170 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
Pebrnary  22,  1900. 
culties  are  nil  compared  to  her  neighbour  who  may  have  a  badly  laid 
brick  floor  and  old  wooilen  (and  possibly  worm-eaten  shelves).  Oh, 
yes,  dairies  of  that  sort  still  exist,  and  there  are  others  that  in  a  wet 
time  flood.  The  tenant  has  not  the  means  and  the  landlord  not  the 
will  to  alter  this  state  of  affairs. 
e  read  in  books  how  delicious  is  the  sweet  smell  of  fresh  milk, 
bo  it  may  be,  but  a  dairy  wants  to  be  perfectly  odourless.  This 
can  be  done  if  the  presiding  genius  is  of  modern  culture  and  fully 
alive  to  her  responsibilities.  There  is  an  earnest  desire  now  on  the 
part  of  those  who  have  taken  up  dairy  work  to  aim  at  the  highest 
degree  of  perfection,  and  perfection  without  cleanliness  is  unattainable. 
We  do  not  speak  of  dairies  with  tiled  walls,  where  no  atom  of  dirt  can 
lodge,  but  just  of  simple  homely  places  that  owe  their  whiteness  to 
lime.  Nothing  beats  lime,  but  lime  accumulates,  and  though  a 
woman  would  never  hesitate  about  dispapering  a  room  before  the  new 
one  is  hung,  yet  it  may  never  occur  to  her  that  the  walls  would  be 
better  for  a  good  scraping  and  washing.  Those  walls — we  speak  from 
our  own  knowledge — are  by  no  means  even.  There  is  many  a  rough 
ledge  or  cranny  where  the  lime  has  lodged  year  after  year.  A  garden 
hoe  does  not  make  a  bad  scraper,  and  a  rough  besom  and  hot  water 
will  prepare  a  nice  wholesome  surface  for  the  new  wash.  There  may 
be  painting  of  doors  or  woodwork  round  the  windows.  Best  do  it 
now  and  get  off  the  smell  of  paint  before  the  milk  pans  are  all  full. 
There  is  one  little  item  has  often  struck  us.  The  window  may  be, 
and  probably  is,  covered  with  wire  or  perforated  zinc.  Is  that  ever 
moved,  year  in,  year  out,  to  give  the  window  a  chance  of  a  thorough 
cleansing?  We  have  seen  windows  and  wire  that  have  stood  un¬ 
touched  for  many  a  long  season.  This  is  only  a  small  matter,  but 
bacilli  lurk  everywhere.  The  light  w’e  know  is  bad  for  them,  but  the 
zinc  is  not  very  transparent.  Surely  in  no  dairy  worth  naming  is  a 
drain  opening.  We  have  read  of  such  things,  we  have  heard  of  such 
things,  but  only,  we  hope,  in  fiction.  All  superfluous  moisture  should 
be  taken  up  with  floor  flannels;  if  the  ventilation  is  good  Nature 
soon  makes  all  dry.  It  is  a  mistaken  idea  a  damp  dairy. 
Jsow  as  to  utensils ;  what  of  them  ?  The  separator  has  had  a 
winter  s  rest.  Has  its  abode  been  dry,  or  is  there  in  any  part  an  atom 
of  rust  ?  What  about  the  various  workings?  Remember  the  time 
is  at  hand  when  it  will  be  needed  to  deal  with  large  quantities  of  milk 
tvvice  daily.  Just  look  it  over  carefully,  and  thus  guard  against  a 
breakdown  at  an  inconvenient  moment.  What  of  the  larger  churn, 
the  one  for  summer  u-e  ?  Has  it  ever  been  looked  to  since  the 
autumn  ?  Remember  wood  is  apt  to  get  “  fusty.”  Take  it  out  into 
the  fresh  air,  and  give  it  a  thorough  hot  scrubbing.  Perhaps, 
too,  there  may  be  a  trifling  repair  needed.  As  to  the  pails,  we 
suppo.se  they  are  shining  like  silver,  and  hung  up  out  of  the  way 
How  beautiful  the  old  wooden  ones  were  when  fresh  scoured,  with  the 
steel  bands  burnished  to  a  radiancy.  They  were  heavy  and  perhaps 
clumsy,  but  certainly  more  picturesque  than  the  tin  ones,  and  we 
fancy  sweeter  and  cleaner. 
