Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1855-07-21
AGRICULTURAL.
DAIRY e


From a lecture lately delivered by Pro. Way,
before The Council of the Royal Agricultural
Society, on the Chemical Principles involved
in the Production Of Butter we take the fol-
lowing, to which we invite attention, as it will
be found replete with information valuable 10
the practical %dairyman:
The subject, hs said, naturally divided itself
under two heads-lhe LIST, that of so treating
cows as to cause them to produce a large guam
tity Of milk rich in butter End, that ofso treat
ing the milk as to separate as fully as possible,
and in the greatest perfection, the butter which
it contains. The first is a question of physio-
logy the second one dependent partly upon
chemical, partly upon physical principles
The one involves the phenomena of animal life,
and is materially influenced by race and breed
in the individual animal, and to a certain ex-
tent, therefore, is beyond our control the other
an affair of matter with which we may deal al
our pleasure, and in the treatment of which we
may perfectly control the results, inasmuch as
we have full command Of the conditions. lie
did not, on the present occasion, intend to en-
ter at any length upon the former branch of the
subject, which might be much more ably hand
led by his colleague, Professor Simonds. Mr..
Way called attention to the great and fundamen-
tai doctrine from whence all our reasoning on
the subject Of animal nutrition now started name
Iy, the identity, or almost identity, between the
principles Of the Vegetable and animal body
The conclusion founded upon this identity, and
which, he said, was natural enough, was that
with slight notifications the vcgelableprinciples
were assimilated by the animal frame the al
luminous matters being converted into animal
fat, and the mineral salts of the food into bone
and other solid parts Of the animal body. Still
he would wish 10 guard them against the con-
clusion that because milk is an animal product
of well-defned chemical compositions, and be-
cause, again, the composition Of various plants
which serve as food for cows is well known,
that, therefore, we might select food rich in
the vegetable principles analogous to cheese or
butter, and using the body of the animals as a
machine, might convert this food into SO much
cheese or butter at our pleasure. Such a con-
clusion was inconsistent with our knowledge of
Of the laws of animal nutrition not that it
could be doubted that the nature Of the food in
fuenced materially, and under like conditions
absolutely, the production of these animal pro-
ducts, but that We must admit 4 subordination
OF this supply to the functions Of the animal
the formation of certain animal principles pre-
supposing a supply Of similar principles in the
food, but a greater or less supply Of these prin-
ciples not being necessarily attended with a cor
responding increase of their representatives in
the product indeed, the balance of evidence
on the subject OF the production Of butter seem
ed to be in favor, for this purpose, of that class
of substances which contained the greatest pro-
portion of heterogeneous, or cheese-forming prin-
ciples. Something of the kind had certainly
heen found to be the case in the artificial feed
ing of plants, in which, greatly through Mr..
Lawes' experiments, we had found that the
wheat crop, by no means the most rich in nj
trogen, benefited more than most others by ma
nufes containing this element, and was no, SEN
sibly affected by phosphoric manures, although
eminently a phosphate-containing plant ; whilst
turnlps, on the other hand, not containing any
great quantity Of phosphaies, are successfully
cultivated by this artificial addition.
Mr.. Way remarked, that il The time At his
disposal, by ihe indulgence of the members
should allow of it, he would have a few remarks
10 make before he sat down on the subject of
the treatment in regard TO food, &C., of cows.
but that il seemed more conducive To the RIGHT
understanding Of the subject that he should first
draw their attention very shortly to the compos-
hion of milk, and the circumstances afectino
the successful extraction of the butter from il
The milk of an animal was intended TO form
the sole food of its young for a certain period
after birth. We should expect il therefore TO
contain all the principles necessary. not only
Tor the support Of life, but for the growth and
increase OF the animal frame. Milk should be.
aud indeed was, the type Of a perfect food
We found in il, therefore, a representative of
those substances fitted for the production of flesh
another OF those adapted to form fat. a third suit.
ed to support respiration (Which is the ptoxi.
mate cause of animal heat,) and lastly tho va.
rlous earthly and alkaline salts, which form the
bones and are necessary to The constitution of ,he
blooddna animal fluids generally, these substan-
ees being all mixed up into a Comparatively
homogeneous liquid by the presence Of alarge
quantity Of water.
Mr. Way now called attention to the differ
ent constituents Of milk, namely, curd-called
oy the chemists casein-huiter, sugar of mill
&c, Commencing with tho latter, he explain
cd now under the influence of fermen,s. il was
capable OF conversion into an acid substance
saiiea Tactic Tor milky acid. lie stated thai
0D''er contained two or three fatty substances,