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ON THE

MANAGEMENT

OF THE

WRITTEN FOR THE USE OF DAIRYMEN,

BY

Oman. ine FD AE

Professor of German and History, Baltimore City College.

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16/8 C-

ON THE

MANAGEMENT

OF THE

DAIRY.

WRITTEN FOR THE USE OF DAIRYMEN,

BY

Cc. F) RADDATZ,

Professor of German and History, Baltimore City College.

BALTIMORE:
THE SUN BOOK AND JOB PRINTING OFFICE,
1872,

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872, by
Cc. F. RADDATZ,
In tie office of she Librarian of Congress, at Washington. Alt rights reserved.
SS

TO

HON. HORACE GREELEY,

OF NBW YORK,

This little work is respectfully inscribed as a token of appreciation

of the great efforts made by him to improve agriculture in the

United States.

PREE ACH.

if IJ venture to write on the management of the dairy, I
am moved by the following reasons, viz. :

First—The frequently-uttered complaint that good butter
for keeping is hardly to be obtained, and the prevailing want
of system with so many of our American farmers in the
management of the dairy.

Second—The desire to give to others the benefit of my
knowledge on the subject, partly obtained through my own
observations, but mainly derived from conversations I had
from time to time with my late father, a North German
farmer in one of the most fertile districts on the Baltic, who,
in consequence of his excellent improvementsin dairy man
agement, was made a member of the first agricultural socie-
ties in Europe, receiving diplomas to that effect ; and

Third— To add to the comfort of the citizens of my adopted
country by furnishing them with good butter for their break-
‘fast tables.

But one correct method, based mainly upon principles of
natural philosophy, is possible. I am not so bold as to as-
sert that mine is such, and I am also aware that not every
farmer is able to make his establishment as complete as I
would wish to haveit. Tonly ask that this method, acknow-
ledged as first-rate by the most practical dairymen in Europe,
be given a trial, and the result will, I think, prove that I have

vi

rendered useful service. The farmer may take from it what
best suits his circumstances. Undoubtedly a good many
things brought forward by me, my farming friends know
already, but whether they are as well acquainted with the
causes and influences which effect good or bad results in the
matter, as it is desirable they should be, is not so certain.
These, therefore, I will endeavor to explain.

I shall always try to be plain and explicit, avoiding all
theoretical expressions, which, at the best, are but caleu-
lated to tire our ‘honest farmer and make him stick to the
rules his father and grandfather followed before him. [ will
be particularly obliged for any communication or hints
from my readers on the principles and methods given in
this little book; in fact, would most earnestly solicit them,
for in that way a work of value to our foremost citizen, the
farmer, might be the result.

ON “ELE,

MANAGEMENT OF THE DAIRY.

FEEDING THE COWS.

A good clover meadow is preferable to any other. White clover
is again much better than red, because cows give better and richer
milk from it. Red clover alone makes the milk watery. Next to
it stands a good, healthy grass meadow, free from sour herbs.

If the dairy is particularly dependent upon the sale of milk or

fresh butter in small quantities for immediate use, other things,
such as timothy, beets, oil cake, meal, or small grain, etc., to pro-
duce an increase of milk in the cow, may be used; but if it is the
intention to make a butter that «ill keep, 1 would recommend only
clover and good grass on the meadow as well as in the stall. To
give grain of any sort to cows, when clover and good hay are
abundant, is only excusable where a very advantageous custom for
milk and fresh butter is on hand, or in consequence of unusually
high prices of butter. Jt never makes the butter any better.

STALL FEEDING.

The greatest regularity and punctuality should be observed in
winter stall feeding. Summer stall feeding I have only seen on very
small farms. Proprietors of large farms were in most cases opposed
to it, particularly from climatical reasons.

8
HERDING.

The grazing of the cattle in enclosed pastures is an excellent
thing where the locality and a high state of cultivation admit of it)
else a correct, judicious herding seems to answer better the preser-
vation and advantageous use of the meadow, and is gaining ground
among the dairy farmers. I have seen it practised successfully on
large farms with numerous herds. It is the following:

The herdsman (a sensible, active man) must have his herd in
command as a major his battalion. The herd slowly moves ahead,
nearly ina line. This order is got at by the herdsman walking in
front and in the centre of the line, his two dogs flanking the wings.
If the herd is small, one dog suffices. This is particularly necessary
where the meadow is in the neighborhood of cornfields, to prevent
their spoliation. The cows soon get used to this order, and all
injurious running and chasing becomes unnecessary. Herding in
this way has two advantages :

1. The cows, in being prevented from running quickly over the
pasture, do not crush more under their feet than they eat. Every
grazing animal is much inclined to get ahead of its neighbor. This
greediness in them, if not stopped by the herdsman, will cause a
useless, hurtful running.

2. The running in hot weather is injurious, because the milk in
the udder becomes still more heated, and later would greatly hinder
the forming of the cream. This nonsensical running, especially
against the wind, is no doubt very often the cause of colic in the
cow, and this dangerous sickness seems to attack the best cows
soonest, because they eat quickest and greediest.

The herdsman to whom a herd, such a large capital, is entrusted,
should be, as I have said before, active and sensible, not old and
decrepit. He should have some knowledge of veterinary practice,
particularly know all about cows when calving. He should treat

9

well the animals under his care, not beat, kick, or unnecessarily
run them. His implements, such as chains, ropes, etc., must be
kept in order, and handy.

THE COW HOUSE.

Strict attention should be paid to all parts of the cow house;
sound feed, cleanliness in the stalls, punctual feeding, likewise place
the cows according to their temper, not two evil disposed animals
together, also as the one or the other loves a warmer or cooler spot-
The cow house should be airy, but not exposed to draft. The
strewing of straw should be well attended to, the more the better
for the cows, particularly in winter, when cold. The stalls must be
cleaned three times a week, and the feeding floors or troughs swept
twice aday. In fact, everything in the cow house should be calcu-
lated to make the animal feel comfortable in it.

_ CLEANLINESS IN THE COW HOUSE AND OF
THH ANIMALS.

Perfect cleanliness throughout the cow house, to keep out the
stench, should be the rule, else the milk will suffer from it, even
during the milking. And here I would call attention to an un-
pardonable neglect so often met with at cow houses. I mean the
perfect disregard of the valuable manuring fluid which is produced
in cow houses and from dung hills, and which so often is left to run
into a ditch or creek near by, instead of being caught in some vat
or vessel, and used as a most valuable manure. Yet every farmer
knows that without manure worn land cannot be cultivated. One
must have seen European farms, where they cannot afford to waste
anything, to make this great error in some American farms right
glaring. Currying cows as an act of cleanliness I would recom-

10

mend, and the daily washing of the udder must be attended to by
all means. All this has considerable influence on the health of the
cow, as well as on her productiveness of milk. It now and then
happens that a cow, heretofore good, suddenly shows a decrease in
her milk. This never should be a reason for neglecting her; on
the contrary, she should have a very comfortable, clear, airy but
warm place, and the best of feed. She will soon recover, provided
an actual disease has not set in. In the tending of calves in the
cow house, special regard should be paid to those which show the
marks of future great milk productiveness, and as such are intended
to be added to the stock of the dairy farm.

WATERING.

Fresh, pure water in the stall and on the field is as important as
sound feed.

THE MILKING PLACE.

Where the locality admits of it, the milking place should be as
near as possible to the dairy. My reason for thisis: In the hot
season the milk leaves the udder very warm, and in this state, if
driven or carried a long distance, easily curdles, a fact very detri-
mental to the future process of butter-making, as I shall show
later. It is even injurious if the object is but to sell fresh milk.

Where circumstances do not permit a near proximity of the milk-
ing place to the dairy, a shady and cool spot, where the cows are
least bothered by flies should be chosen, else a good deal of milk
will be wasted and made dirty by running and beating. The milk-
ing place should be strewn with straw, to give the cows that want
to lie down a clean and dry bed to keep their udders clean.

iii
THE ICE HOUSE.

