Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1875-02-05
Dairy Discussion
AZ the Dairymen's Meeting ut Montpelier
l Thursdsy evening, Jan 9I.


The discussions having been conducted
thus far by gentlemen from the states Of
New York, Massachusetts aud Connecticut,
the President, in calling the meeting to or.
der this evening, suggested that the Associa-
tion would like to hear from our own Ver-
mont farmers, and he hoped that both mem.
bers of the association and others would IA
vor us with their experience on the various
subjects that had been discussed at this
meeting.
Mr.. A. j. HOLSTER Of NJ arsh6eld, wished
to ask what caused white specks in butter.
Mr.. Bailey, Of Emore, said he believed
they were caused by having the cream too
warm. He thought the specks were cream,
not fully churned.
Mr.. Eells, Of Cornwall, said there we're
two kinds of specks-one was formed by
cream and the other by milk
Mr.. Campbell, Of Richford, said he
thought, too, that there were two kinds of
specks in butter, and described them.
Mr.. Cheever, of Massachusetts,, said he
had seen two kinds of specks; one having
the appearance of curdlcd milk, which is
formed by heating, separating the wheyey
matter from the cheesey part Of the milk
another white appearance is due to improp-
erly sailing the butter another cause for
white specks is said to be dried cream, but
he had never seen any himself.
Mr.. Perkins, Of Elosburgh, wished to
know the advantage of putting up butter in
small packages, to which Mr.. Hawley said
it was undoubtedly for the purpose of sup
plying the demands Of the market.
Mr.. Stuart, of Buffalo, in response to An
inquiry, said he had given much attention to
feeding before "coming iu," and he found
that those cows that were the best fed before
thoy came in, were the best mixers, and
yielded the best returns. He said that four
weeks before the time Of coming 10, was the
best time for developing the milking qualities
of COW. He had always sought for COW
that would give milk for ten months aud
thought it not necessary that COW should
60 dry more than sixty or seventy days.
Mr.. Hawley said he had found rye meal
to be good substitute for oil meal, aud he
hsd used it.
Mr.. Stuart, being interrcgated as to white
specks. said he had heard it attributed to
windy weather, though he could say but
little from experience. He thought that
much of it might be attributed to feed.
Mr.. Arnold said he had no doubt that the
heating OF cream would cause the specks.
He said any cause that ripens the milk very
rapidly will produce coagulation, and dew
elop specks. Another cause is the drying
Of the cream by current Of air on the top,
and when churned white specks would be pro-
dsced. He said there is no butter in the
specks that are formed by the growth of the
germ in the other there is. The specks
will form in a damp room as soon as in dry
room. BY scalding the milk, the germs are
all killed, aLd no specks are produced.
Strong light was not recommended ; light
such as person would need to see to read in
a room after being there for some ten min
utes, would be sufficient. BY "scalding"
milk, he would not be understood as having
il heated above about 1902 Heating to
this degree would kill the germs that were
then in it but they are constantly falling
into it, and are growing, and the Developed
germ wonld bo killed at lower degree Of
heat than those but just fallen in, which are
dry.
Mr. Ellsworth, of Barre, Mass, said that
his practice was to feed his cows on non. milk
producing food before calving, and hence
he gave them but little grain And after
calving he gave them no grain, few roots,
and but little water until they had become
all right. lie said he fed the poorer quail
ties Of food for some weeks before they calv-
ed. lie had had more bad luck with cows
coming in on grass than at any other time.
There is more danger of garget at that time.
Mr.. Wakefield, of Munson, said he prefer
red cows that would give milk ten or eleven
months in the year; and his practice has
been to feed low before coming in, and not
to begin to stimulate until three or four days
after the dropping Of the calves.
Gov. Hyde, Of Connecticut, concurred in
the views expressed by Mr.. Ellsworth and
Mr. Wakefield. He had found more trouble
in his COWS from over-feediug before coming
iu, and he thought it bad practice.
Mr.. Stewart said there was really no an-
tagonism between him and the gentlemen
who had expressed views apparently differ
ent from his. He advocated judiciOuS feed.
ing, aud particularly tabooed corn meal as
being too heating. He agreed with the gen.
tlemen, that injudicious feeding might, and
probably would, prove destructive to the
COW. A COW that is inclined to be Heshy is
not generally good mixer, and hence she
would not bear so high feeding. Hethought
there was no danger of farmers proceeding
too far on the dangerous road of high feed
ing before coming in. He always omitted
the stimulating food for few days before
and after the time OF coming ia. Cows that
are large mixers should be fed less freely
than those of poorer milking qualities.
Mr.. ID. @. Brown, of MOntepelier, said he
had used bean meal to good advantage be-
fore calving.
Mr.. Ellsworth said the best time for hef-
ers to come in, according TO his experience,
was before going out to grass.
Mr.. Stewart said that he believed that
bean meal was we'll calculated to put the COW
10 good heart, and would be desirable at
the time just before calvng. In this vicinity
the beans cost too much to be pro6tably fed
to COWS.
Mr.. Paris, of Fairfax, said he had prac'
tced feeding two quarts per day of oatmeal
for some ten or fifteen days before the COWS
came in, and continued that feed for some
days after calviug he wanted to ask M Mr
Stuart il he thought there was any danger
of injury to his COWS from his practice
Mr.. Stuart replied that, in the homeopathic
quantities he had fed there could be no disas
trOus results, but on the other hand only ben
eficial to the COWS. II he had increased th(