about four 
or five inches long, three wide, and two or three deep, 
the bottoms of which are pierced with holes to drain 
off the whey. At the end of two hours, the molds 
are turned so that the draining may be facilitated, 
and the cheeses are left two hours longer, after which 
they are firm enough to be turned out on a mat of 
clean straw, for further drainage. The cheeses are 
kept separated by small, thin boards to prevent them 
from adhering, and thus remain for two days, during 
which they are turned three or four times in the 24 
hours. This continues until the curd becomes soft 
and buttery, this change being regulated according 
to the temperature; in cool weather, the period is 
extended to five days ; in the summer two days are 
sufficient to cause this first change in the curd. The 
cheeses are then sprinkled with finely powdered salt, 
and as soon as this is dissolved and absorbed, which 
takes two days, the salting is repeated, the cheese 
being then turned. 
The next change is to move the cheeses to a well- 
ventilated cellar in which the temperature is care¬ 
fully regulated and kept even, at about 60 degrees. 
They are ranged as before, but on shelves, so that 
they do not touch each other, and the salting is re¬ 
peated, but this time by the use of brine, with which 
they are sprinkled. They are turned three times a 
week. After five weeks of this treatment, the cheeses 
are known as young, and are sold as such to those 
who do not desire the high flavor of the old cheeses, 
called ripe. The ripe cheeses are known as perfect, 
and are of a rich, soft buttery consistence, and of a 
yellowish color, but of that pronounced flavor which 
some do not relish, but which others think the very 
highest perfection. Tastes differ in this respect. 
Cream Cheese. —This is a delicacy which is accept¬ 
able to every one, being, in fact, a sort of butter made 
without churning, merely by the agglomeration of 
the sweet cream into a cake of a cheesy consistence. 
It is a simple matter to make it. The milk is set in 
the usual manner for the cream to rise for 12 or 24 
hours. The shallow pans which are used are then 
set on a stove or other heater, and warmed slowly 
until the skin of cream wrinkles, when they are re¬ 
moved and set for the cream to rise completely, 
which it does very soon, leaving a thick adherent skin 
on the milk, which may be rolled off without break¬ 
ing. This cream is put into small, bottomless frames, 
5x3 inches and two deep, which are set on a folded 
cloth which absorbs the milk, leaving, in a few hours, 
a cake of cream a little shrunken from the original 
size, and which may be lifted, if handled carefully, 
on to a plate for eating. It is not salted except when 
eaten. The cheese has no special, cheesy flavor, but 
is simply sweet, solid cream, and is eaten in place of 
butter, or with fruit or spread on bread. To give a 
better appearance, the frames or molds are often set 
on mats made of straws sewed together, by which the 
bottom—which is turned upwards when the cheese is 
sold—is corrugated, and looks better than the mere 
bare surface may. It is quite possible, and has been 
done by the writer, to have the bottom of the molds 
engraved with the name of the maker or the farm 
where it is made. These cheeses, weighing half a 
pound, sell for 50 cents at the fancy groceries and 
markets of New York City. 
Small Domestic Cheeses. —In any small dairy, it 
is easy to make small cheeses of three to ten pounds’ 
weight, with two cows’ milk. The night’s milk with 
the cream well stirred in it, and the morning’s milk, 
to which the cream of the last morning’s milk may 
be added, if extra fine quality be desired, are thor¬ 
oughly mixed and warmed to 80 degrees, when the 
rennet is added ; 100 pounds of milk, which will make 
10 pounds of cheese, require one-half teaspoonful of 
the common extract of rennet, or one-half of one of 
the rennet tablets sold for this purpose. This will 
bring the curd in half an hour if the milk be kept at 
this temperature. The curd is then cut two ways to 
let the rennet separate, when it is drawn off through 
a strainer in the vat near ihe top. The vat may be 
one of the common wash boilers—kept, of course, 
especially for this purpose, or a substitute made ex¬ 
pressly of tin, an oval form being the handiest for 
use. The curd is then carefully dipped out and set in 
the molds, which are, or may be, common straight¬ 
sided tin pails of sufficient size, or mere rings made 
for the purpose six inches in diameter. These are set 
on a smooth, wooden bottom with small channels for 
the whey to drain off, if it be in excess. After the 
curd has set in this way*12 hours, the mold is reversed 
to drain off the whey, yet preserve a sufficient quan¬ 
tity of it in the cheese to make it soft and moist 
enough. The curd is not salted, but the cheese is 
rubbed with the finest salt daily as it is turned. In 
three or four weeks, as the temperature may be 
warm or cool, the cheese is fit for use, but it is im¬ 
proved daily by keeping it in a moist, dampish place, 
and daily rubbing with sweet cream on the outside. 