Dairy farmers who can possibly afford it should build an ice house.
Practical experience teaches, and natural philosophy demonstrates,
that the milk must have taken a certain degree of warmth, 56 deg. to
59 degrees Fahrenheit, to produce a good, not cheesy cream, suitable
for buttering, and in order to have a thoroughly clean formation
of the cream. This process, also, occurs at a higher tempera-
ture, but the milk then easily curdles, communicating this to the
cream, and the latter again to the butter. The milk must have as-
sumed a certain degree of sour before the cream separates from it,
but it should not by any means be too sour. The quicker the milk
raises the cream, the better the cream is; consequently, the milk
should be brought as quickly as possible to the temperature of
56° to 59° F., (which makes a good thermometer all-important in
a dairy). The cooling of the milk is done easiest by taking some
large pieces of ice (small ones melt too soon) in a large tub, covered
with a cloth, from the house to the milking place, and here dis-
tributing them in the large buckets intended to bring the milk
home. The milk is then poured on it, to remain, of course, no
longer than necessary. To the bucketful a clean wooden plate
(flat) of about the same circumference as the surface of the milk is
put on it to prevent the spilling of it. The diameter of the buckets
at the top should be less than at the bottom. This shape greatly
prevents the spilling of the milk while driving. The wagon to
which the buckets are hung when driving home must be long and
consist, in fact, of nothing else but two long beams resting on the
axles. The longer the wagon the less apt the milk is to spill. But
the best and purest ice, as a matter of course, can only be used.
Ice houses above the ground are preferable to those under-ground,
because the ice remains cleaner and clearer in them and the water
from it can more easily flow off. Below the surface of the ground
the ice soon gets to smell, hence worthless for our purpose.

“

12

The whole process of milking and the transport home must be done
quickly. Immediately on arriving at the dairy the milk is taken
from the buckets, strained and poured into the bowls.

' MILK BOWTLS.

Since more attention has been paid to dairy management milk
bowls have been made of different materials—iron, tin, zinc, earth-
enware, glass and wood. All metal bowls, enameled on the inside,
have the fault that the enamel easily breaks in some places, the
milk penetrates through these cracks, sours from it, and thus be-
comes useless; besides, they are expensive fora beginner. Earth-
enware bowls, well glazed on the inside, as used in England, are
preferable, because they are cheaper, keep the milk cool, and the
glazing is less apt to crack; yet this will happen in carelessly hand-
ling them, particularly in stowing them away one in another. Such
damaged bowls should be immediately removed from the dairy, as
they quickly spoil the milk in them. The shape of these bowls is
not exactly what it should be. They are too small at the bottom;
but Iam aware that it has its difficulties to make the sides as
straight as they should be; nevertheless, of late the shape is greatly
improved. Glass bowls have also. their faults. They likewise, as
it seems, cannot be made with straight sides and bottom. They
are easily broken and heated, retain heat too long, and take, as I
am told, electricity from the air. This last objection I can hardly
grant and do not believe it to be of much influence. I rather con-
sider this more the case with metal bowls. As far as cleanliness is
concerned, the glass bowls stand highest.

The old straight-sided wooden bowls, in some parts of Germany
still in use, are, as to the shape and wear, preferable to any other,
but require a great deal of attention and work in keeping them
clean. They should be made carefully in every part—no caulking

18

matter whatever used between the staves or bottom. Their mate-
rial should be hard, well-seasoned oak or beech, without knots,
from which the acid has been well drawn. Their in and outside
must be worked perfectly smooth, the hoops white and clean. They
must be painted inside at least twice a year with the best of oil
paint, (linseed oil, red lead and varnish,) and after painting and
drying stand from eight to twelve days, filled with clean, cold
water, renewing the latter daily at least twelve times. This pro-
cess of renewing the water (twice or three times a day) should be
kept up for three weeks. The dairy man will find it to his advan-
tage to keep always a number of bowls in reserve, else he might
be obliged to use some that are not thoroughly prepared. It is as-
tonishing how quickly the milk acid penetrates into the wood, and
when this is the case the milk in the vessel is lost.

In drying the bowls in use, after scrubbing and rinsing, they should
be placed in such a position as to allow all dampness to entirely
evaporate as quickly as possible. In the hot sun they must not
stand, as it hurts the wood. With all wooden vessels used in the
dairy I would urge the most minute finishing and cleanliness. If
metal vessels, they should be scrubbed clean with ashes every day.
Ifthe place for cleaning the milk bowls and the other dairy vesseis
is near the dairy, care should be taken to keep the door of the lat-
ter shut while working, to prevent smoke, bad smelis or steam from
entering it. It is an excellent practice for the manager of the dairy
to keep the door of his dairy locked and not allow any one who
has nothing to do with it to enter it.

Whatever kind of bowl may be used, before pouring the milk into
them they should, cleaned and dried as they have been, again be
carefully wiped out with a clean cloth. They should be strictly
examined and smelled to be sure that every particle of sour has
been removed. One cannot be too careful in this, for, although it
does not matter much about the contents of one bowl, the spoiled

2

14

contents of one will surely ruin that of twenty and more when i
the further process mixed together. Comparing the different kind
of bowls, it seems as if the earthen have the advantage. They ar
cheap, stand a good knock, and are easily cleaned; but one shoul
reject those with bad glazing and too narrow at the bottom.

In some of the first dairies in Germany, as I have said before
they never ceased to use the old-fashioned wooden vessel or bow!
objecting to all others, and I will now explain why its shape (equa
diameter at top and bottom) is preferable.

Earthen Bowl. Wooden Bowl.

The formation of the cream in the milk occurs in small globule
and fibres, which, as a greasy substance, lighter than the milk
when in the proper state for this process, rise perpendicularly t
the surface. If this formation is to be uniform, the milk must stan
equally deep in all parts of the bowl, from bottom to surface. <A
this cannot be with the shape of the earthen and glass bowl, (slan'
ing upward and outward from a narrow bottom,) the milk roun
the sides standing shallower, it is evident that owing to the smalle
depth, less cream is contained in it, and will be more quickly cai
ried through the process of cream formation than in the centr
The consequence is a not equally formed cream. This disadvantag
may be counteracted by an attentive supervision, since it mostl
happens when the process of cream-forming is going on slowly-
thus the cream on the sides haying completely formed several hout
before that in the centre. If in this case the cream on the side
pegins to look rough, or even shows small pustules, (which |
always a sign of its being spoiled,) then not.amoment should t

15

lost in skimming, no matter whether it has finished forming in
centre or not. These cases are rare, and should never happen with
proper attention. The size of the milk bowls is in a measure
dependent on the extent of the daizy in which they are used; yet
bowls too large sheuld not be taken, as they are unhandy to work
with. Very small ones, however, are even less desirable, because
the milk has too little surface in them, and therefore it does not cool
quickly enough, besides they take up proportionally too much room
in the dairy. <A suitable wooden milk bowl should have about 20
inches diameter, and 34 inches in height; an earthenware bowl
about 15 inches diameter, and 3? inches in height. Glass bowls
are generally taken somewhat smaller, on account of their liability
to break.

In hot weather the milk should not stand above two inches deep
in the bowl. The cooler the air the deeper the milk may be in the
vessel, but rarely much over three inches. An entirely suitable
milk bowl, of the shape of the old wooden vessel, of an easily
cleaned, not souring material, not more easily broken and not dearer
than the earthenware, might yet be invented, and would do splen-
didly for a prize competition.

THE DAIRY HOUSE.

