The National tribune., 1885-01-01
OUR RURAL TOPICS.
Some Practical Suggestions for Our
Agricultural Readers.
WASHING BUTTER.

| WASHING BUTTER.
The only time that all the buttermilk and
| what it contains can be separated from the
butter and removed without requiring to knead
or overwork the butter is while the butter is
yet in granulated form. If the churning be
| so far advanced that the butter will be gath
| cred in large lump it will have all through
the lump more or less buttermik, in which
buttermilk there will, of course, be membra-
nous or Gaseous or other solid matter. Not
only will the grain of the butter be injured
| by the kneading required to remove this but
termilk, but the kneading will remove little
else than the liquid of the buttermilk, leaving
much of its solid matter incorporated with the
butter. The kneading Of the butter tends only
to press and solidify all the solid matter of the
mass, squeezing out only liquid. Moreover,
when the buttermilk is gathered into lump
Of butter, any taint or impurity in the butter
milk, by closer, longer, even permanent con-
tact with the butter, materially Injuries the
| quality of the butter. If on the other hand,
the buttermiIk and all it contains be drawn
away before the butter has advanced beyond
the granulated form, moro perfect result is
secured. By washing the butter at a low tenn
perature with water and brine, the buttermilk
| and all it contains may be removed from 1T,
and before any taint or impurity has been
given to the butter, and the grain be saved
| from kneading that otherwise would be neces-
| sary. In this process, butter Will be taken out
comparatively little affected By defects or taint
in cream. Cream may be advanced more or
| less toward bitter taste or decay, and the
| butter, because being inclosed in and protected
| by its pellcle, not yet affected. 1t is because
of this protection that sweet butter may be
made from sour cream. Sourness is an advance
ment toward decay. 1t is equally true that
the cream may be more or less bitter and the
butter hidden away in it be yet sweet. When
| churned, the sourness or bitter is in the but
| termilk and the butter is yet pure. The but
termilk adds its sour or bitter taste to the but
ter according TO the quantity and time of its
presence with the butter The obvious remedy
| is the quickest and most complete preparation
| possible.-L0adon Pr0risioner.
"rATENT MANURE"
The New York Times, alluding to the frs-
quency with which farmers are victimized by
the patent manure man," says: THE fruit
tree peddler and the lightning-rod men may
| be received as friends with open hearts, but
| when the patent manure man comes around
as he does and will-he should be received with
suspicion and GOODNESS, if not warned Off per-
emptorily; ard this because he is most
| dangerous fraud His cheat is not discovered,
and its effects are always to be explained away.
4 common crab purchased for Baldwin or a
choice russet speaks for itself and bears its own
sins; but the patent manure formula for which
So has been paid is buried in the soil, and its
failure can never be idcntMed. 1t may be sus-
pected but can never be proved. But the ex-
| pertinent stations have taken hold of this ma
| nure fraud and have exposed the worthlessness
of his formulas, and farmers should have moth
| ing to do with him."
| CABBAGE FOR POULTRY.
Every one who keeps poultry should provide
green food for Winter feeding. There is moth
ing that l know OF that is as good as cabbage,
| and after the first snow falls no poultry house
should be without one hanging in easy reach of
the fowls. If you have never fed them, you
have no idea of the difference it makes.
| The fowls do so much better, are more free
from disease, and, if kept in warm quarters,
the extra amount of eggs will amply repay the
| trouble. AS q rule, cabbage costs so much that
one is tempted to let them go, especially as
they advance in price as the season advances
But if you will raise what you need, and put
them in the cellar, they will cost but little. If
you raise them one year for your poultry and
| feeding during the entire Winter, you will
never. think, let Winter find you unprovided
| with them. Do not cut the roots off when you
| gather them, as you can tie string to the
root and suspend the cabbage from hook or
nail, and the fowls will strip it. You are
aware of how much they love cabbage if you
have ever tried to raise them in your garden
| If they can get to them they will eat them en-
| tirely up
The first year T kept fowls my cabbage patch
| looked as though the grasshoppers had struck
| it, The fowls eat it completely up, and started
| for my neighbours. / was obliged to keep them
in the yards until the cabbage was out of the
4 I mo do mn mil hot
fowls should have them during the late Fall
and early Winter. They are to poultry what
| apples are to people relish, and your fowls
must have vegetables if you would keep them
| in perfect health. Since making green food
such a large part OF the regimen of my poultry,
| they have been very free from disease, and
| have repaid me amply by the extra amount Of
eggs produced, both Summer and Winter. 1t
viii pay you to give cabbage a tral.-Cbr
| Western Rural.
POTATOES IN THE CELLAR.
Potatoes will keep well in dry cellar If not
permitted to freeze; keep them in barrels
boxes, or dry bin, and see to it that they are
not too warm; about 30 degrees is good tenn
| perature or say about as cool as good spring or
| well water. Be careful not to let them touch
q warm, damp wall, or they will sprout badly
and part with their starch and be rendered un-
| fit for table use If you have them little too
warm they will sprout; they should then be
moved in the cellar or from one vessel or bin to
another, or thrown over the cellar floor for
| day or two, and then picked up or shoveled up
and put away again as before; this will stop
their sproutiug for time, then repeat. In
| putting in the cellar in bulk or large quanti-
tics, place boards between them and the outside
walls of your cellar.
N0TELETS.
The want Of pure and fresh water accounts
| in many instances for the lack of eggs during
| the Winter season. Fowls require constant
supply Of water, and without it will not lay.
- Lambs may be weaned when from four to
| five months old. They and their mothers
| should be separated and placed in lots out of
| sight of each other, and along with the young
things should be put three or four wethers or
dry ewes to keep them tame. They should
have good pasture and a little grain daily,
whereas the ewes should be temporarily stinted
for the purpose of drying up their milk
Sheep, to do well, must have dry floors and
runs and have plenty of pure air, and should
| be protected from the scare of dogs.
Cows when giving milk are more sensitive
to the cold than when they are dry, and ex-
posure to severe cold interferes with the secrs-
| ton Of milk.
| - A good garden is . sovereign remedy for
| dyspepsia and liver complaint, the friend of
| growing children, and peace maker in tho
| family, provided a man does the work.
= Attention to little things about the farm,
as in any other business, is what increases the
profits. Plenty of eggs, few chickens, few
calves, colt or so, help wonderfully.