324 
AMERICAN A (1RI0TJLTTTRIST. 
[July, 
The Farm Dairy. 
BT J. W. DARIlOff. 
In order to compete with the proprietors 
of large butter and cheese dairies, farmers 
have been obliged to give more attention to 
their own resources for making a good qual¬ 
ity of butter and cheese, and only such as do 
this need hope for marked success. Good 
cows, well watered and well fed, will pro¬ 
duce good milk, but this is not all. Good 
milk must have proper care and intelligent 
treatment, or it will not produce fine butter 
or cheese. At this time of year, and later, 
there will be much complaint about taint in 
milk, and this defect is largely attributable to 
the cows drinking impure, stagnant water. 
Well watered, means having plenty of good, 
pure, running water. Cows should also have 
access to convenient shade in the hot 
weather. It is not strange that a can of 
milk is occasionally spoiled in a seemingly 
unaccountable way, when it contains a pail¬ 
ful of milk drawn from a cow in an over¬ 
heated condition. Cows should not be hur¬ 
ried and worried in going to and from 
pasture, and when “milking time” comes, 
let the “thorough work” of cleanliness 
begin. 
In the average farm dairy, too little atten¬ 
tion is given to the management of milk. The 
introduction of what may be termed “the 
home-made creamery system,” has proved a 
wonderful boon to many farmers. Such as 
do not invest in the patented creameries, 
need some artificial method for keeping the 
milk and cream at a proper temperature. A 
neighboring farmer has for several years kept 
milk in a cellar-tank, which is supplied from 
an adjoining pond of pure water. Into this 
water-tank, cans, 20 inches deep, are set so 
that the water comes to within two inches 
of the top, and they are left uncovered, to 
allow the animal heat to pass off. A ther¬ 
mometer, occasionally plunged into the water 
enables him to regulate the temperature, 
which should be at about 62 degrees, and as 
a result, the cream rises, to a depth of from 
two to three inches, in the can. The tank was 
built, and water conducted to it, at a small 
expense, which has been amply repaid, as 
the quantity of cream greatly exceeds that 
produced by the old method, of setting in 
shallow pans. By some such means as this 
the farm daily may be made a profitable 
adjunct to general farming. 
A Cheap Temporary Fence. 
It sometimes happens, that a part of a field 
is put into some grain crop, while the other 
is desired for pasture. An illustration is 
herewith given of a temporary fence we have 
used, which is cheap and easy to build. Ordi¬ 
nary rails will do. A pair of cross-stakes 
is driven in securely, when a rail is pushed 
or driven in with the hand, in an inclined 
position, resting on the crotch. Another 
pair of stakes is driven in over the end of 
the rail just set in, and a second rail is put 
in place. Such a fence can be built very 
quickly, will last for a season, readily turn 
almost any stock, and takes up much less 
room than a ‘ ‘ worm ” fence. A fence of 
this sort is well suited to a side-hill. D. Z. E. 
Staying Newly Set Trees. 
A veiy satisfactory support for a leaning 
young tree, and one that bends with the pre¬ 
vailing wind, is made by driving a stake at a 
little distance from the tree so inclined that 
the top will reach just beyond the body of the 
tree when the latter is upright. The tree is 
forced into position, a leather strap is placed 
around it, and the ends nailed to the stake. 
The strap should not be so short as to bind 
the tree, and it may be further tightened 
by forcing the stake down and driving a 
wedge on the upper side. 
Do Potatoes Sport? 
We have a letter from a correspondent in 
Wisconsin, concerning a new potato. He 
had been cultivating a blue variety, and on 
digging the crop, found in one hill a sin¬ 
gle potato that was entirely white ; this was 
attached to the same stem (or “ root,” as he 
calls it) with one of the usual blue color. 
This is a case of what is called “bud-varia¬ 
tion,” of which there are many well known 
instances. A particular bud upon a tree or 
plant, without any assignable cause, will 
produce either leaves, flowers, or fruit, differ¬ 
ent from those borne by the rest of the plant. 
