Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1871-06-09
THE DATRYMEN'S TEN COM
MANDMENTS
Read Before the Central New yorh
Farmers Club.
BY T. d. CURTIS.

l have been repeatedly urged t.
draw up set of rules for the Oh
servancc Of the patrons of cheese
factories. | have preferred, Xix,
Moses, to give my inspiration il
the form of a decalogue without tn,
observance of which no patron nect
hope to make the land flow will
milk and money.
l. Thou shalt not abuse or wor
ry thy cow-thou, nor thy maid-ser
want, nor thy man-servant, nor thy
dog, nor the boy whose business i
is to "drive up" the COWS; and thol
shalt at all times treat thy COW gen
thy and kindly, securing her conf
dence and allowing no one to moles
her or make her afraid.
2. Thou shalt not starve or stint
thy COW for food, or give her poor
.innutritious or unwholesome food OF
any kind whatsoever, but an abund
ance of that which is palatable and
good for her system, that she may
keep in good flesh, have smooth
coat, and a clear eye; and thou Shalt
give her salt to lick whenever she
liketh.
8. Thou shalt in no way deprive
nor allow thy COW to be deprived OF
plenty of clean water to drink, nor
compel her to wallow in mud or to
go long distance to get water, nor
to drink out of mud holes, stagnant
ponds or pools, nor toTsip water
from holes made in the earth, made
by her own feet, or the feet of other
animals; but thou shalt give her an
abundance of spring, brook or we'll
water, kept clean enough for thine
own use.
4. Thou shalt give thy COW am
pie shade in summer, and a warm
shelter in winter; and the latter
shall be kept clean and sweet, and
be withal we'll ventilated; and thy
COW shall have room for freedom of
motion, clean bed to lie on, and
an opportunity for such outdoor eX-
ercise as she may desire, to the end
that her blood shall freely circulate,
that her muscles shall not deterio-
rate and become weak or stiffened,
and that her digestion and appetite
shall remain good.
5. Thou shall milk thy COW in a
cool place in summer, and when she
is not heated or tretted, but stand
eth quiet and chcweth her cud, and
in a clean place at all times; thou
shalt clean thy cows bag, milk her
gently, and avoid getting filth into
thy milk-paii; and thou shalt not
save for thine own or thy neighbours
use, nor carry to the factory, any
milk drawn from COW with a calf
less than four days old, nor milk
drawn from COW suffering from
horn and hoof disease, or horn dis
temper, or fever, or garget, or any
other disease, nor from any COW
which thou hast good reasons to
believe is suffering from ill-health
6. Thou shalt keep everything
about thy stable and dairy-house
scrupulously clean; thou shalt thor
Oughly cleanse and scald-not mere
ly rinse in hot waterfall the pals,
cans, strainers, pans and other utcn-
sils used in milking, carrying milk,
setting milk, or manufacturing it
into any of the products of the
dairy; and thou shalt carefully keep
thy milk from exposure to a foul,
tainted or diseased atmosphere; so
shalt thou prevent the oily particles
in thy milk from absorbing bad
odors, and fever malaria, and the
virus Of contagious diseases; and
thou shalt spare thyself the sin and
shame of delivering milk that "tast-
eth Of the barnyard," and of intro
ducing disease into the families of
those who eat Of the products OF thy
dairy.
Z. Thou shalt cool and air thy
milk as soon as drawn from the
COW, by using the best appliances
at thy commandment by putting
cold water or ice in it, for that
would be violation of both the law
and the commandments-but by
bringing thy milk in contact with a
cool surface above the freezing
point, and exposing thy milk in thin
sheets to clean atmosphere, that it
may be charged with oxygen, which
hath wonderful virtue to prevent
souring and tainting. 1t is shrewd-
ly suspected by some of the proph-
cts that airing milk is Of more value
than cooling it, and experience
showeth that stirring with dippcr
hath preservative effect that
should commend it to every patron
of a cheese-factory. Thou shalt
confine thy milk in covered can as
short a time as possible; and pro
tect it from the rays Of the sun and
the hot atmosphere. a wooden
blanket thrown over the can, and a
canvass stretched over the milk
wagon would be found quite. eflica
cious-the blanket not to be used
unless the milk is cooled. -.
s. Thou shalt not water thy milk
by mixing with it the contents Of
the spring, the well, the cistcrn, the
brook, the Watering trough or oil er
source Of water supply; nor by feed
ing thy COW yillainous slops, whey,
or extremely succulent food, where
by the contents Of thy milk-can shall
be increased in quantity at the cx-
pense Of quality with view Of
cheating thy neighbor; for thou
wilt thereby he cheating thine own
soul and stand in constant danger
of the penalty Of the law.
9. Thou shalt not skim thy milk
by taking off the cream that riseth
in the can over night, that thou
mayest have a little cream for
coffee; nor by setting it in pa S or
other utensils over night; nor bv
saving strippings, nor by any other
proccss-tor if thine own sense Of
honesty doth not restrain thee, thou
shouldst constantly have the fear Of
the law and the watchful eyes OF
thy neighbors before thee. It is
better to save out a small mess of
milk for thine own use.
10. Thou shalt rot commit o1uI-