Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1878-05-24

While butter forms four-fifths of the mar
ketable product of the dairy, it contains no
mineral matter. 1t is composed wholly of
carbon and water. and if pure is entirely COM
bustible, taking no valuable constituents from
the soil. All its elements may be derived
from the atmosphere. This kind of darying
then, does not impoverish but when the ref
use milk is fed to animals the mineral constit-
uents nearly all go back to the soil in a high
er state of organization, and may even in
crease its fertility. The effect of feeding ref
use milk TO pigs must be considered. The pig
has the least weight of bone in proportion to
weight of carcass. and it is therefore better
for the soil to feed the refuse milk to pigs for
then the least phosphate of lime is sold but
even when the skinned milk is only fed to
calves, only a small proportion of the con-
stituents of the milk is sold, yet it is not so
profitable TO feed calves Except such heifcr
calves as are necessary TO replenish the dairy
as to feed pigs for the same quantity of
SKINNED milk will make more pounds, live
weight, upon pigs than upon calves. and the
pigs are usually worth more per live weight
than calves Sixteen pounds of skinned
milk will make pound of dressed pork on
pigs from four to twenty-six weeks old: and
if worth eight cents per pound will pay one
half cent per pound for the refuse milk thus
yielding an increase of twenty dollars per COW
for the season. The manure made from pigs
fed upon milk is very rich, and when this is
properly deodOrized with muck, and reap
piled to the soil, there will be little loss of
fertility by darying. But if the milk is sold
all the mineral and heterogeneous constituents
of the milk are lost to the soil, except the in
digestible and unassimilated portions of the
cows food, together with the constant waste
of her system, and this return of food to the
soil does not exceed one-third of the food eat
en- by the vigorous and large yielding COW.
Hence, two-thirds of what the COW consumes
is carried off and lost If the steer lays on
three hundred pounds of live weight during
the pasturing season, twenty five per centum
of this is dry substance and seventy five per
centum water. The steer will thus store up
seyenty-fve pounds of dry substance. Two
pounds of milk contain as much dry substance
as one pound of live beef. If, then, n COW
yields four thousand pounds of milk during
the pasturng season, it would contain five
hundred pounds of dry substance and this is.
of course, obtained from the green grass she
eats. Hence the ultimate impoyerishment of
the soil must ensue. The relation of factory
cheese making to fertility should also be con
sidered The factOryman takes his milk to
the factory and brings back only the whey or
the milk sugar. Whey is simple carbon and
water, containing no mineral elements save
the small amount of casen and albumen that
may have hoated off in it, When the milk
contains albumen, this passes off in the whey,
and adds so much TO its value as a food and
AS fertilize Whey has very little mineral
value. Its only Office is to supply animal heat
and produce fat. The casein Of the curd con.
tains nearly all the mineral matter, and is
sold in the cheese-the soil gaining next to
nothing. Cheese dairying is practically the
same rs selling milk, so far as loss of the fer.
tiiZnp constituents of the soil il concerned
The sum of two dollars per COW, expended in
the purchase Of German potash salts and OF
fifty pounds of ground bone to the acre
would restore all the fertility lost by dairying
--Prctfssor Sterart, bctore AmafcaH Daily
mems AGsOciatiOH.