100-4 
A TWELVE-DOLLAR HEN HOUSE. 
What results would you expect from 
75 hens wintered in a coop of this cost? 
I had 75 May-hatched pullets to winter. 
I built a coop 12x18 feet, inside measure¬ 
ment. The material was sod for the 
sides; the roof was straw, covered with 
corn fodder; the floor, Nature’s de¬ 
odorizer, natural earth. I first selected 
a well-sheltered location, then proceeded 
by setting three crotches, each crotch set 
three feet deep. This for the peak of 
my roof. Next I set ordinary six-foot 
fence posts on side four feet apart, two 
feet deep, leaving sides of coop four feet 
high, plenty high enough for sides of 
any coop. Then 1 spiked poles on to those 
fence posts on top, and nailed on small 
poles on sides of posts; laid poles in 
those center crotches, then laid poles 
from post plate., to crotch poles for 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
S3 ;) 
A TWELVE-DOLLAR HENHOUSE. Fig. 453 
rafters, and my frame was complete. I 
put in a window frame of plank on south 
side 2x8 feet, covered same with muslin 
curtain (no glass) ; put door in east 
end. I cut sod and sodded up sides; 
put a little brush crosswise of rafter 
poles, covered with straw and shingled 
with corn fodder. The foundation of my 
coop is raised slightly so water runs 
away from it, which is very important. 
So my labor and all would amount to 
about $12. I put pullets in coop in De¬ 
cember and they soon began laying. In 
January, February, March and April I 
averaged close to five dozen eggs per 
day. My income was a little better than 
$1 per day clear of feed; and they have 
continued laying well all Summer till 
molting this Fall. Now they are mostly 
through the molt and are going right 
into the egg producing business again. 
Wisconsin. j. h. t. 
WHAT AILS THE CHEESE? 
Will some one tell me just what is at 
the bottom of the trouble I am having with 
my cheeses? I believed myself and was 
considered by others a first-class cheese 
maker, and cheeses are all sold before they 
are made at 20 cents per pound. The milk 
goes to a local retail milkman at four cents 
per quart, but after the beach season he 
has a surplus of milk, and likes to have 
me help him out by making a few cheeses, 
which 1 am very glad to do. I am very 
fond of “new” dairy cheese, and always in¬ 
tend to cut one when it is two weeks old, 
but this year they do not seem to have 
developed much of any flavor, taste "flat,” 
and they are very soft. To be sure they 
are made of rich Jersey and Guernsey milk, 
but they seem much too soft. They have 
not been so in former years, but then the 
weather is extremely warm just now I 
know. I used the same quantity of salt 
as in former years, which is one heaping 
teaspoonful of Worcester salt to three 
pounds of dry curd ready for the press. l)o 
you consider this enough? It seasons the 
curd a little more than one would relish it 
to eat. and from a 12-pound cheese not 
more than a teacup of whey presses out, 
which is quite salty. I am completely puz¬ 
zled. Can it be anything in the feed? The 
cows are out at pasture, but have in addi¬ 
tion all the fodder corn they will eat, which 
is pretty well matured, and the grain ra¬ 
tion is gluten feed and bran. I know 
gluten makes soft butter. Can it affect the 
quality of cheese as well? I think we 
have fed it before when making cheese. 
Can anyone tell me what, if any difference, 
there would be in the quality of cheese if 
gluten feed or cotton-seed meal were fed? 
Another tiling, the bandages have mildewed 
this year, which they never did before, al¬ 
though it is a very dry season and they 
are in a large airy room, rubbed, turned 
and dressed with lard every day. 
MHS. b. 
The milk is produced front Jersey and 
Guernsey cows. This points to milk rich 
in fat, and I imagine the methods are 
not calculated to expel a proper amount 
of moisture from the curd. The maker 
no doubt carries a large percentage of 
free moisture, which will provide a 
medium for development of an objec¬ 
tionable flavor if the cheese is held any 
great length of time in a room of 70° F. 
or above. But the complaint is that the 
cheese are “flat” in flavor, and have not 
developed the taste that has heretofore 
been present. I hardly think one has 
any right to expect a very pronounced 
flavor when the cheese is only two weeks 
of age. It is only sufficient time for the 
moisture to evaporate from the surface 
of the cheese and the breaking down of 
the dry matter to become started. There 
is no reason to expect a perfect flavor 
to develop in so short a time. She says 
her cheese are “much too soft.” This is 
due not to milk rich in fat, but to the 
large amount of whey she carries re¬ 
ferred to above. 
I will offer the following suggestions 
as a remedy for her slight troubles. If 
she has 100 pounds of sweet, clean milk 
to be made into cheese I would advise 
raising the temperature to 84° F. and 
add one pound of clean-flavored, sour, 
thick milk as a starter. Stir the starter 
thoroughly and strain it through a fine 
wire or cloth strainer before mixing it 
with the milk. This will prevent any 
curd particles making their appearance 
in the finished product. The starter will 
assist in developing the lactic acid for¬ 
mation. Then add the rennet and pro¬ 
ceed with her process as before but with 
the following suggestions: 
When the curd has become firm after 
the coagulation has taken place use any 
curd knife that will insure a uniform 
size to the cubes of curd. Then start a 
gentle agitation, using great care not to 
break the cubes, but to retain their orig¬ 
inal form as nearly as is possible to do 
so. Continue this gentle stirring, but not 
so gentle as to permit the cubes to be¬ 
come attached to each other and form 
lumps. This condition prevents a uni¬ 
form expulsion of moisture from a curd. 
