JOURNAL  OR  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  May  28,  1 896. 
504 
and  black  points,  is  too  well  known  to  need  mucli  descrip¬ 
tion.  “  She  has  been  the  aristocrat  of  the  cowyard  ever  since,’ 
to  quote  a  witty  American,  “ -Nature  first  issued  the  edition  de 
luxe  bound  in  calf.”  The  drawbacks  to  the  Jersey  are  her 
delicacy  of  constitution,  susceptibility  in  a  cold  climate  to  milk 
fever,  and  the  difficulty  with  which  she  can  be  fattened  off  when 
her  work  as  a  butter  producer  is  accomplished 
The  Guernsey  is  much  lDe  the  Jersey,  but  slightly  larger 
and  stronger.  Colour  fawny  yellow,  with  white  patches  and 
white  points.  The  Guernsey  is  le  s  graceful  than  the  Jersey, 
but  has  more  stamina  The  skins  of  both  breeds  should  be 
yellow. 
The  milk  of  Channel  Island  cows  is  of  the  very  highest 
quality,  and  the  butter  produced  is  very  firm,  rich,  and  of 
beautiful  colour.  In  our  opinion,  however,  the  most  delicate 
flavoured  butter  is  obtained  from  mixed  milk,  not  from  Channel 
Island  milk  alone. 
Shorthorns — This  breed  is  chiefly  a  beef  -  producing  one, 
yet  some  strains  give  animals  which  are  very  heavy  milkei’s. 
Tbe  milk  of  the  Shorthorn  is  well  adapted  for  cheese-making, 
and  in  the  Cheddar  district  dairies  of  forty,  fifty,  and  even 
100  non-pedigree  Shorthorns  are  to  be  met  with. 
Ayrshires. — These  cows  are  smaller  than  Shorthorns,  red  or 
white  in  colour,  but  never  roan  Their  milk  is  also  very  suitable 
for  cheese-making. 
Dutch  —  These  are  large  black  and  white  animals.  They 
give  an  immense  quantity  of  poor  ni'lk,  and  are  principally 
kept  by  milk  sellers 
In  all  daffiy  cows  the  udder  should  be  regular  in  shape,  not 
fleshy,  but  as  large  as  possible ;  milk  veins  well  developed  and 
knotted  ;  a  long  thin  tail  is  also  considered  a  good  sign. 
It  will  be  seen  that  according  to  the  breed  selected  solo  a 
certain  extent  will  be  the  nature  and  quality  of  the  milk 
produced.  Feeding  also  affects  the  quality  and  quantity,  but 
no  amoimt  of  good  food  could  make  the  milk  of  a  poor  foreign 
cow  equal  to  that  of  a  Jersey.  Certain  foods,  however,  have  a 
marked  effect  on  the  butter  —  viz.,  new  spring  grass,  which 
imparts  a  beautiful  colour  and  flavour,  and  Turnips,  which  give 
the  well  known  bitter  taste,  so  troublesome  to  eradicate. 
After  obtaining  good  dairy  cows,  supplying  them  with  plenty 
of  suitable  food,  treating  them  kindly,  milking  them  at  regular 
intervals,  and  as  much  as  possible  by  the  same  person,  the 
golden  rule  to  observe  is  extreme  cleanliness  without  which 
everything  else  goes  for  little  or  nothing,  and  the  most  can 
never  be  made  of  our  dairy  produce. 
Cleanliness  should  be  observed  from  the  very  commence¬ 
ment-cleanliness  of  the  cowsheds,  of  the  cow’s  udders,  of  the 
milker’s  hands,  and  o?  all  pails  and  utensils  used  during  the 
process  of  milking.  Milk  is  often  tainted  by  dirt  and  foul 
smells  before  ever  it  reaches  the  dairy,  thus  never  giving  the 
buttermaker  a  fair  chance. 
No  time  should  be  lost  between  milking  and  setting,  as  loss 
of  time  always  means  loss  of  butter.  This  is  even  the  case, 
though  in  a  less  degree,  when  a  cream  separator  is  used.  When 
the  milk  is  to  be  sold  as  milk  it  must  be  rapidly  cooled,  and 
should  not  be  allowed  to  travel  at  a  temperature  of  over  58°  F. 