_ Asuitable dairy must, for coolness sake, be always situated north
or northeast. If the locality does not admit of this, shade trees
should be planted in front of it. Trees are advantageous before
any dairy, to prevent the warm air from entering, and to keep the
flies off. Some dairymen are even in favor of a dairy of triangular
shape, thus exposing no front at all to the south. The dairy must
be airy, roomy, 14 to 16 feet high, distant from the influence of all
bad smells, and on a dry piece of ground. It must be built of new,
burnt bricks, and have strong walls; clay or rocks I would not

16

recommend, as the former easily crumbles to pieces, and the latter
always retain dampness. Old bricks are no account; they always
mold again. The floor of the building should never be more than
14 or 2 feet below the ground, else moldy cellar air will be created.
I should advise to have it about two feet above the ground, as a
quicker flowing off of the water will be the result, and hence the
dairy be kept more easily clean and dry, through the readier fall
of all liquids into the draining ditch surrounding the building.
This fact is of vital importance. It requires very thick walls
to keep out the heat. The walls on the outside might be coy-
ered with pieces of turf or other bad conductors of heat, as practised
with small ice houses above the ground. The dairy stands with
its three sides open to the air, that can strike it from all directions.
About a foot above the ground small windows are made, from fou1
to five feet apart. They should be provided with a small apparatus
to open them, more or less, according to the strength of the wind
They might, if necessary, have shutters over them, to close them
entirely. Above these small windows are common-sized ones, about
eight or ten feet from the ground, to give the required light and
daily airing. These, as well as the lower, must have haircloth o1
wire frames to keep out the flies. The frames in the upper windows
are not necessary in winter.

The ground area of the dairy is generally taken at from twelve
to fourteen square feet per cow. Some dairymen calculate three
bowls for each cow, and the necessary passages left. The walls anc
ceiling must always be kept clean and white, that nothing crum
bles off and falls into the milk. In some dairies I have found the
ceiling plastered, but consider this an unnecessary expense, and
from chemical reasons, anything but advantageous. Plaster is sul
phate of lime, which dissolves when moistened, takes up acids anc
ammoniac from the air, and then smells moldy. I would, there
fore, rather advise to place some pulverized plaster on plates fresl

Li

every morning into the dairy, and then take it out every evening
with the ammoniac it has absorbed. (The plaster thus used is not
thrown away, but makes good manure.)

A solid stucco from time to time painted with oil paint or var-
nish, and frequently washed, makes the best covering for walls and
ceiling. The floor of the dairy should be made of bricks. Flag-
stones I would not recommend, as they become damp upon a
change in the weather. Particular attention must be paid in lay-
ing and joining the bricks in the floor. The mortar between them
must be kept in good condition, else little holes will be formed in
which the moisture, after washing, is retained, and evaporating in
warm weather quickly smells. When everything is washed clean,
a mop or swab (such as used on ships, I would greatly recommend)
is taken to remove the very last of moisture. This should be done
well, for an evaporation of water in the dairy is injurious, as it
creates sour air. Dry saw dust strewn on the floor and then swept
out will be found advantageous in removing all moisture from it.
As I have mentioned before, the floor should have a slight inclina-
tion towards the draining ditch outside the building to make the
water run off quickly. Besides, I would advise to have a few small
trough-shaped gutters in the floor, which lead the water to the out-
side into the draining diteh. The holes through which the water
runs to the outside must have metal gratings as protection against
_vermin. I would urge to have these gratings placed in such a
manner that the water runs through them perpendicularly, or
rather falls through them. It runs quicker and leaves no dirt par-
ticles. The draining ditch must have considerable fall to prevent
all dirt or smelling water from accumulating in it. It should never
be used as a drain for other purposes. The holes at the gratings in
the dairy must be closed after being used. On the inside, round the
walls to about two feet from the floor, a bordering of flagstones, or

Q*

18

hard, burnt bricks must run, for should the plastering run down to
the floor it soon would be destroyed by the unavoidable splashing
of water against it.

The filled bowls must never stand immediately on the floor, but
three-cornered pieces of wood of a suitable length and about two
inches thick are put, according to the size of the bowls, under them.
This is done to let the air strike freely under and on all sides of
them, thus preventing the forming of moist, souring angles. The
three-cornered shape is the most suitable, because it lies surest, and
the bowls are placed best on them, likewise present the largest
plane to the air for drying. When the bowls are removed from them
they should be turned to let the side which lay next to the floor be
exposed to the air and dry again. (Why I object to shelves in the
dairy I will explain later.) The newly filled bowls are on account
of a better control of the whole, placed separate from the older
milk. The passages between the rows of bowls must not be too
narrow, or the female workers will sweep with their dresses over
the milk and Gisturb the cream formation. Whenever the milk is
in this act it should not be disturbed under any consideration. If,
at such a moment, the surface is moved, an immediate standstill in
the process is the consequence. The bowls, as well as their wooden
rests, should not be knocked against. The draft from the small
lower windows should never be such as to ruffie the surface of the
milk in the bowls, even in the slightest degree ; some draft is never-
theless necessary to carry off the carbonic acid created from the
milk. The vapors rising from the milk consist of gasses which,
some heavier and some lighter than the air, have to be carried off
by the draft from the lower and upper windows, as also by frequent °
washing of the floor, (which, of course, has to be dried up again
immediately.) In summer the upper windows are left open. I
have seen dairy houses through which, in stone gutters, a clear,
cold stream of water was allowed to run to carry off the gas. This

19

is undoubtedly very advantageous, but it should then run swiftly,
and not have any time to evaporate, as damp air is not admissible.
Another advantage gained by it is the cleanliness of the draining
ditch outside the building.

CLEANING OF THE DAIRY HOUSE.

In washing and cleaning the dairy house one should not be
bound to certain hours, but to necessity. On a still, warm, dry
day more frequent washing is necessary than when cold and windy.
In this, one should make it a rule to work quickly and dry up im-
mediately, not give the water a chance to evaporate, but only to
carry off the gases. Ifin pouring the milk into the bowls some of
it should be spilled, it must be forthwith removed, as also all dirt
that may have been carried into the dairy house with the feet.
Cleanliness] cleanliness and again cleanliness—above all, in the house,
in all vessels, in the atmosphere, and with everybody about it, is
most important in the dairy business. I never saw good butter
without it. ‘

As soon as the manager enters the dairy house (which he should
do very often, even if no particular business is going on in it) he
should use his organs of sight and smell. If he finds anything
unusual, he should not rest till he finds the cause of it, and if injuri-
ous, remove it. He must not be satisfied with the common excla-
mation, “I can’t understand it.” Everything can be understood
and explained, and has its natural cause. I insist upon the man-
ager being always clean in body and clothes, to set a good exam-
ple to his helps. As a matter of course no person subject to chap-
ped, or what is worse, sweaty hands, must be allowed to work
skimming and buttering, under any consideration. In some
countries, for instance in Holland, they are still stricter.

I would add that the dairy house must not be used as a recepta-

20

cle for other victuals or dairy utensils. And this holds also goc
for the butter house. The only article I allow to stand in them
the dry salt nsed for the butter. Pantries or other provision roon
should have no connection whatever with them.

NO SHELVES IN THE DAIRY HOUSE.

As T have said before, the filled milk bowls should stand upo
the floor, not one bowl upon the other, much less upon shelve
which, I am sorry to say, one finds still too often. My reasons ft
it are:

1. When the milk is in the act of forming the cream, acids an
gases are created, which rise more or less high, according to th
condition of the atmosphere, and also fall again. It is all-importar
that these gasses should be carried off as quickly as possible b
means of the lower windows in the house, else they will settle agai
on the milk and cream and sour them, which would be highly ix
jurious to the formed as well as partly formed cream. This cannc
be properly prevented if the air is not allowed to strike freely ove
the milk in the bowls.

2. A quick cooling of the milk is of great importance, and if th
bowls are put one upon another it would be interfered with.

