The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1883-03-24
DuIcll Farms.

Not very far frsm the palace, we
were shown over what we particularly
wished to see, model Dutch farm
Anything 30 pretty and so exquisitely
neat we never saw; red and blue, here
and there white and yellow, were the
prevailing colors. On entering, we
were directly in the kitchen. One
large corner was raised and made a
platform. On this platform, the family
had their meals and spent their leisure
hours, which, judging from the ao-
tivity we saw, must be few and far
between; for it was a farm where all the
sons and daughters worked, and few
hired hands were employed. The
stove was a perfect picture, bright rs
steel; and the china plaques facing it
(blue and white) looked SO tempting
and pretty. All the pals, etc.. were
painted blue: and the iron hoops were
polished till they looked like silver,
The dairy was beautifully kept, but
totally different from our ideas Of q
dairy. The farm is famous for the
skim-milk cheeses, not those round,
the Gouda chesses, which are considered
III Holland MS inferior to others, but
large, rather fiat cheeses. The milk
pans are extremely deep and narrow at
the base, and the milk stands one day
and night. It is then SKINNED, the
cream makes butter, and the whole of
the milking of the day before makes
one cheese. They make about 25O
cheeses in the year, nil of which go
direct to England. The pans are all
set on the ground, which, like all the
rest of the building, is tiled and painted
red. The cow-byres were also all
painted red, walls and floors, except
the stone coping which divided the
managers from the COWS, and this was
painted in red, blue and white stripes.
There was no division between the
COWS, who are fastened by clumsy
looking but simple contrivance when
they inhabit this beautiful homo. Just
now they are out all day and night,
and are MIXED in the fields. One
thing all through Holland gives we'll
finished and pleasant look to all country
life, and was particularly noticeable in
the outbuildlng of this farm the wood
work, it is so beautifully finished. The
ratings Of the outdoor staircase to the
hay-loft might adorn many q gentle
mans house III England; the bars are
round and polished, the commonest
ladders are not rough, the gates are
ornamental and almost always painted,
and the palings are beautifully neat.
The good vreu,o was pleased by our
keen appreciation, and led the way to a
very small sitting-room (Which is never
used), to show us glass bookcase.
Each shelf was full of silver ornaments
which had been presented to her and
her husband the year before, on their
silver wedding day. All round the
place the greatest tidings prevailed.
The COWS are almost all black and
white, and you seldom see any other
color; when you do, it is generally dun
color. They are sometimes q great
size, but thea most prevailing kind are
not very large. Here the COWS we're
very fine. We counted twenty in one
field near the farm, and there may
have been more. wanted to know
how many they kept, and was told the
number varied. When they had good
COW they kept her; when they saw a
good COW they bought her; and when
they had bad COW they sold her.
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Tho Isufat cd CITY.