We  recollect  once  seeing  some  five  or  six  large  milk  churns 
standing  in  a  running  stream  beneath  an  overhanging  Thorn 
bush.  The  owner,  not  possessing  a  refrigerator,  hit  upon  this 
simple  method  of  cooling  his  milk  before  sending  it  by  ra  1  to 
the  neare  t  large  town,  twenty-five  miles  away. 
Milk,  being  a  very  absorbent  liquid,  is  most  susceptible  to 
dust  and  dirt,  and  smells  of  any  kind,  hence  the  aspect  and 
condition  of  the  dairy  is  important  Not  only  should  a  dairy 
itself  be  kept  scrupulously  clean,  cool,  and  dry,  but  the  very  air 
should  be  clean  and  untainted.  On  this  account  the  best  situa¬ 
tion  would  be  on  the  north  side  of  the  house,  and  far  away  from 
pig-tyes,  shippons,  and  pools  of  stagnant  water.  To  further 
free  the  dairy  from  all  taint  it  must  on  no  account  be  used  as  a 
larder.  If  very  pressed  for  room  use  a  china  pantiy  instead 
A  perfect  dairy  need  by  no  means  be  very  costly;  mud  walls 
of  good  thickness,  thatched  roof,  concrete  floor,  sloping  to  one 
point,  where  there  should  be  an  open  gutter  passing  through 
the  wall  to  a  glazed  pipe  on  outside  for  conveying  waste  water 
to  a  drain  at  some  little  distance ;  windows  to  open  inwards, 
outside  being  covered  with  gauze  wire.  A  frequently  renewed 
coat  of  whitewa  h  for  walls  and  ceiling,  together  with  a  good 
supply  of  cold  spring  water,  and  we  have  a  dairy  fit  for  a  king ! 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
The  long-wished-for  rain  has  come  at  last,  and  brought  a  very 
chilly  atmosphere  with  it ;  but  we  must  not  grumble  at  that,  the 
land  is  warm  enough,  and  doubtless  the  crops  will  make  surprising 
progress,  regardless  of  the  lower  temperature. 
Mangold  seed  still  lying  dormant  (and  we  fear  there  are  too  many  in 
that  condition)  will  now  have  a  chance  to  germinate  ;  some  people  will 
say  too  late,  but  with  a  warm  summer  to  follow  there  is  no  need  to 
despair.  As  the  hay  crop  is  sure  to  be  a  light  one,  the  necessity  for  a 
good  supply  of  Mangolds  is  made  more  acute. 
We  are  about  to  commence  drilling  Swedes,  and  as  the  land  is  even 
yet  not  too  moist,  we  shall  leave  the  farmyard  manure  over. for  other 
uses,  and  depend  only  on  artificial  substitutes.  If  sown  broadcast  and 
ploughed  in,  they  do  not  lay  the  land  open  to  such  drying  influences  as 
yard  manure  ;  more  time,  too,  is  occupied  in  gettin®  the  latter  put  on, 
and  the  ridging  and  splitting  tend  to  dryness,  so  that,  all  things  con¬ 
sidered,  we  think  the  advantage  will  lie  with  “  artificials”  this  year ;  we 
shall  also  be  able  to  complete  sowing  in  half  the  time,  and  so  take  fuller 
advantage  of  the  present  moisture. 
Artificial  Mixture  for  Swedes  per  Acre. 
s.  d. 
2  cwt.  of  bonemeal  at  £4  5s.  per  ton  . 8  6 
2  ,,  superphosphate  at  £2  2s.  6d.  ...  ..  .  4  3 
Of  „  nitrate  of  soda  at  £8 .  ...  ..  ..  ...  6  0 
18  9 
4f  cwt.  of  mixture,  £4  per  ton. 
This  mixture,  costing  about  £4  per  ton,  contains  3-75  ammonia 
with  36  00  of  phosphates,  and  should  gro  n  Swedes  without  farmyard 
manure. 
We  have  just  seen  our  early  Turnips  peeping  through,  six  days  after 
drilling — very  good  for  May. 