3. The temperature is cooler below than above. If the bowl
stand in different degrees of warmth, the cream does not forn
at the same time, which leads to a great deal of trouble. W:
know that the temperature in a room gets higher as we ascend
consequently the piled-up bowls would stand in different degree;
of warmth. Since the cream formation in the milk under a tem
perature of 56 to 59 degrees Fahrenheit is completest, yet under ¢
warmer one forms, perhaps, quicker, but never so good; the differ
ence in the height of the stand of the bowls will cause an unequal
uncertain cream formation Part of this cream will be bad, and

21

spoil the good when afterwards thrown together. Besides, I have
noticed that the higher one gets in the dairy house the stronger the
smell of the milk acid is perceptible if the airing has been neglected,
and I conclude from this that some of the gases exhaled from the
milk are lighter than the air, and hence rise.

These light, sour gases undoubtedly settle on the upper bowls.
If the shelves are around the walls, it is impossible for the air to
circulate properly over them, a smaller evil, therefore, if the shelves
stand in the centre of the building, but in both cases they remain a
nuisance, and one can never give the dairy house the right sort of
cleaning. Some dairymen I have known thought they were all
right in keeping the milk of each milking on an equal height, but:
-they soon found out that it took too many shelves and room, and,
after all, was but a make-shift, which did not add to the getting of
fine butter that will also keep, and the latter I consider as not to
be obtained as long as these abominable fixtures (occasions of bad

smells) are used in the dairy house. I admit that in winter, with
the bowls on the floor, good and not too slow cream formation has
its difficulties, but then I put them with their three-cornered rests
on securely-standing wooden stools, about three feet high, and in
this way place the milk in a warmer temperature from that on the
brick floor. Large dairy farms should have a winter dairy house,
which may be heated.

THE WINTER DAIRY HOUSE,

A large and well regulated dairy should have a summer and
winter dairy house—the latter to be heated. It need not be so
large as the former—about eight square feet per cow is sufficient.
In a northern climate, where nearly to the middle of May cold
weather may be expected, such a building is very necessary.
Where one house has to answer for both, a heating apparatus

22

should be attached to it, which always must be applied from the
outside. To heat from the inside is apt to bring dirt and smoke
into the dairy house, which would spoil all milk in it immediately.
During my sojourn in England, in the spring of 1867, I noticed
houses built of hollow bricks, through which a circulation of warm
air was allowed to run. Heated walls round gardens I have fre-
quently seen on the continent of Europe. At the great interna-
tionai exhibition in London, Prince Albert had a model building
erected of hollow bricks comfortably fitted up as a dwelling for
working people, and I think this sort of walls might be advantage-
ously applied to winter dairy houses. If the dairy house is large,
two small stoves are better than one large one, as the heat is then
more equally divided. Whatever plan is adopted, one should be
careful that no smoke enters the building. The best way of heat-
ing at present in use is by means of steam pipes which run round
the floor. A suitable winter dairy house has always paid for itself,
as the fresh milk-butter in winter commands the highest prices.

THE CHURNING HOUSE.

Near the dairy house, and connected with it, or not, depending
upon the locality, stands the building where the butter is made.
It should be as cool as possible, about eight feet high, and with an
arched roof. If necessary and large enough, it may also be used ag
a storeroom for the finished butter, but only if no other place can
be found for it. The churning house should in every respect be
kept as clean and free from the influence of bad smells as the dairy
house. It is also connected, through small gutters, with the drain-
ing ditch outside, for the ready-made butter is inclined to take up
bad smells from other things,

23
THE CHURN.

Churns are made differently in shape and movement, but it ar-
pears as if the round one, with circular moving paddles, has proved
most suitable, because this motion is easiest obtained and the churn
better handled, cleaned and made tight. It should never be too
high, though, and of small diameter, but about two-thirds height to
one-third diameter.

It is necessary to have several churns, to be able to change now
and then. By using one continually, particularly on large dairy
farms where they churn every day, it is simply impossible to re-
move the acid entirely from it if not given a chance now and then
to dry thoroughly. A small churn for winter use will prove ad-
vantageous. The small amount of cream during that season could
not well stand long enough until in sufficient quantity to be
churned in the large churn. I insist upon the greatest accuracy in
making the churn; particularly the inside must be smooth and
‘nicely fitting in the staves. Round the bottom the staves must
not form any unnecessary large depth in the chimes, which would
be hard to clean; in fact, no sinking places whatever should occur
in the wood. The wood must be well seasoned, free from acid, and
not taken from the heart of the tree, but from the outside rings.
On account of its durability, oak wood is preferred. What I have
said ef the careful manufacture of the churn applies also to all the
other vessels in the dairy, only I would recommend white beech as
the material for the smaller ones. The cleaning of the churn, and
everything appertaining to it, must be attended to immediately after
churning—not a moment should be lost.

In some dairies chemical means are employed to clean the churn
quickly, more radically, and to destroy the milk acid. This may be
right enough, but I should say more expensive, and in the hands of
inexperienced persons uncertain. The oldfashioned way—a good

24

rinsing with hot water, plenty of cold water after it, a careful
scrubbing with a clean white brush, not leaving a place untouched,
particularly at the bottom, in the chimes, always suffices. This
done, the churn is put in the fresh air, exposing it to the wind,
(not to the hot sun,) till it is perfectly dry and free from smell. It
is an excellent custom to wipe the inside again with a clean linen
cloth. That the churn should also be kept clean on the outside is
a matter of course. Before putting it to use again the manager
should look at it and smell it himself, whether any sour smell can
be discovered. This duty he should never leave to others, for he
alone is responsible. A manager with weak organs of smell is of no
use about a dairy. ever, and under no consideration, should the
churn be allowed to stand in the dairy house. While being churned
the cream creates a large quantity of sour gases, which esgaping
from the churn would enter the dairy house and settle on the milk
in it. This is readily perceived by standing close to the churn and
somewhat higher. A very strong, sour smell is noticed then. The
locality where the churning is done must be kept as clean as the
others, and above all, airy and cool. The temperature should never
be above 40 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit, from reasons I will state

later.

BUTTER STOREROOM.

The cellar or storeroom where the ready-made butter is kept,
should be as cool as possible, dry and free from smell. It should
not be used for other purposes. Its size is dependent upon the ex-
tent of the dairy, but rather large than too small, as the firkins
should stand upright and not lie. Under them wooden rests are
put, similar to those used in the dairy house, and strong enough to
bear the weight of the firkins of butter.

25

This closes for the present my descriptions of the buildings and
vessels of the dairy, and I will now speak of the actual butter-

making.

THE MILKING.

The milking is done early in the morning, and in the evening,
shortly before sunset. To milk three times a day I do not think
advisable, and have never seen good results from it. With a very
abundant feeding and first class cows, more milk is perhaps ob-
tained, but very little more butter, a proof that the milk is not so
rich as when milked twice a day. Experienced dairymen are of
opinion that milking three times a day, even with plentiful feeding,
is too hard on the cow. It appears as if the milk takes a certain:
time (twelve hours) for its completion. Besides, in milking at
noon, during the greatest heat of the day, the milk, in being brought
to the dairy house, becomes easily cheesy, and as it, or at least its
cream, after that is mixed with the other milkings, it will spoil them
also. The manager should always have water at the milking place
to wash the udders, in case they should be dirty. In the stali this
is always necessary. He should also see that every udder is strip-
ped of the last particle of milk. This is all-important for several
reasons:

1. It has been proved that the last milk which comes from the
udder is the richest.

2. One has observed that cows which have not been entirely
stripped of their milk gradually give less. It appears as if the milk
matter in the cow goes to fatten the animal if not drawn from the
udder.

