Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1880-07-22
The farm aud fireside.
TO INCREASE THE VALUE OF A cow.

Everyone who owns cow can see at
glance that it would be profitable to increase
the value of her, but everyone cannot tell
how to do it. If cow is kept for butter, it
would certainly add to her value il the but
ter-making properties of her milk should be
improved. In summer or winter this can be
improved just as the yield of cultivated crop
can be improved by what is fed to each; and
it is simply question of will it pay in manur-
ing the one and feeding the other. Indian
corn will add to the quantity and quality OF
butter in sensible degree; and it is simply
a question OF solution by experiment whether
it will add to the profit of the butter-maker
to buy corn at one or two cents pound and
convert a portion of it into butter at twenty
five cents a pound, Or whatever the market
price of corn and butter may be, and another
portion of it into manure, for that is the natu-
ral result of the chemical change produced IN
the laboratory of the cows stomach. The
same result will follow any other kind OF feed
ing. Good pastures will produce an abundance
of milk, often as much as the COW can carry !;
but it does not follow that even then it will
not be profitable to feed her with some more
oleagenOus food to increase the quality OF the
butter, just as it sometimes proves prohCaDle
to feed bees to enable them to store more hon
ey It certainly does not appear to me that
the value of a cow, feeding upon ordinary
winter food, may be increased by giving her
food suitable for the purpose of increasing the
quality of milk, if that is the purpose tor
which the cow is kept. Farmers generally
understand that they can convert corn into
beef, pork and lard, and some of them know
exactly at what price per bushel it pays TO
convert it into these substances but does any
one know at what rate it will pay to convert
corn or any other grain into butter, or any
other kind of feed in the dairy products? Is
the whole business a haphazard one? Some
persons know that they can increase the sala-
BILE value of butter by adding the colorlng
matter of carrots to it. Does any person know
the value of bushel of carrots, fed to cow,
| to increase her value as a butter-producmg
laboratory Experimental proof upon this
point would be far more worthy OF agrl'
cultural prices than it is to see who can
show the largest spots; for by a few carefully
conducted experiments we should be able tC
| increase the value of a COW almost at pleasure.
| ECONOMY IN USING SUGAR.-Many house
keepers waste very large amount OF sugar
| by heating it with acid fruits and other soul
substances. 1t is no unusual thing for cook
| to place considerable sugar in sour fruits that
are being heated and to stir it into the mass
| from time to time as the cooking proceeds.
| On tasting some OF the substance Delng coon.
ed it seems sour, and more sugar is added. II
is often the case that three times the amount
of sugar is employed that is necessary to i'm
part the desired degree of sweetness. The
sweet cane sugar aen boiled with dilute
acid becomes diverted into grape sugar, which
is far less sweet. If sugar is added to acid
substances after they are completely cooked,
or what is better still, after they have become
cold, much smaller amount is required, and
the result is far more satisfactory. If applied
at that time it will remain cane sugar. A
smaller amount of sugar is required to prop
erly sweeten substances that are cold than
those that are hot. This may be noticed by
adding sugar to cream intended for freezing.
Nearly twice as much will be required to prop
erly sweeten cream that is hot than that which
has commenced to freeze. Coffee and tea are
sweetened to the best advantage by dissolving
the sugar used with the cream by stirring them
together with spoon before the hot drink is
poured into the cup.