Lucerne  will  now  be  in  full  cut,  and  proving  its  great  value  as  fodder 
to  the  owner  of  burnt-up  pasture.  Clovers  have  suffered  terribly,  but 
Sainfoin,  another  drought-loving  plant,  promises  well  ;  we  have  seen  one 
most  satisfactory  field  of  it. 
Potatoes  are  coming  through  well,  and  growing  rapidly.  The  horse 
hoe  must  be  kept  at  work  between  the  rows,  and  hand-hoeing  will  follow 
as  soon  as  all  are  through.  Second  earlies  should  be  cleaned  as  soon  as 
possible  or  great  damage  may  be  done  if  the  young  tubers  are  disturbed. 
Rooks  sometimes  do  great  injury  to  Potatoes  at  their  present  stage  ;  they 
are  very  fond  of  the  young  and  tender  tuber,  and  one  rook  can  consume 
a  large  number  when  they  are  the  size  of  Marrowfat  Peas.  They 
will  sometimes  do  enormous  damage  before  being  observed. 
We  shall  give  our  Potatoes  a  top-dressing  of  sulphate  of  ammonia  at 
once — an  average  of  2  cwt.  per  acre,  varied  according  to  requirement. 
Care  must  bs  exercised  when  applying  it,  only  when  the  haulm  is 
absolutely  dry,  or  it  may  be  scorched  and  blackened  aB  though  by  frost. 
METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS. 
Camden  Square,  London. 
Lat.51°32'40"  N. ;  Long.  0°  8'  0"  W.;  Altitude  111  feet. 
Date. 
9  A.M. 
In  the  Day 
1896 
Barometer 
at  32°,  and 
Sea  Level. 
Hygrometer. 
Direc¬ 
tion  of 
Temp, 
of  soil 
at 
1  foot. 
Shade  Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperatur 
3 
as 
Ofi 
May. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Wind. 
Mat. 
Min. 
In 
Sun. 
On 
Grass 
Sunday  17 
Inchs. 
30-234 
leg. 
57-7 
deg. 
51T 
N.W. 
deg. 
58-2 
deg 
71-4 
deg 
49-6 
deg. 
108-1 
deg 
44-2 
Inchs. 
Monday  . .  18 
30-227 
65-3 
57-9 
N. 
59-0 
74-8 
5;,-9 
100-2 
53  9 
— 
Tuesday  ..  19 
30-102 
57-2 
53-9 
N.W. 
590 
70-9 
52-4 
120-6 
45-1 
— 
Wednesday  20 
29-888 
54-2 
45  0 
N.W. 
59-0 
58-6 
48-1 
108-9 
41-9 
o-  11 
Thursday  .  21 
30-129 
51-2 
42-2 
N.W. 
56-7 
60-7 
38-6 
110-8 
32-2 
0T20 
Friday  . .  22 
29-939 
49-7 
4S-7 
s.w. 
56-3 
59-1 
45-4 
70-1 
40-0 
o-oio 
Saturday  ..  23 
30-018 
58-0 
55  3 
N. 
55-8 
S6-8 
50-1 
98-3 
50-2 
30-077 
56-2 
50-6 
57  7 
66-0 
48-7 
102-4 
43-9 
0-141 
REMARKS. 
1 7th.—  Generally  overcast,  but  bright  sunshine  at  times. 
18th.—  Overcast  and  gloomy  all  day  ;  thunder  at  3.50  P.M.,  spots  of  rain  at  5.20  P.M. 
19th.— Slieht  rain  early  ;  overcast  morning  ;  generally  sunny  in  afternoon. 
20th.— N.W.  gale,  with  alternate  cloud,  sunshine,  and  showers. 
21st  —Brilliant  early,  with  high  wind  ;  alternate  cloud  and  sunshine  during  day. 
22nd.— Steady  rain  from  3  A.M.  to  8  A.M. ;  overcast  and  dull  all  day. 
23rd. — Spots  of  rain  early  ;  overcast  morning. 
A  week  of  variable  temperature,  but  as  a  whole  very  near  the  average.  Rain  on 
three  days,  but  an  appreciable  quantity  on  only  one  day. — G.  J.  SYMONS. 