All  wooden  utensils  should  be  seen  to — bowls,  butter  workers, 
Scotch  hauls.  If  they  have  been  kept  dry  all  the  winter  there  will  be 
shrinkage,  and  they  are  all  the  better  for  a  good  soaking  and  over¬ 
hauling.  We  do  not  like  cream  pancheons  or  milk  bowls  that  are  a 
bit  chipped  or  cracked  ;  they  are  not  good  to  clean,  and  will  soon 
breed  nastiness.  The  housewife  is  always  glad  of  an  extra  bowl 
or  pancheon,  and  it  is  economy  to  get  new  whole  articles.  Most 
farms  possess  a  wooden  rack  for  pancheons  and  pails  to  “  sweeten 
in  during  the  day.  It  may  need  a  coat  of  paint  or  be  loose  in  a 
joint.  ' 
Butter  cloths  have  happily  gone  out  of  favour.  We  ne'^er  did 
like  them ;  we  could  always  fancy  they  had  a  “  flavour.”  The 
parchment  paper  which  has  taken  their  place  is  both  cheap  and 
excellent.  But  the  paper  does  not  answer  for  cheese  binding  and 
making,  and  during  the  long  winter  evenings  young  hands  might 
find  excellent  employment  in  hemming  new  cloths,  so  that  there 
should  be  no  lack  when  the  busy  time  came.  Unhemmed  cloths 
do  not  loox  workmanlike;  raw  edges  are  always  untidv.  This 
is  a  small  matter,  but  one  worth  mentioning.  Where  cheese  is 
made  .‘spring  cleaning  is  even  a  more  serious  business — there  are  so 
many  vessels  to  see  to  and  storage  rooms  to  purify. 
Need  we  again  say  that  the  dairy  should  be  a  temple  devoted 
only  to  the  keeping  and  safeguarding  of  milk  aud  milk  products  ? 
It  is  cool  and  tempting — such  a  thorough  draught  that  meat  would 
hang  indefinitely,  and  other  comestibles  preserve  their  virtues  for 
long;  but  the  housewife  must  be  inexorable.  She  never  knows 
how  easily  a  taint  may  come.  It  is  in  her  power  to  keep  clear, 
and  it  must  be  a  case  of  milk  or  nothing.  She  might  as  well  give 
up  her  work  as  to  allow  of  any  profanation  of  her  temple. 
We  hope  we  have  offended  no  one,  that  is  far  from  our  intention ; 
we  only  want  to  save  our  fair  workers  difficulty  and  disappointment 
for  the  future.  We  wish  their  butter  and  cheese  to  “  top  ”  the 
market,  and  to  fill  their  pockets  with  shining  gold  pieces. 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
Frost  and  snow!  Heavy  snowfall  and  keen  frosts,  registering  as 
low  as  7°  Fahr.,  or  25°  of  frost.  And  this  in  mid-February  !  In  some 
seasons  we  might  have  rejoiced  in  such  a  visitation,  for  with  plenty  of 
stored  roots  the  stock  breeder  and  feeder  could  ignore  such  weather,  or 
rather  rejoice  that  his  arable  land,  whether  for  spring  corn  or  Turnips, 
was  getting  such  a  preparation  for  seedtime  as  he  could  not  give  it. 
But  now  !  Turnips  and  Swedes  are  all  finished,  and  the  scanty  supply 
of  Mangold  all  that  is  left  to  assist  the  straw  and  hay  to  keep  sheep 
and  cattle  alive  until  the  grass  begins  to  grow. 
No  work  on  the  land  has  been  done  since  last  week.  Muck  leading 
is  the  only  available  work,  and  that  will  soon  be  finished  for  the 
present.  Employment  may  be  found  for  a  few  days  in  carting  bricks 
for  building  repairs  and  pipes  for  draining,  then  the  horses  must  rest 
if  the  frost  lasts  A  rest  will  do  them  no  harm,  but  they  must  be 
judiciously  fed ;  after  the  first  day  the  corn  allowance  must  be  reduced 
at  least  one  half,  and  the  linseed  porridge  tub  must  not  be  neglected. 