Gradually raise the temperature from 84 
to 100° F. and stir the curd until it 
reaches that stage of contraction when 
the kernels will not stick together, but 
will fall easily apart when taken in the 
hand. Allow it to remain in the whey 
until the curd presents a firm appearance 
and feels solid to touch. When taken in 
the mouth the curd will present a resis¬ 
tance between the teeth which is an in¬ 
dication that a sufficient amount of mois¬ 
ture has been expelled. The whey can 
now be removed, and as soon as the 
curd is properly drained the salt can be 
added at the rate of two pounds to a 
thousand pounds of milk. The curd 
should then remain in the vat until the 
salt has become dissolved and has been 
absorbed by the curd. It is now ready 
to be placed under pressure. 
When the cheese is taken from the 
press to readjust the bandage, which can 
be done an hour after pressing, a piece 
of clean bandage cloth should be placed 
under each end of the cheese and an¬ 
other press cloth of heavy cotton be 
nlaced over the light one. When the 
cheeses are removed from the press the 
following morning the heavy cloth can 
be removed and the light cotton one that 
will be firmly attached to the cheese 
should be left on. This will do away 
entirely with all dressing with grease, a 
habit that has been discontinued by all 
cheese makers for many years. The curd 
all being covered with cotton cloth there 
is no necessity of rubbing or greasing 
the cheese, and all the attention they 
need is turning over once each day and 
the shelf or table thoroughly wiped and 
cleaned where the cheese stood. These 
suggestions are intended for one who is 
making a small amount of milk rich in 
fat into cheese which are marketed in a 
small way for immediate consumption. 
The cheese will be soft enough and if 
given time a delicious flavor will de¬ 
velop. If further suggestions are needed 
the writer will cheerfully answer any 
questions direct or through your col¬ 
umns. W. W. HALL. 
Cornell University. 
November 12, 
When' you write advertisers mention Thh 
It. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick reply and 
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AJSD 
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A Message 
To Dairymen 
and Farmers 
Important 
Right Now ow i n g to the unusually favorable prices 
on feed and the fact that prices on milk were 
How To 
SAVE 
Money 
on YourFeed 
and Get 
MORE 
MILK 
never so high—every dairyman and farmer should plan to get every 
pound of milk possible from his cows. You should ‘ ‘make hay while 
the sun shines.” 
Toil Coil Soi/C mc ? ne y labor, and in addition to increasing your ^ 
■■ ■ ■ daily milk production several gallons, you can put your 
cows in the finest ‘ ‘condition’ ’ to withstand the coming long winter milking period and 
keep them up to maximum flow and flesh if you will 
Follow This Feeding Plan 
Give your cows SCHUMACHER FEED as your grain ration, along with your regular lu 
roughage—hay, fodder, silage, etc.—you’ll be surprised at the results, not only in milk 
production but the improvement in their “condition”—a feature so important right 
now* Just read this letter 
Here is the Proof 
The Quaker Oats Company, ™ Sandusky, N. Y., October 10, 1910 
Gentlemen:—We have been feeding Seliumaeher Feed for the past two years. We feed one-half Schumacher 
and one-half Gluten heed. 'Dus summer our feed dealer was out of Schumacher and we bought one ton 
n 4 a t n Irn l tu nl o on A ft at* f aa,1 mr. 41, in „ f a,„ Jo.... ....« .. ..._ 1 _• i • a n ■ , • 0 . 
Fee _ __ 
of Bran to take its place. After feedin; 
arrived after we had fed 
After feeding this a few days we saw our cows were shrinking. A car of Schumacher's 
1600 pounds of Bran. We changed directly to Schumacher’s and in three days our 
would consider i 
lard proposition to make milk the year-round as we dot without Sol in macherYccVl'. 
Yours very truly. 
C. HASKELL & SON. 
The Reason Schumacher Feed does so much is because it is the best complete ration in the 
- world—the acme of feed-making science. It supplies those nutrients your ration 
lacks which build strong tissue and rich blood— which nourish the body and give the animal that 
strength and vitality so essential when she is under the strain of continued milk flow. It is with¬ 
out question the best “balanced” ration you can get, because the most scientifically prepared. 
In short it is such a perfect ration in itself that many successful dairymen feed nothing 
else. Where “forcing” the flow is desired, the high concentrates such as gluten, malt 
sprouts, cotton seed meal, etc., can be used, but “forcing” cannot last unless some¬ 
thing is fed to maintain the physical condition. Hence with the use of 
Schumacher Feed you can cut out the concentrates — save money —save your 
cows—increase your yield and maintain better, healthier herds. Ask your 
dealer for Schumacher and test this plan. If he can’t supply you write us. 
The Quaker Oats Co., Chicago 9 u.s.a i . 
Largest Manufacturers of Feeds 
In the World 
Schumacher Feed is Also Fine for All Farm Stock 
