178 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
September  1,  1898. 
tangled  plans,  but  whose  motto  was  cleanliness  in  every  detail.  She 
welcomed  with  pleasure  the  advent  of  a  butter  worker,  and  now  that 
she  has  a  farm  of  her  own  that  is  the  one  utensil  on  which  she  has 
set  her  heart. 
We  are  ever  loth  to  consider  bad  butter  is  the  result  of  an  im¬ 
perfectly  trained  dairymaid.  Oh  !  no.  In  these  days  of  technical 
instruction,  when  every  village  has  had  its  working  dairy,  it  cannot 
be  the  fault  of  the  manipulator  !  The  cows  are  possibly  of  the  wrong 
sort,  and  the  pasture  is  at  fault.  When  Miss  C - was  lecturing  in 
these  parts  one  old  carrier  woman  made  a  knowing  suggestion.  “If 
Miss  C - would  only  look  a  back  o’  some  dairy  doors  I  know,  and 
use  her  nose  as  well  as  eyes,  she  would  not  want  to  know  why  I 
take  so  much  stinking  butter  to  market.”  We  heard  as  lately  as  last 
week  of  a  dairymaid  who  only  considered  it  necessary  to  wipe  out  her 
milk  pancheons  with  a  damp  (dirty)  dishcloth  before  putting  in  the 
fresh  milk,  and  this  in  the  year  A.D.  1898. 
Complaints  are  often  made  to  us  of  bad  butter ;  we  have  not  been 
asked  to  make  personal  investigations,  we  can  only  suggest  causes. 
We  will  give  a  little  account  of  a  visit  paid  by  an  expert  to  a  dairy 
where  complaints  had  been  made  of  unsatisfactory  butter. 
The  dairy  was  that  of  a  nobleman,  who  very  properly  supposed 
that  as  he  provided  every  appliance,  and  engaged  a  gold  medallist  as 
a  dairymaid,  the  dairy  produce  should  be  faultless.  The  herd  was 
first  investigated,  and  it  was  found  to  consist  partly  of  Shorthorns  and 
partly  of  Jersey  cows,  all  in  the  best  of  health  and  condition.  Then 
the  pasture  was  carefully  examined,  to  see  if  there  might  exist  aoy 
obnoxious  weed  or  herb  -  such  as  Tansy,  Camomile,  Wild  Mint, 
Ragwort,  Garlic  Mustard,  and  Garlic.  One  or  any  of  these,  if  eaten 
by  the  cowrs,  would  serve  to  taint  the  milk,  and  thus  give  an 
unpleasant  flavour  to  the  butter.  But  nothing  of  a  deleterious  nature 
was  found.  The  herbage  was  in  parts  coarse  and  long,  but  quite 
sweet  and  wholesome. 
The  milking  shed  was  next  visited,  and  the  first  object  that 
caught  the  eye  and  attracted  the  nose  was  a  particularly  nasty  cloth. 
The  milk  pails  were  turned  upside-down  in  a  close  stuffy  corner,  and 
were  anything  but  savoury.  The  unpleasant  cloth  was  all  that  was 
used,  in  conjunction  with  lukewarm  water,  for  cleansing  the  pails. 
Imagine  pails  needed  for  thirty  cows  never  properly  scalded  cr 
sweetened  in  the  sun  and  air  !  Could  anything  be  more  unwholesome  ? 
A  visit  to  the  dairy  followed  next,  and  the  place,  though  large, 
was  most  imperfectly  ventilated.  There  was  no  through  draught. 
Churning  was  just  in  process,  and  the  expert  was  astonished  to  find 
that,  sultry  though  the  weather  was,  cream  was  only  churned  twice 
a  week,  and,  in  consequence,  some  of  the  cream,  which  was  mixed 
haphazard  with  the  fresh,  was  perfectly  rotten.  This  was  to  save 
time  and  trouble ;  and  tbe  good  lady  in  charge  strongly  objected  to 
washing  her  butter  more  than  once— water  was  so  heavy  to  lift ! 
The  expert  thought  he  need  go  no  further ;  he  had  found  more  than 
cause  for  all  the  complaints,  and  his  only  wonder  was  that  things  had 
been  allowed  to  drift  so  far. 
