^iim: 'c»- ix" c CCC ' c CC c« r cfcc cccc c cc<,c= -r CC:^ C CCC - c C5 r C^C^ <7 CCC f^ C CC re cccc (TCC CC^ rc^ CCQC CC c c c c cccc c c^cc«:c cccc 'C^xycc^ C C^ Cidc^ CC QC ^ CC C C C C «L -^ cfc C€:e ^ J^^*^>cCcc£^^ ^ccccc <^«3^cSCC c C ICCC c ^rccc c 'CC_CC r -CC CC ^;' ICC ' -CCC^'_ ^. cCC C c ' ccvccc C 'C^ c :c^ c:cc^ C CC Cc cC^I C C CC cc^^ ■ - CCC ic^ccc c <: ( CC c "CCCflCC CC ^ C CC C .c? C^l CC«C CCCC C-cc c< ^^, V k c c^feccc CC_ C: c c^ CC CC CC c cc^ c c > ^ CC CcC c < c Cc < CC re c C<&^ (Cc < occ c:<^' ^cc <±c ^ ceo c> V^^jcc c^' -cec C:C-C^' c <- c oc^c « r c^ c V cc: cf_ etc CC cc^cr< S^c r«r-cc\crc jC cccc;cc c: c cc c cccc c^c ecc: c,"r g: -cc c^ c ,. Cc C CC c cccc« c «r ^'t cc CTG CCiCScc ^ ccc c ^ ccc c cmcxz f cc«. c c^ crcCC£:. ''CCC cc'-cccc c coerce ^ cS^^c c'^cc .c ct c" CCCLc C-CC CCecC ^'CQ^CC^CC" o C'C«f C .(CrCCc • CC'C CrcCc Circe CC ' ccc cc ■■ ccc^;r c C cicc: C.<5s^^ C ^ c c crc C:c_ S^^c^X'Cior cc <^s cc>: cc^ ccc CCOC" ccc 'CCC ccc«^ «^c — cc c c^f cic «:c -ccc CCCC CC( '(CcC CcQC c XCC CCCCC X CC caxc c<:;i CCCC c "b c.^'^; ^ l^OTIOE. This reprint of a paper originally published, in part, in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England for 1870, and since revised and enlarged for the Transactions of the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society, has been found of such practical value as to warrant its immediate re-issue in its present more convenient and available form. The specialty to which it is devoted is one of large and growing importance, and the treatise itself is believed to be the most valuable con- tribution thereon hitherto published. The distinguished author has been so long before the pub- lic, both American and European, as a leading authority in all matters connected with the dairy, that he needs neither intro- duction nor endorsement from any quarter to insure the care- ful reading of whatever he may write on this subject. We are glad to know that this is but the precursor of a most complete and comprehensive work, covering the whole ground of the dairy interest, soon to be issued from the printing house of that able and popular agricultural journal, Moore's Rural New Yorker. J. W. HOYT. State Agricultural Rooms, Madison, Wis., 1871. AMERICAN BUTTER FACTORIES BUTTEE MANUFAOTTJEE. BY X. A. WILLAED, A. M., OF LITTLE FALLS, N. Y. Lecturer at the Maine State Agricultural College and Cornell University, 1/. F., etc. INTRODUCTIOK The American system of associated dairies was inaugurated during the eariy part of 1851. Though twenty years have elapsed since the plan was conceived, the leading features of the system remain unchanged. Great improvements, it is true, have been made in buildings and dairy apparatus and in the methods of manipulating milk for cheese and butter man- ufacture ; still, in organizing factories, in the manner of deliv- ering milk, in the relation between manufacturer and patron, in the care and disposal of the product, — indeed, in all the general outlines of the system,— it is the same to-day as wben Jesse Williams in 1850, mapped it out for the first cheese-fac- tory which he erected early the following year. After nineteen years' experience in associated-dairying, during which time the system has been put to the severest tests, the American dairyman finds it more economical as re- gards labor, buildings, dairy machinery, and appliances; while the factory product on an average will sell for enough more than that made in the individual farm-dairy to pay the entire cost of making. Another important result of the system has been a constant improvement in dairy management, and the better knowledge of all that pertains to milk and its products, than would nat- urally obtain under the old system. It has established a special profession or calling, upon which men enter with a view of making it a sole business. They, therefore, seek to perfect themselves in it, and as skill and success are sure to be properly rewarded in this department of labor, great emulation exists among manufacturers to excel in their art. During the first ten years of the factory system it received much opposition, especially from those who had only a super- ficial knowledge of its operations. So strong was this opposi- tion among the old dairymen, that it was pretty generally be- lieved that the system could not long endure, and it was confi- dently predicted that the factories would be abandoned, and those engaged in them would return to the old plan of indi- vidual or farm-dairying. But the factories, meanwhile, were steadily gaining ground ; and dairymen entering upon the new system found in it so much relief, as well as profit, that they could not be induced