Work  may  be  found  for  the  men  in  whitewashing  the  stables  and 
cowhouses;  a  good  limewash  never  hurts  anything,  and  if  a  small 
quantity  of  phenyle  be  mixed  with  it  its  disinfecting  properties 'will  be 
improved.  Straw  is  now  so  plentiful  and  cheap  that  the  use  of  peat 
moss  litter  may  be  neglected,  to  the  detriment  of  the  farmer.  Having 
thoroughly  tried  the  litter  we  are  convinced  that,  although  straw  may 
be,  and  is,  far  preferable  as  bedding  for  the  comfort  of  the  animal, 
there  are  great  manurial  advantages  in  the  use  of  peat  moss.  A  3-inch 
layer  on  the  floor  of  every  box  and  shed  will  absorb  a  large  quantity  of 
valuable  ammonia,  which  would  otherwise  be  lost. 
Basic  slag  may  now  be  bought,  and  would  be  better  on  the  land 
than  in  the  shed,  but  if  it  can  be  procured  and  placed  upon  the 
premises  a  job  may  be  found  for  the  horses.  Kainit  also  might  be  got, 
and  would  be  more  useful  if  applied  at  once.  The  sowing  of  these 
manu-'es  is  not  pleasant  work  in  wintry  weather,  but  work  must  be 
done  some  time,  and  a  great  deal  of  it  is  unpleasant  at  any  time. 
Sheep  are  doing  well  on  short  commons,  and  lambs  are  healthy,  but  the 
cake  bill  will  be  a  heavy  one.  Will  they  pay  for  it  ? 
Scarcity  or  Farm  Labour  in  the  States. — Reports  from  the 
West  and  South  state  that  there  is  a  lack  of  labour  in  the  farming  dis¬ 
tricts.  The  farmers  always  complain  about  this  time  of  the  year  of 
scarcity  of  hands,  but  in  previous  years  it  has  not  been  as  serious 
as  it  is  now.  Not  only  are  more  men  needed  than  usual  because  of 
the  excellence  of  all  the  crops,  but  it  is  impossible  to  obtain  the 
average  number  of  labourers.  The  present  condition  has  been 
brought  about  principally  by  the  large  orders  received  by  factories 
and  mills  in  what  is  ordinarily  their  dull  season,  and  the  ability  of 
labourers  to  find  work  at  home  without  wandering  away  in  search  of 
it.  The  farmers  are  offering  double  the  wages  usually  given,  and  this 
is  attracting  men  from  poorer  positions. — (“  Yorkshire  Post.”) 
Calf  Meals. — After  extended  trials  among  farmers  in  various 
districts  and  unknown  to  each  other,  we  are  able  t)  announce  a 
consensus  of  opinion  in  favour  of  the  following  calf  msil  or  milk 
substitute :  — 
Finely  ground  linseed ... 
B  irleymeal  . 
Wheatmeal  . 
Carbonate  of  soda 
8  lbs. 
13  lb  . 
14  lbs. 
3  ozs. 
This  should  be  mixed  with  a  little  cold  water,  so  as  to  make  it  of  a 
thick  creamy  consistence,  and  the  boiling  water  added,  stirred  for  a  few 
minutes,  and  given  when  new-milk  warm.  By  finely  ground  linseed  is 
meant  the  fine  linseedmeal  formerly  sold  for  poulticing,  but  since 
superseded  by  crushed  seeds  which  contain  the  oil.  We  do  not  want 
the  oil  in  this  case,  as  young  calves  cannot  emulsify  it  in  the  stomach 
and  intestines,  and  failing  to  do  that  it  would  cause  scouring.  Wheat- 
meal,  of  course,  means  whole  wheat,  not  flour.  This  mixture  answers 
well  without  the  carbonate  of  soda,  but  with  it  there  are  fewer  reports 
of  scouring,  and  we  give  the  soda  the  credit  of  preventing  that  acidity 
which  is  often  the  forerunner  of  skit.  Where  the  distressful  malady 
persistently  recurs  (and  it  does  on  some  lands)  the  amount  of  soda 
may  be  doubled  for  a  while. — (“  Farmer  and  Stock  Breeder.”) 
