The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1855-07-03 00:00:00

DAIRY FARMING.

A valuable paper on butter-making and dairy ma-
nagement, by Mr. Thomas Scott, of Charing-cross, was
read at the last meeting of the Royal Agricultural So-
ciety. The following extracts from it will prove in-
teresting to many of our readers :

CHOICE OF Cows.—l am inclined to think, after many trials
during the last thirteen years, that the old Irish and the Chan-
nel Island cows, crossed with the short-horns, make the two
best butter producing animals, and are otherwise suitable for
the dairy. The milking qualities in different animals of the
same breed, are, however, so various, that I am inclined to
trust more to good shapes as indexes of milking qualities, than
to breed. Judgment and taste in selection are, therefore,
more to be relied on. In Cheshire I had two Cows, a short-
horned and a cross-bred, of the same age and feeding together;
the one gave 17 quarts of milk per day, which yielded only 18
ounces of butter; the other gave 10 quarts, which yielded 22
ounces, being nearly double the ratio of the former. This is
a suggestive subject for the physiologist. As a rule, quantity
of milk should be obtained for cheese making, and quality for
butter. Quality in milk arises partly from the breed of the
cow, partly from her physiological character, and partly from
the food she obtains. When much thin milk is obtained, the
quality of butter made from it is never so good in taste, colour,
or solidity, as when made from richer milk. This I have
found, arises from the excess of casein, and the greater diffi-
culty of totally extracting it from the butter. 'What remains
produces sourness, unless counteracted by extra salting. It also
forms air cells, which originate rancidity and decay.
MODE OP TREATMENT.—The most important points to be
attended to, are these : a good breed of cows ; proper food and
abundance of it. Let the temperature of dairies always be re-
gulated by a thermometer, and kept at 50° to 60°, with proper
ventilation, that the cream may not become musty ; and let
them always be thatched, or, if slated, coated with lime-wash,
as Mr. Mechi's buildings are, that the roofs may radiate and
not absorb the sun's rays. Skim the cream off the milk in
about 36 hours in summer, and 48 in winter, after milking,
and churn in 48 hours afterwards ; put the cream into the
churn at a temperature of 50', and after the butter is formed
let the whole remain in the churn an hour to cool. When
wrought up, either for sale fresh, or for putting in kegs and
corning, let the hands of the person employed be continually
dipped in cold spring water, and let the whole of the liquid be
extracted and the residue left as compact as a deal board. Use
no colouring—the fine Dutch and Epping butters of the Lon-
don market having no saffron, aunatto, or carrot juice in them ;
avoid much and coarse salt—compression and solidity will keep
out the air, and preserve corned butter; and the weight
gained from adding salt at-a penny per lb. is doubly counter-
acted by the reduction in price. Neither apply hot water in
making it up—it firms the butter, but impoverishes it of its
best qualities, and spoils the flavour. A little more salt is,
however, required in summer than in winter. Keep clear of
turf smoke and potatoes, both of which readily communicate a
bad flavour to butter, which is much complained of in the
Cork market ; use white wood and not brown firkins ; and
when the butter is packed, weigh it down with half a cwt. for
a few hours before heading up. If these points are attended to
any one in this country will at once succeed in rivalling the
' best Dutch or Friesland butter. To increase the quantity of
butter cows must be soiled, and fed on more nutritive food
than at present; they must never have to labour for their
food. They must also be kept warm, and at an equal and well
regulated temperature. Here, again, an eighteenpenny ther-
mometer must be hung up. I have also found au increase of
milk to arise from giving cows wooden instead of stone or
brick beds to lie upon. I tested this carefully on Mr. Neeld's
estate, where they may still be seen in use. Never keep old
cows—their milk is thin and poor; strip the cows thoroughly
each time they are milked, as the last pint contains more but-
ter than the first quart. A tenant of Lord de Tabley's, who
kept 45 cows only, and died a few years ago worth £30,000,
often told me that he had made half of his fortune by daily
'seeing to this point for thirty years. Churn early in the morn-
ing, say at four o'clock, using a good churn and never contend-
ing with a bad one. If the cows are allowed to graze, change
the pasture each time they are milked, as I have seen this pro-
duce the best results. If they are housed let them go loose if
possible.
CHESHIRE CHEESE.—No truer remark could be made than
that contained iu the report of the Farming of Cheshire in
1808, by Dr. Holland. He says : " Many attempts have been
made to imitate Cheshire cheese in other counties, but never
successfully. Some brought their kine from Cheshire, others
their dairy-women, but it doth appear they should have
brought the land also." About seven years ago, the late Mr.
Leigh, of Belmont, in Cheshire, tried to bring this knowlege
more under our control, and carried out a system of weighing
a large number of cows, weekly, on the principle Mr. Horsfall
has now adopted ; but in consequences of his death, the under-
taking, I think, was abandoned, and I am not fully aware to