We  are  of  the  opinion  that  if  the  master  of  an  establishment  took 
a  quiet  walk  round  on  a  Sunday  afternoon,  when  all  was  still,  and 
peered  into  holes  and  corners,  he  would  make  mauy  curious  dis¬ 
coveries,  some  of  them  not  altogether  pleasing.  We  were  surprised 
to  see,  oniy  the  other  day,  in  the  dairy  of  a  very  clean  woman,  the 
churn  carefully  shut  up,  instead  of  being  so  turned  as  to  allow  of  the 
free  play  of  fresh  air. 
Nothing  beats  a  wooden  rack  out  of  doors,  in  which  milk-pan- 
cheons  can  be  stood  over  end  without  danger  of  breakage,  and  pails 
fully  exposed  to  every  wind  that  blows.  Ofteo,  too,  the  dairy  is  used 
as  an  extra  larder  (where  provisions  are  stored.  The  dairy  should  be 
the  sweetesr,  coolest,  cleanest  room  in  the  house.  There  is  no  other 
substance  that  will  assimilate  unpleasant  flavours  so  quickly  as  milk. 
We  prefer  that  no  washing  up  whatever  be  done  in  the  dairy.  If 
the  floor  is  of  concrete,  as  it  should  be,  it  is  easily  cleaned,  and  should 
be  kept  perfectly  dry.  All  dairy  utensils  after  being  scalded  ought 
to  be  rubbed  with  salt  and  rinsed  in  spring  water,  and  that  spring 
water  must  be  from  a  well  above  suspicion. 
As  long  as  there  is  a  drop  of  buttermilk  among  the  butter 
granules  that  butter  is  not  fit  for  making  up.  Never  mind  the  labour 
attendant  on  carrying  a  pail  of  water.  No  good  work  is  done  without 
jabour,  and  no  goo'1,  sound  butter  can  be  made  if  buttermilk  lurks 
within. 
It  is  sometimes  a  difficulty  in  winter  to  provide  cows  with  sufficient 
bulk  of  food  without  using  roots.  If  Turnips  and  Swedes  are  given  it 
should  be  directly  after  milking,  and  it  is  as  well  to  remove  any  green 
growth,  which  is  sure  to  be  more  or  less  strong.  The  outside  coarse 
leaves  of  the  Cabbage  must,  for  the  same  reason,  be  removed.  Of 
course  the  supply  of  drinking  water  should  be  unlimited,  and  of  the 
purest.  Think  of  87  per  cent,  of  water  in  average  milk,  and  then  the 
necessity  for  good  drinking  water  will  be  apparent. 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
Being  in  the  midst  of  harvest  work  there  is  little  else  to  chronicle  this 
week.  Crops  have  ripened  off  very  rapidly,  Wheats  almost  too  rapidly, 
and  the  grain  will  not  be  quite  so  well  developed  as  we  expected,  and 
now  everything  that  is  not  already  laid  low  is  ready  for  the  reaper. 
Weather  has  been  favourable,  for  though  we  have  had  two  heavy 
thund°rstorms,  calculated  to  immensely  benefit  root  crops,  they  both 
occuned  during  the  night,  and  were  little  or  no  hindrance  to  reaping 
operations.  The  greater  part  of  the  corn  is  dowD,  and  here  and  there 
we  fee  a  rick  completed. 
Wheats  are  very  heavy  in  weight  of  straw,  some  fields  appearing  to 
be  quite  full  of  stooks,  and  reminding  us  of  a  farmer — now  dead  many 
years — who  liked  to  hear  his  crops  praised.  This  characteristic  was 
discovered  by  some  Irishmen  whom  he  was  employing  to  mow  a  very 
heavy  crop  of  Wheat,  and  one  day  the  men  came,  and  with  the  gravest 
of  faces  complained  that  they  had  difficulty  in  finding  room  for  the 
stooks.  He  was  delighted,  and  was  quite  willing  to  solve  the  difficulty 
with  beer. 
Masters,  as  well  as  men,  may  get  a  valuable  hint  from  the  above  little 
story,  for  it  is  quite  as  necessary  for  the  farmer  to  humour  his  men  at  a 
busy  time — when  men  are  working  very  hard  under  a  broiling  sun,  and 
working  well.  A  little  judicious  commendation,  with  a  pleasant  word  on 
every  available  occasion,  does  much  to  allay  any  feeling  of  irritation 
that  may  have  begun  to  simmer  in  the  bosom  of  even  the  best  of  men. 