If any mold gather on the cheese, as it may, it is 
rubbed off with a cloth wetted in warm water before 
the rubbing is done. I have been making these 
cheeses for some years, for home use and for sale, 
getting 20 cents a pound for them, which is better 
than buttermaking, and very much less trouble. 
A Ration for Fattening Steers. 
II. S., Gleeville, Md .—I wish to fatten steers weighing 1,025 
pounds, on corn meal, oats, bran, shredded corn fodder and ensi¬ 
lage, the ensilage having about 60 bushels of ears to the acre 
when cut. Can I get a properly balanced ration by mixing the 
above grains, and in what proportion should they be mixed ? I 
do not wish to feed any hay, as I have nothing but Timothy, and 
the price is good. 
Ans.—A ration compounded with the grains given, 
will contain too little protein. You will secure far 
better results if you could purchase some linseed meal 
and combine with the other grains. The ensilage and 
corn fodder will be sufficient for roughage. I would 
suggest the following daily ration : 
25 lbs. ensilage. 
15 lbs. corn fodder. 
3 lbs. corn meal. 
3 lbs. bran. 
3 lbs. oats.. 
4 lbs. linseed meal. 
Totals. 
Nutritive ratio, 1:6.4. 
/-Digestible nutrients.-, 
Protein 
. Carbohydrates. 
Fat. 
.30 
3.00 
.132 
.45 
6.00 
.139 
.218 
1.90 
.098 
.351 
1.33 
.077 
.253 
1.38 
.118 
1.03 
1.06 
.283 
2.602 
14.67 
.847 
L. A. C. 
Oats and Peas for Fodder. 
E. E. !>., Ghent, Minn .—Would you advise sowing peas and oats 
together to feed ground together ? I sowed some Belgian field 
peas with oats last summer, cut them with the binder when the 
oats were ripe, and thrashed them together. I can just as well 
raise them together as oats alone. Do the peas leave any fer¬ 
tilizers in the ground ? How would it do to feed oats and peas to 
horses, half and half by measure? 
ANSWERED BY PROF. THOS. SHAW. 
Most unhesitatingly would I advise sowing peas 
and oats together for certain uses ; but when thus 
grown, I would not think of thrashing the combined 
crop. It is unnecessary labor ; when thus grown, the 
crop should be cut a little before it is ripe. When 
the oats have turned yellow, a few inches from the 
ground upward, the crop is ready to cut. All the 
nutriment that it will ever contain will then be in 
the crop. The grain will then be in the dough stage. 
Cut with the binder and tie in small sheaves quite 
loosely, stand the sheaves up in long shocks two and 
two. Don’t thrash before feeding. If the crop be fed 
to cattle or sheep, they will do the thrashing and, 
also, the grinding, in the best possible way. When 
fed to cows, it may be well to run the mixture through 
a cutting box, for then other meal may be added very 
conveniently should it be wanted. It would not need 
to be thus prepared for sheep. They will do the cut¬ 
ting, thrashing and grinding. 
For soiling food, this mixture is not easily sur¬ 
passed. I have often wondered why it is not more 
grown over all the northern half of this Republic. It 
makes a great food for dairy cows. Try it, farmers, 
try it, everywhere, try it and see what is in it! Don’t 
allow good things to be within reach without reach¬ 
ing for them ! 
In sowing this food, mix the seed and sow with 
the grain drill. Bury 2% to 3 % inches, according to 
soil, and just when the young plants begin to show, 
run over the ground with a slant-tooth harrow. The 
proportions of the mixture must be determined by 
the farmer himself by actual test. In the Gallatin 
Valley, Montana, if one-third only of the mixture 
were oats, the oats would be overpowered with the 
peas. In southern Minnesota, with the same propor¬ 
tions of seed, the danger would be imminent that the 
peas would be overshadowed by the oats. In the 
eastern States, it will, probably, be found that the 
crop requires to be sown in about equal proportions. 
The advantages from sowing this crop are : First, 