The bearing of nectarines by a peach tree, 
the production of a red rose upon a bush of 
a yellow variety, are among well known ex¬ 
amples of this kind of variation. The po¬ 
tato, though we call it a tuber, is really a 
stem or branch, much modified, it is true, 
but it follows the laws of stem growth, and 
even “sports” as stems occasionally do. Nu¬ 
merous cases are recorded in England of the 
production of new varieties of potatoes in 
this manner. Several are known to have 
taken place in this country, notably the 
“Late Rose,” which is a “sport” from the 
“ Early Rose,” and differing from it in foli¬ 
age, and in a marked manner in the time of 
ripening. To the occurrence of such bud 
variations is due the common belief that po¬ 
tatoes will “ mix in the hill.” Whenever 
such a “sport” occurs, it should be kept 
and planted, as it may prove valuable. 
Fairs for the Sale of Stock. 
Nearly every county in England holds one 
or more Cattle Fairs weekly or fortnightly, 
and notwithstanding the amusing account 
the Vicar of Wakefield gives of the cheating of 
poor “ Moses ” in a horse trade at one of these 
fairs, the sales are usually honestly conducted, 
and the opportunity of buying and selling 
proves a great advantage to farmers, to say 
nothing of the benefits derived from social 
intercourse. Here they have the opportunity 
of talking over their crops, the best methods 
of cultivation, the state of the markets in 
general throughout the kingdom, and what¬ 
ever else may interest them. Several at¬ 
tempts have been made to hold similar fairs 
in the United States, but without success. 
Ohio, Indiana and Michigan have decided to 
hold a Cattle Fair at Toledo. Pedigreed stock, 
catalogued and priced, are alone allowed 
entry for exhibition and sale. Why should 
not the fair be so general, that the farmers 
could bring any sort of stock, even to a single 
horse, bullock, cow, sheep, pig, or fowl? 
Then the whole community would be interest¬ 
ed and benefited, and each person could buy 
or sell what he wanted, let the number of 
animals be few or many. This is the manner 
in which the English fair is conducted, and 
it may be that it is the only way to make 
it a success throughout this country. 
Lime, Milk of Lime, Lime-Water. 
In answering certain inquiries about the use 
of lime, we were met by the fact that some 
of the important properties of this common 
mineral were not generally understood. Aside 
from being an important constituent in the 
rocks, and consequently of soils, it, in some 
of its forms, plays an important part in our 
domestic economy. But few other minerals 
appear in such varied forms as limestone. 
The purest statuary marble, the coarsest 
marble used in buildings, the wonderful Ice¬ 
land spar, and a vast number of other min¬ 
erals, known only to mineralogists, are only 
forms of carbonate of lime. When any of 
these are kept for some time at a red heat, 
the carbonic acid is driven off and lime is left. 
Practically, in burning lime, a common lime¬ 
stone is used. If a lump of lime be ex¬ 
posed to the air, it will in time attract atmos¬ 
pheric moisture, soon swell up, and fall to 
pieces. If we pour water upon a lump of 
lime, adding a very little at a time, it will 
soon become hot, then swell up, crack open, 
and finally, though a great deal of water has 
been added, it becomes a fine, perfectly dry 
powder—much more bulky than was the 
lump of lime at first. What becomes of the 
water ? It combines with the lime ; it ceases 
to be liquid, but uniting with the lime forms 
a solid, the Hydrate of Lime, also called 
Calcium Hydrate, and popularly known as 
slaked-lime. If we stir some of the slaked- 
lime with water, as in making white-wash, 
we form what is called milk of lime. This is 
merely Hydrate of Lime in more or less water. 
If the milk of lime is allowed to stand a few 
hours, the lime will have settled at the bot¬ 
tom, leaving a perfectly clear liquid above. 
If this clear liquid be tasted, it will be found 
to have a very strong taste ; if shaken with 
an oil, such as olive oil, it will form a sort of 
soap, and though very clear, it has positive 