A  cup  of  afternoon  tea,  or  similar  refreshment,  once  or  twice  sent 
out  to  the  men,  though  not  included  in  the  bargain,  and  quite  unex¬ 
pected,  will  work  wonders  in  keeping  them  in  good  humour  under  trying 
circumstances. 
There  is,  however,  one  point  in  which  it  is  very  easy  for  an  employer 
to  be  too  good  natured,  and  that  is  in  allowing  young  children  to  stray 
promiscuously  in  the  harvest  field.  When  asked  what  their  business  is 
they  generally  reply  that  either  they  have  brought  father’s  dinner,  or 
accompanied  Tom  Smith,  who  has  been  similarly  attending  on  his  parent. 
But  when  we  consider  that  there  is  always  the  possibility  of  even  the 
steadiest  horses  running  away  with  a  reaper,  the  danger  of  having  a 
number  of  children  in  tbe  field  will  be  understood,  and  the  farmer  who 
allows  their  presence  unrebuked  cannot  complain  if  he  is  held  liable  in 
case  of  an  accident. 
METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS. 
Camden  Squabe,  London. 
Lat.  51°  32'  40"  N.;  Long.  0°  8’  0"  W.;  Altitude  111  feet. 
Date. 
9  A.M. 
In  the  Day. 
1898. 
August. 
2  =  ® 
2s© 
1§^ 
Hygrometer 
Direc¬ 
tion  of 
Wind. 
Temp, 
of  soil 
at 
Shade  Tern, 
perature. 
Radiation 
Tempera¬ 
ture 
Rain. 
c$2  ® 
Dry. 
Wet. 
1  foot 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
Sun 
On 
Grass 
Sunday  ....  21 
inchs 
30-157 
deg. 
70-2 
deg. 
64-5 
N.E. 
deg. 
66-2 
deg. 
81-8 
deg. 
59-8 
deg. 
119-3 
deg. 
54T 
inchs. 
Monday  ....  22 
30-034 
68-2 
65-3 
E. 
66-6 
87-9 
61  -1 
123-9 
56T 
0-012 
Tuesday  ....  23 
30-045 
67-3 
61 T 
W. 
66-7 
81-0 
60-2 
124-4 
56-3 
— 
Wednesday  24 
30-186 
61-1 
53-1 
N.W. 
65-9 
72-0 
56-1 
116-3 
52-8 
‘  - 
Thursday  . .  25 
30-259 
61-2 
54-1 
N.E. 
65  "4 
74T 
53-1 
115-3 
48-9 
— 
Friday .  26 
30-099 
64-2 
59-6 
N.E. 
64-9 
73-9 
50-1 
108-9 
46-1 
— 
Saturday....  27 
29-864 
65-9 
63-1 
S. 
65-0 
70-9 
61-5 
98-1 
59-2 
0-069 
30-092 
65-4 
60-1 
65 '8 
77-4 
57-4 
115-2 
53-4 
0-081 
REMARKS. 
21st.— Bright  and  warm  with  pleasant  breeze,  distant  lightning  in  evening  and 
night. 
22nd.— Overcast  with  large  spots  of  rain  till  10  a.m.  ;  fog  from  11  30  A.M.,  bright 
and  hot  after,  slight  shower  at  9.20  p.m. 
23rd.— Overcast  early,  sun  at  11.50  a.m.  and  generally  in  morning,  but  overcast 
and  cloudy  from  3  p.  M.  ;  fine  night. 
24th.—  Bright  early  and  all  day  ;  fine  night. 
25th. — Bright  early  and  generally  all  day,  some  cloud  in  afternoon  and  evening. 
26th.— Fine  early,  sunny  at  times,  cloudy  all  afternoon,  and  overcast  night. 
27th.— Overcast  with  spots  of  rain  and  fresh  breeze  all  morning,  dull  and  overcast 
afternoon,  rain  at  5.15  p.m. 
Another  fine  week,  but  much  cooler  owing  to  the  relatively  low  temperature  of 
the  last  four  days.  Rain  very  trifling.— G.  J.  Symons. 