To milk regularly at a fixed hour every day I would greatly
recommend. The manner in which the milking is done should also

be well considered. The teats, slightly moistened, must be taken.
3

26

hold of with ‘the whole hand, and not with two or three fingers.
This last manner, to which some milkers get accustomed, is un-
doubtedly hurtful to the c..w, and may easily make the udder sore.
It is often done when the milker’s hand has been hurt in some way ;
hence the manager should always see that every hand engaged in
milking is sound. The milking, carrying home and straining
should be done as quickly as possible. The warmer the weather
the quicker the milk should be got into the bowls and brought to
the state of cream formation, for the more rapidly the cream is
drawn from the milk the better the cream, and the better the cream
the better the butter. Experience has shown that the more butter
obtained from a given quantity of milk, the better the butter. To
put as near as possible the same quantity of strained milk into each
bowl, a percelain measure (for cleanliness sake) should be used.

TREATMENT OF THE MILK IN THE BOWLS.

When the milk is in the bowls and put into the dairy house, all
dirt and milk which may have been spilled in filling the bowls
having been removed, the time of strictest attention for the manager
begins. The greatest quietness should now reign in the dairy
house, that the process of cream formation may go on undisturbed.
The thermometer should be consulted frequently, and the tempera-
ture regulated by opening or shutting the windows, in order to
keep it as near as possible at 56 to 59 degrees Fahrenheit. I repeat
again that this degree is the most favorable. Under 56 degrees, the
act of cream formation goes forward too slowly; above 59 degrees,
fast, but not so perfectly, the cream easily becoming cheesy, because
too high a degree of warmth too rapidly develops the acid in the
milk and spoils the cream.

The manager should not bind himself to a certain time—that is,
he should not take it for granted that the milk must have a certain

2,

27
time to form its cream completely. This would lead to great mis-
takes, for the temperature in the dairy house, as well as that at the
time of milking and bringing the milk home, besides the state of
the atmosphere, such as a sultry heat preceding a thunderstorm, or
very dry, etc., would have great influence, so much so that a differ-
ence in time of six to twelve hours may occur in the act of cream
formation. This is particularly the case where the dairy house is
not properly arranged for regulating the temperature. Other and
sure signs must show the right time for skimming, and these are

the following :

1. When the manager sees that the cream has formed a tolerably
thick skin, he must taste it, not with his fingers, but with a small,
clean spoon. If the cream begins to have a slight taste of sour not
agreeable, and a little biting to the tongue, the time for skimming
has arrived. Ay his peculiar taste is hard to describe, but the man-
ager, if attentive, will soon distinguish it.

2. A still more noticeable sign of the completed cream-formation
- isaroughness of the surface of the cream, and a loosening from
the sides of the bowl. Then the skimming must be immediately
attended to, for it is the highest time, and even a little too late.
This is easily explained. The roughness on the cream has its origin
in the too great an amount of acid or fermentation in the milk, and
the loosening of the cream from the sides of the bowl is caused
by the decrease of the quantity of milk in the bowl, which again is
‘brought about by the acid developing itself more and more, and
which makes the milk eat itself. The upper layers of the milk, and
especially the cream, are particularly attacked by the acid, hence
the manager should make haste to remove the cream from the milk
before it sours and grows less in quantity. When the manager is
practiced in the above-mentioned tasting, he will not have to wait
for the falling of the milk in the bowl, and will get better cream still.

28

This argues that an attentive and good manager should be ready
at any time, late at night or before sunrise, to take advantage of
the right moment for skimming.

A proof that the milk has gone well through the process of cream-
formation is the soft, liver-like mass at the bottom of the bow]; if
hard and tough it has stood too long. I do not believe that there
‘are dairymen now-a-days who labor under the mistake that the
thicker the cream the more butter they will get, and who wait till
the surface of the cream shows thick, rough pustules of a yellow-
ish gray color. If there are such men still, I can assure them most
emphatically that from such cream they will get very little and
miserable butter. The trial is easily made, and the result will
prove it.

SKIMMING.

The cream completely formed, the skimming commences. To
be able to change, two clean tubs, sufficiently high for the skimmer
to bring the bowl comfortably and quickly to the upper rim, are
ready to receive the cream. To make it still easier for the worker,
a little rest for the bow! to stand on during skimming is fixed to
the tub. In most dairies these tubs have wooden covers, but I do
not consider them so suitable as a cover of a thin linen stuff or
hair-cloth, because an evaporation which undoubtedly goes on still,
and which is easily smelled in stirring the cream, should be allowed.
If there are many bowls to skim, the skimmer should have some
one to hand the full bowls to him and remove the skimmed ones.
The thick, sour milk which remains in the bowl must be immedi-
ately removed from the dairy house, as also the empty bowls
cleaned again as soon as possible. In some dairy houses I have seen
a very good arrangement for quickly removing the sour milk from
them. In the inside walla hole about eighteen square inches large,

29

with a tightly-closing valve or lid, was made, connecting on the
outside with a wooden gutter. During skimming the valve was
opened and through the hole a pipe about one foot long was run,
on which a tolerably wide funnel had been previously fixed. Into
this funnel the sour milk was poured, and carried off by the gutter
on the outside. Immediately after using this apparatus the valve
should be cleaned and then well closed, to prevent the sour smell
from entering. I would mention here that the wooden gutter
which carries the sour milk into a large tub, to be used as food for
pigs, must be cleaned frequently, as also the tub which contains
the food, else the latter will quickly spoil, and create sickness
among the pigs.
The tub is easily cleaned by filling it with a strong, hot lye,
which is kept hot for several hours by putting heated bricks or
rocks into it. A good rinsing with water must follow. Cleanli-
ness here, as everywhere. But to return to the skimming.
The bowl is brought to the cream tub, and the cream nicely
pushed off, not with the hand, but with small laths of horn, thin
bone, or soft, easily bending wood, respectively 8, 10 or 12 inches
long, 1 to 14 inch wide, and thin enough to bend. With these
laths the cream is more easily removed from the milk than with the
hand, and they are altogether more cleanly. The-short lath is used
to loosen the cream from the side of the bowl, and to remove the
small remaining pieces of cream. The cream must not stand long
before it is churned, and in order to give it the necessary stickiness,
capacity of decomposition and sour for churning, it must be stirred
frequently with a clean white stick while in the cream tub. It is
then poured through a clean haircloth strainer into the churn.

3%

30
CHURNING.

Where the dairy house is not complete in its arrangements, or
during cold weather, the required state for churning of the cream
may be brought about by warming it, not by mixing it with hot
water, but by slowly warming a few quarts of cream in an earthen-
ware vessel, and then stirring it into the mass. If there is sufficient
cream to churn every day, all the better, but longer than two days
the cream must not stand. For this reason, it is hardly possible

that small dairies can furnish butter for keeping and export, be-

cause the cream has to stand too long before a sufficient quantity is
on hand to make it worth while to churn. In dairies where cheese
is made the cream is removed when yet. quite sweet. All cream
particles still remaining in the milk then go to make the cheese
richer. Tle butter in such dairies is particularly sweet. At least
eighty to one hundred cows belong to a profitable and well-regu-
lated dairy.