to abandon it ; and so to-day associated-dairying in America has come to be regarded as a fixed institution. In the original plan of Mr. Williams it was not contempla- ted to apply the system to butter manufacture. But the suc- cess of the cheese- factories suggested to the butter dairymen of Orange county. New York, such a modification of the system as would adapt it to their branch of business. Orange county lies about fifty miles north of New York city, and has long bejn devoted to producing milk for city consumption. It is a rolling mountainous region, abounding in sweet and nutritious pasturage, with never-failing springs and streams of pure water. The whole farming population of this county has for eighty years, or more, devoted its chief at- tention to butter-making and the production of fresh milk for the New York market. From so long attention to a specialty, the butter of Orange county, as was to be expected, was of fine quality, acquired a high reputation, and commanded better prices than any other brand made in the State. By adopting, however, the associated system, together with a new plan for setting the milk and obtaining the cream, the product has risen to the highest point of excellence, and in consequence extraordinary prices are paid for it. But the farmers under this system have not only reaped better prices for their butter, they have also obtained an addi- tional gain from the skimmed milk, which, under the old sys- tem, was fed to swine, but which now is turned into a palata- ble cheese. This cheese goes into the southern states ; it is shipped to China and the East Indies, and not un frequently commands a price but little below that made from whole milk. As the manuflicture of skimmed cheese is a part ot the but- ter factory system, we shall speak of it more fully under its appropriate head. THE GRASSES. Before entering upon the question of butter manufacture and factory management, it will be proper to say a word concern- ing the food of stock. The excellence of " fancy butter " does not depend altogether upon its manufacture, for, in the first place, good milk must be secured. "Fancy butter," tint will sell for a dollar per pound, cannot be made from bad material, from milk produced on weedy pas- tures, or upon the rank sour herbage of swamps, or upon land newly seeded with red clover. The experienced butter dairy- men, therefore, pay much attention to the feed of their cows and prefer old pastures. On the old pastures of the butter district there are several varieties of grasses that spring up spontaneously, and are much esteemed as affording sweet and nutritious feed, from which the best qualities of milk and butter are produced. These grasses form a dense solid turf, leaving no intervening spaces. They embrace the June, or blue grass {poa pratensis), the fowl mead- ow-grass {poa serotina), meadow fescue {festuca pratensis), red top {agrostis vulgaris)^ the wire grass {poa compressa), the sweet scented vernal and vanilla grass, together with timothy {phleum pratense), orchard grass (dactylis glomerata), clover and other forage plants. The June grass {poa p>rat€nsis) is regarded as very valuable: it throws out a dense mass of leaves, is highly relished by cat- tle, and produces milk from which a superior quality of butter is made. It is found growing throughout the butter districts of the country. The wire-grass {poa compressa) is deemed one of the most nutritive of the grasses, is very hardy, eagerly sought after by cattle, and is one of the best grasses for fatten- ing. Cows feeding upon it yield milk of the richest quality, from which the nicest butter is made. It flourishes well upon gravelly knolls and in shady places, and its stem is green after the seed has ripened. It is found growing in all parts of the country. The meadow fescue is common in old grass lands where the sod is thick, and grasses of different varieties are mingled to- gether. It starts up early in the spring, is relished by stock, and furnishes good early feed. The milk farmers hold it in high estimation as a reliable grass, tenacious of life, and not running out like timothy {phleum prateiise) or clover. The white clover {Trifolium^ repens) springs up spontaneously in the old pastures, and is highly esteemed as giving flavor and quali- ty to butter. The sweet scented vernal grass grows best upon the moist soil of the old meadows. It starts very early and gives off a very agreeable odor. We have been particular in naming the grasses which are "most esteemed for producing a high priced butter, because a record of long and well conducted experiments has proved their utility. It is possible that climate and soil might so modi- fy the