It is astonishing to see people even now work themselves down
for hours, and throw away time and labor, without going to the
trouble to think why it churns quicker one time than another, and
yet it isso easily understood. It is well known that ina very warm
atmosphere, as well as in too cold a one, it churns slowly. Now
most people, according to circumstances, pour hot or cold water
into the churn, and then work away at it again. Occasionally they
happen to succeed, but assuredly a soft, greasy and cheesy butter
will be the result, for through the heat an artificial separation of
the greasy particles has been hurried on, but not completely devel-
oped. The good folks, nevertheless, rejoice in their success, and
take it to be the 1ight way. Then again they find this will not do,
but having a faint idea that the cream must be too warm, or too
cold, more water is resorted to, to the great detriment of the butter,

never thinking that it is the atmospheric air which either retards »—

31

or advances the churning. Air is necessary for the separation of
the greasy particles from the whey or water particles. The stir-
ring and beating of the dasher in the cream serves to crush the
greasy globules, and to bring them to the surface to let the air act
on them. Before the separation of the butter from the mass, the
latter begins to foam, consequently absorbs air. This, no doubt,
gave the idea of the atmospheric churn.
Having frequently stated before, that the proper degree to have
a complete and healthy separation is 56 to 59 degrees Fahrenheit,
care should be taken that the cream in the churn has this degree.
Then, above all, the temperature in the building where the churning
is done must be from four to six degrees colder than the cream,
for the action of cooler air is indispensable. These few rules ob-
served, solid, good butter, and quickly made, will be the result. This is
the whole secret. If everything is arranged in the dairy house as I
have described it, the cream will have from the beginning the proper
degree of warmth. Where this is not the case, I advise to warm
the cream gradually by warming a few quarts as described above,
and then mix it with-the mass. Do not use hot water. The churn
itsclf may, perhaps, be warmed. Cold water or clean ice used in
churning, if necessary, does not hurt, but it isa mistake to think
that it adds to the excellence of the butter. Some dairymen pre-
tend to say that it sours the cream, but for my part I do not think
so, if it is used sensibly. When the above-mentioned conditions—
06 degrees in the churn and 50 degrees outside—are fulfilled, no ice
is necessary, although I consider its other uses in the dairy of great
value.

THE ATMOSPHERIC CHURN.

As I mentioned, the principle of the atmospheric churn rests on
the fact of a stream of cooler air rushing through the milk or cream
“while churning. I am convinced that the use of an atmospheric

32

churn has its great advantages, since the milk may be churned im-
mediately after leaving the “cow, consequently the building of a
dairy house and the buying of bowls may be saved. Every com-
mon churn, I should say,.might be altered into an atmospheric
churn. Very likely the trials have not been made correctly, and
perhaps the main thing, the right temperature, has not been sufti-
ciently taken into consideration, else this procedure ought to have
been employed to a greater extent. Some persons cbject to the dif-
ficulty of cleaning the churn, but I do not admit of these objections?
since through the great saving of expense the little trouble of clean-
ing is more than balanced. As to excellence and amount of butter
got from it, opinions are too much at variance for me to allow my-

self to pronounce upon the subject for the present.

THE SWEET MILK BUTTER.

A method similar to the above is employed at a good many
places—I mean the churning from milk which has not gone through
the process of cream formation. It is done in the following man-
ner: The milk is poured into a large vessel of the shape of a bucket,
but somewhat narrower at the top than bettom, and remains in it
until it turns a little sour and begins tc slightly thicken. Jt must
not curdle completely. The mass is frequently stirred, till it becomes
sticky and ropy, when it is ready for churning. A butter thus
gained has, if eaten fresh, a still more agreeable taste than that from
cream, but it does not keep, and is less in quantity. In winter I
would recommend this process, for then there is danger that the
cream stands too long before a suffic‘ent quantity is on hand to
justify a churning. The reason why sweet milk butter does not
keep so well as that from the cream might be explained thus: The
milk has not gone through the proper fermentation or cream form-
ation process, the pure grease particles have not separated, and too

DO

much whey remains in the butter, which cannot entirely be removed
by working, and which, in standing some length of time, spoils the
butter. In cool weather such butter will occasionally keep sweet
for a month, but then turns rancid. After all, the richest and fattest
butter is that made from the cream.

WORKING THE BUTTER.

The solid, good butter taken from the churn is put into a three
or four legged tub, the bottom of which has a hole at one end, of a
size easily closed by the cork of a common quart bottle. The legs
should be arranged to give the tub a slanting position towards the
hole, to make the liquid from the butter run off quickly. Under
the hole stands a‘bucket to receive the liquid. The bucket must be
frequently emptied and cleaned. The butter is formed into a flat,
smooth cake, and in doing this is thrown several times vigorously
against the bottom and sides of the tub, to throw off the rougher
milk particles still adhering to it. If the quantity of butter in the
tub is too large to be handled thus, it is divided into smaller pieces,
and each of them worked separately. Asa matter of course, the
pieces already worked have to be removed from the tub to prevent
their being bespattered again. They are then made into one cake,
if the quantity is not too large to be handled conveniently, in which
case two cakes are made of it. The throwing of the cake against
the bottom and sides of the tub may be repeated about six times,
as this will suffice to remove first the rougher milk particles, which
must be washed out of the tubimmediately. I object to having the
butter washed or water thrown over it, and only admit of it if the
locality where the working is done is not sufficiently cool to keep
the butter solid, but then only cool, clear and perfectly tasteless
water must be used. At any rate, actual necessity only can war-

34

rant it. The less the butter comes into contact with water the
better it is.

The cake is then covered with a clean linen cloth to lessen the
influence of the air and to keep the flies off. If the locality is right
cool the covering is not necessary. In this state the butter remains
for half an hour. This is done to give the still adhering rough
milk particles a chance to flow off, and to advance this the cake is
frequently pressed with the flat of the hand. The cake should al-

ways lie at the upper end of the tub, not touching the sides. The —

half-hour passed, we salt the butter. The salt used for this purpose
must be free from bitter and of fine white quality. It must be well
dried and crushed before using it, for the finer and drier it is the
quicker it dissolves, and this is exactly what we want. Rough,
moist salt dissolves slowly, and is of no use to.us, as I shall show
presently. One must not stint with the salt, rather a little too
much than too little. Five pounds of best salt for the 100 lbs. of
butter intended for long keeping suffices. Butter sold fresh takes
less. After the butter has been salted it is formed again into a flat
cake, and left to lie till the salt is completely dissolved. If the salt
has been dry and fine this will be the case within four to five
hours, but I would rather advise to wait six or seven hours. The
salting of the butter in so short a time after being taken from the
churn is very necessary, and must not be neglected, because sufli-
cient moisture is still in it to dissolve the salt quickly, and the dis-
solved salt is our main agent to help us to expel the milk and whey
still in the butter, more completely. We want the pure butter, free
from whey, and all injurious substances must be removed. Milk,
whey and water particles spoil easily, and give to the butter the
fishy, sour taste called rancid. Pure butter, if properly treated,
keeps a long time without suffering in the least. The salt being

dissolved, the actual working the butter begins.

35

According to the size of the cake of butter, we take a piece of
three or four pounds from it and commence to press it; take it up
and throw it against the bottom and sides of the tub, then break it
in the middle, to get the inside out, press it and throw it again,
continuing thus till the liquid from it is entirely clear and colorless
when it is put inaclean bowl. The whole cake is worked in this
manner, but lies during the working of its pieces in a separate vessel,
to prevent its being bespattered again. The three or four-pound
pieces are now taken, two-and-two, formed into six or eight pounds,
and worked again as above, to see whether any milk particles are
still in them. The liquid from them is tasted, and as long as it has
a sour taste or a milky color we must continue to work them, and
when convinced that they are free from all whey, we add again two-
and-two, making sixteen pond pieces of them, and these are large
enough. Very expert dairy-helps even work the pieces to twenty-
four pounds.

Frequently, through too great an ardor in working the pieces,
the butter is overworked ; by that means we press all moisture and
salt out of it and get a dry, crumbly article. Of this good care
should be taken, for it is all-important for the preserving of the
butter that the liquid salt remains in it, and it is by no means diffi-

ult to avoid this error. As I have said before, we should work
till the liquid from it is clear, colorless, and free from sour—notany
longer. The butter must not lose its moisture. With a little at-
tention and experience this is easily learned, if we work sensibly,
and I can assure my readers that in following my method this very
serious and frequent error in the making of butter will not occur.

The butter is now ready, but to be sure, we taste it again to find
out whether perhaps not too much salt has been lost in working it,
for it is reasonable to suppose that through the pressing, breaking
and throwing about of the cake this could not entirely be pre-

36

vented. If more salt is needed, it is not necessary to work it into
it, but merely take the cakes, of a size according to the quantity on
hand, press them flat, and to the 100 pounds add one to two pounds
dry, fine salt between them, then form the whole into one large cake
and put it into the butter tub. Our next duty will now be to keep
our butter as much as possible from the action of the air, for, parti-
cularly during the hot season, it is injurious. If we have a sufli-
cient quantity to fill a firkin, we must put it into it immediately ; if
not, we cover the butter with a clean linen cloth, two or three
double, which has been previously moistened in a solution of salt
and water, and put it into the butter-tub provided with a tight-fitting
cover. It must not lie too long in here, and for that reason I would
recommend firkins of 50 or 100 pounds, not larger. Of butter-tubs,
I would have several on hand, to be able to change. They must be
frequently scalded with hot water to keep them from souring.

A good many dairymex, particularly those of the old school, will
wonder why I do not employ kneading, or their favorite trowel, in
my working of butter. I decidedly object to kneading and the
trowel. I only allow it at the salting to form the layers, never in
working the butter. The reason for working the butter is to sepa-
rate the pure-butter from the whey and water. By the use of the
trowel and the kneading, exactly the contrary is brought about.
The whey and water particles are only pressed the firmer into it,
and the butter obtained will be short, waxy and greasy, instead of
solid, clear and pure. The use of my method is best proved by the
price my butter will fetch.

PACKING THE BUTTER.

To keep the butter from the injurious action of the air, it should
be packed into firkins as soon as possible. The firkin must be
filled at once, not gradually and at different times. The surface of

37

the butter in the centre of the firkin must be made a little higher
than the sides, because in standing it nearly always sinks there.
Firkins holding 50 or 100 pounds, the weight of the wood from 6
to 7 and 12 to 14 pounds respectively, are suitable for every market.
In packing, the different flat pieces of butter are firmly pressed into
the firkins to expel all air, and when filled, the surface is smoothed

by means of a small wooden lath, and covered half an inch thick
with coarse, moist salt, gently pressed down on it. Towards the
sides the salt may lie a little thicker. The moist salt soon forms a

solid mass, thus shutting off the air entirely.

This method has also the advantage of preventing the butter from
sticking to the firkin, for the moistened salt gradually dissolves,
and running down the staves, keeps the sides of the butter moist.

The heads of the firkins are now put on loose, and the whole
placed in the cellar. If they have to stand long, it will be neces-
sary to add, now and then, a little salt round the sides, where it.
will have diminished. Before putting the butter into the firkin, the
bottom of the latter is covered with a layer of dry, coarse salt,
about one-fourth of an inch thick. It is a very good practice to fill
the firkin, an hour before its use, with a clean, strong solution of
salt and water, to remove all fresh wood smell from it. This solu-
tion may be used several times, and is not so expensive. Should
this, nevertheless, be thought, I would at least have the inside of
the firkin well rubbed with moist salt. Zo fill the firkins, before
packing, with water, and leave them stand for hours, ts as useless as it is
injurious. They are made of the outer rings of well-seasoned beech,
and perfectly dry, have no acid to hurt, and will only absorb the
water, and spoil their nice, clean appearance; besides, the water
taken up by the staves would soon smell, and communicate this to
the butter.

38

If the firkins are that badly made that they need water to make
them tight, they should never be used; and as to the fresh wood
smell, my method mentioned above suffices completely.

Every well-regulated dairy should have, according to its trade, a
certain amount of firkins on hand, for they must wait for the butter,
not the butter for them. 'They should be kept at a dry, airy place.

The covering of the butter with a solid salt layer may also be
advantageously employed in putting up small quantities in earthen
jars. After a while the butter will stand perfectly free from the
sides in the vessel, moist, and a solid, sweet mass, keeping a long
time.

Whenever the firkins are to be sent away, the loose salt is gently
removed from the top, and the head put on for good. The salt
removed may be used again for the same purpose. Zhe swrface of
the butter has now a thin, transparent cover of salt, which must not be
meddled with on any account.

STOWING OF FILLED FIREKINS.

From what I have said of the filling of firkins, it is evident they
should stand upright, and never lie. They must stand on strips of
wood, a foot from the ground, to admit of a free circulation of the
air under and round them, and should never be turned, as it would
bring the butter still more in contact with the wood, which we
intend to avoid as muchas possible. For the same reason, they
should not lie.

To leave the butter stowed away too long in firkins, perhaps to
speculate on higher prices, I would not recommend, because it
would suffer from it; besides, scarcely ever is the cellar large enough
to admit of a proper stowage of a great number of firkins. Dry
and cool cellars are also seldom found. The covering of the inside

a)
of the firkin with paper is nonsense, and does no good whatever,
and would never de for the English market.

THE SHAPE OF FIRKINS.

The shape of the firkins must not be heavy bellied, but rather
‘slender, and no long and awkward looking wooden nails should
be used in fastening the bottom and hoops. My reasons for this
are: "

1. In removing the hoops and staves from a firkin of butter in
the market, to expose the contents as a sample to the buyer, the
slender shape is the most convenient.

2. Those long nails penetrate into the butter and spoil it. They
also give the sides of the exposed lump.of butter a bad appearance,
since they are apt to dig inte it while the hoops and staves are
being taken off. They hardly ever can be all extracted, as some of
-them invariably will break off. The stripping of at least one or
two lumps of butter of their wood will be pretty much always
required by wholesale buyers, and this argues that the finish of the
firkins on the inside should be as smooth and nice as on the out-
side. If this is not the case, the butter will stick to the uneven
places, notwithstanding the precautions in packing, and a clean
and nice stripping of the wood from the butter can not be accom-
plished, and the outside of the lump will look uninviting, to the
detriment of the seller.

The hoops should look nicely white, and must fit accurately, to
de away with those miserable wooden plugs. In forwarding the
firkins, a few small iron tacks, long enough to barely fasten the
hoops to the staves, suffice completely. The empty firkin should
have a weiglit of 12 to 14 pounds to the 100 pounds of butter. This
I have found to be customary in the trade. The bottom, and par-
ticularly the head, should not be too heavily made, and I mention

40)

this because some of the buyers will get scared, and judge from it
the weight of the other wood. They then would very likely insist
to have several firkins stripped in order to weigh the wood. The
honest man would rather avoid this suspicion and trouble. The
firkin should not be lighter though than the custom of the market
calls for; it would lead to trouble and dispute. A good cooper is
not apt to make a mistake, and will hit the weight pretty closely.
The wholesale buyer in most cases will look to all these things
being complied with; and it is foolish to bargain about a few cents
in the price of firkins with a good cooper who knows his business.
The firkins should not be marked with chalk or other material lia-
ble to dirty them, but kept as clean as possible. Dirt on the outside
might argue dirt on the inside.

The buyer likes to see the name of the farm plainly and neatly
branded on the firkin, and good dairymen consider it an honor to
have their names become known in this way, which I consider a
very laudable ambition and worthy of imitation.

COLORING OF BUTTER.

The barbarism of coloring the butter is, I am sorry to say, still
more or less in use, and since the consumer very often insists upon
being deceived, I suppose he has to be gratified. It never should be
done though to a higher degree than a nice summer color. Even in
Spain and Portugal, where they used to demand nearly a dark yel-
low butter, they prefer a lighter shade now. Only the best and
freshest of Annotta should be used in coloring (most all other ma-
terials known to me I consider dangerous). A good article is soft
and without smell, and when quite fresh has a slight violet smell.
The funny stories about its manufacture are a fable. A trial of its
purity and excellence consists in rubbing a piece on white paper,
when it should show a fine orange color.

4]

In some dairies I noticed a mixture of three parts of Annotta
and one part of Turmeric, which I was told would give the butter
a fresher coloring, and this may be so, provided the Turmeric is to
be had fresh and without smell. The process of coloring the but-
ter is the following: Four pounds of butter and one pound of
Annotta in a porcelain or earthen pot are put ona gentle fire to
simmer for two hours, taking care to stir it frequently; it is then
strained through a piece of fine linen. If the Annotta is good the
mass in the linen has sufficient coloring matter left to add another
four pounds of butter and repeat the process. The color gained
the second time may be safely mixed with the first. To boil too
large a quantity at once gives not so good a color.

There are several ways to mix this prepared color with the but-
ter. I consider best to mix it with the fine crushed salt intended
for the salting of the butter and thus transfer the color into it.
One should be quick about it though, and rub the salt rapidly and
well between the hands, in order to color it equally, else the butter
will present a striped appearance. Another method is: Take
half pound of the -butter to be colored on a dish, mix it with the
prepared color, and with it in turn the remaining larger quantity.
This shows that the coloring process must be always done either tmme-
diately before salting or together wtth it, as the mixing is easiest then.
I should say any method is good which prevents unequal coloring
' or a striped leok ef the butter.

To give the necessary quantity of the prepared color for a certain
weight of butter is scarcely possible, as it is entirely dependent
upon the appearance of the butter before coloring and upon the
wish of the buyer. Asa general thing, three table spoonfuls are
taken for the twenty-five pounds, and in case the butter should be
very pale, a little more. The color must never be hot when mix-
ing, but only warm, else it will make the butter spotted.

4*

42

With this I close my treatise on the actual dairy management,
and shall now speak of some of the sicknesses to which cows are
liable, and what I know of their cure.

In spring, after the first moderate and warmer days, the cows begin
to get uneasy in the stall, and this has already a material influence
on the milk and butter. As soon as the herd is driven on the
meadow the cows eat voraciously of the young green grass, and
diarrhea is the consequence, which soon makes them thin and
sick. This state lasts, according to the weather, eight to fourteen
days; they get better then and begin to give plenty and good milk.
The milk and butter obtained from them during this sickness is
bad. I would recommend against it, at least to mitigate it, to give
the cows as early as green feed can be obtained, some of it with
their dry feed. In the beginning very little, and gradually more,
till they are driven out on the meadow entirely. They must not
have too much of this mixed feed right away, else they will not eat
the dry feed any more.

This method is particularly advantageous for such farms as have
an abundance of dry hay and clover to last them till far on in
the spring, and where the cows are driven on the meadow for good
when the green feed is flourishing.

Tam convinced that such a gradual preparing for the green feed
will prevent, in a measure, the very dangerous colic in cattle. This
fatal sickness occurs most frequently on rich clover meadows, but
also in the stall, where other feed is used, for instance, those nasty
slops from distilleries.

According to the opinions and experience of veterinary surgeons,
this sickness is caused by too rapid and voracious swallowing of
the feed, overcrowding the stomach too quickly. A sudden gen-
erating of sour gasses follows, which, if not expelled forthwith,
will swell the animal to such a degree that death must speedily fol-

43

low. Some veterinarians think that the overcharging of the
stomach is not always alone the cause of the swelling up; they
have noticed in dissecting the animal that particles of the feed had
stuck in the throat, which caused a difficulty in breathing, from
which they argue an anxiety in the cow and with it a more rapid
working of the lungs, through which the swelling received an ad-
ditional impulse. Other observations have also shown that the
puffing up very often occurs, if in the morning, particularly after a
heavy dew, the herd walks against the wind. (Here I would call
attention to the herding I recommended in the commencement
of my little book, and which I consider a protection against this
sickness.) A good many remedies are used to cure the colic, such
as the giving, internally, of unslacked pulverized lime (a table-
spoonful) in fresh milk; half a pound of white sugar, also, dissolved
in milk; oil of tobacco in whiskey, etc. Many things will help.
Some people even run the cows, or push them, into water, but
- IT would rather not recommend any such brutality. Experienced
dairymen told me that cows which are with calf are apt to miscarry
after taking lime. (Lime kept for that purpose on a farm should
be kept in air-tight tin boxes, to keep it from the action of the air,
else it will not do any good.)

These remedies may all be very useful if the illness is noticed
immediately when it begins. Where there is a suitable herdsman
‘this no doubt will be the case, but generally some person is put in
such a place who is no earthly account for anything else on the
farm, and this is a serious error on the part of the manager. Gen-
erally the horrid state of the animal is only noticed when it shows
but too plainly, as for instance, when the poor thing, from the acute
pain, rolls itself on the ground, and then perhaps some of those
remedies are not on hand and very often the manager is not there,
and in duty bound a formal report should be made to him, while in
the meantime, considering the rapid progress of the sickness, the

44

cow has entered already upon the last stage of it, and if the trocar
is not speedily employed the perhaps very valuable animal is lost.
(The best cows are genrrally attacked by it, from reasons I have
stated under head of “ Herding.” ) Even if the operation with the
trocar is successful the animal will be sick after it, if not for ever,
at least for a long time. Ido not reject the mentioned remedies,
I only intend to show their use.

I shall now give to my readers a proceeding, as introduced by
my fither, for the quick cure of colic in cattle (horses included).

The instrument used is a gutta-percha pipe 6 feet long, 1 inch
diameter, gradually getting less towards the end, and finishing at 4
inch diameter ; it is hollow and closed at the end, which is rounded ;
about 14 inch from the lower end it has on the one side an oyal-
shaped opening (lengthways) 2 inches long and 4 inch wide; two
inches farther up, on the opposite side, is another opening like it.

This pipe is pushed (the lower and round end first) through the
gullet of the animal into its stomach. As soon as the pipe reaches
the stomach, the compressed sour air contained in it escapes with
such force that some of the feed particles are driven with it into
the pipe. To prevent a stopping up of the pipe, a willow switch,
from which the bark has been removed, is inserted into the pipe
before the operation, and during it quickly withdrawn. As soon as
the air rushes from the stomach, the animal is saved ; but the cure is
not quite finished. The fermentation in the stomach generally lasts
several hours longer, ani in order to remove it, it is necessary to
employ absorbing remedies. The easiest and simplest is one-half to
one pound of fine white sugar, dissolved in milk or water, to be
given to the cow by little and little for an hour. During this time
the animal must not eat anything.

To keep the animal from crushing the pipe with its teeth, and to
facilitate the adjusting of it, one should use a wooden mouth-piece,
(thick enough to keep the mouth of the amimal open,) with a hole

45

in the centre so large as to admit the passage of the pipe freely. It
should be long enough to protrude about one or two inches on each
side of the mouth, to be able to fasten the ends to the neck of the
animal, and keep the pipe and mcuth-piece stationary. Immedi-
ately after the use the pipe should be well cleaned.

Before closing, I would say a few words about the milk produc-
tiveness of some cows. I have asked a good many dairy farmers,
here and in Europe, which cow they considered best for the dairy,
and found opinions greatly at variance. In Europe, on the dairy
lands of the Baltic coast, the Danish crossed with Ayrshire is the
favorite. In the neighborhood of large towns, where the sale of
fresh milk is the object, the Devon and the large Oldenburg. The
last named would do splendidly here. The large Dutch cow, if fed
well, gives a great deal of milk, but rather watery, I think. Here,
in America, I find the Alderney quite a favorite, and justly so, on
the right kind of pasture ; besides, she is such a beauty. The Ayr-
shire and Jersey (and this last one is my favorite) are splendid
dairy cows. For richness of cream, I opine the Jersey can not be
surpassed.

Dairymen should examine well their young calves, as to future
great milk productiveness, before selling them to the butcher.
Many a promising calf would not be slaughtered, and many a one
that never will make anything would not be carefully raised, to
aggravate its owner afterwards.

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