character of these grasses, as to render them less worthy of esteem in other countries than among the butter dairymen of New York. Still, as the expericiice of farmers noted for their success in a particular direction, is more or less sug- gestive and valuable, we give the record as it is. THE STOCK. It is claimed by some that the flavor and texture of butter are influenced by the breed of cows. Butter from the milk of Breton and Jersey cows is said to be not only more solid and waxy in texture, but to have a finer aroma than that produced from other breeds. The milk of the Jersey or Alderney cow is exceedingly rich in cream, and has a deep yellow color, as is well known. But this question need not be discussed here. It will suffice to state that amcmg the butter dairymen of New York but lit- tle attention is paid to breeding, and no prominence is given to any particular breed. The herds are usually made up of " the common cow of the country and grade cattle." There is a sprink- ling of grade Short-horns, Ayrshires, Devons, and Alderneys, and occasionally a dash of Holstein blood, obtained by cross- ing thoroughbreds upon the mongrel or common cows of the country. But, as wc have remarked, reliance for the.mostpaft is had upon the so-called native or common cow of the coun- try for making up the herds. It is proper that these facts in regard to pastures and stock should be stated, in order that correct conclusions may be drawn, in making up an opinion of what we shall have to say about butter factories, and the character of product they are able to make. As to the size of herds kept on the farms, they are usually smaller than those in the cheese dairying districts. The herds on an average, we should say, will number about twenty-five cows to the farm. Some farms, it is true, carry from forty to sixty cows, but in the majority of cases the herds are small, ranging from fifteen to thirty cqws. THE SYSTEM OF ORGANIZING FACTORIES. The plan of organizing factories is somewhat similar to that employed in the cheese districts. The first effort of organiza- tion in a neighborhood, generally falls upon one or two persons, 6 who may be desirous of having a factory ^\hcre they can de- liver the milk from their cows, and have it manufactured. They, perhaps, have examined the workings of some factory, and have become convinced that greater profits are to be re- alized from the factory system than from the farm dai:y, be- sides relieving the wife and daughter from the drudgery at- tendant upon butter-mid^ing at home. They therefore endeav- or to bring their neighbors to the same opinion, and to in- duce them to join in erecting the proper building, &;c. They go and talk with their neighbors, and finally call a meeting at some central point in the neighborhood, when all are invited to come and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the system. The cost of erecting a good factory, and supplying it with machinery and dairy appliances, is not far from four thousand . dollars, and the farmers of the neighborhood are expected to join together, and pay for the erection of the buildings, in pro- portion to the size of their farms, or number of cows from which milk is to be delivered. The shares are put at from ten dollars to fifty dollars each, so as to be within the reach of far- mers who have but few cows. As a preliminar3^, a simple agreement, something like the following is drawn up and circu- lated for signature : " We, the undersigned, residents of the town of and county of , and state of New York, hereby agree to enter into association, for the pur- pose of erecting and working a butter factory in the said town. And we sev- erally and individually bind ourselves by these presents, on or before the 1st day of , 18-, to pay to oiu- regularly appointed building committee the sev- eral sums set opposite to our names, for the purpose of building and furnish- ing the said factory. And it is understood and agreed that when the said fac- tory shall have been completed and opened for work, each member of the association is to patronize it by delivering milk for one year, in proportion to the number of cows set opposite his name. The manufactured product of the said milk shall be sold by the regularly appointed agent of the asso- ciation, and each member shall receive his shai-e of the sales in proportion to the quantity of milk delivered, less the cost of manufacturing, &c. This agreement shall not be binding unless the sum of four thousand dollai's and the milk of 400 cows are subscribed. Name. | Amount. | No. of Cows. This is intended to be only a preliminary agreement. Af- ter the stock shall have been sabscribed, a meeting is called, officers are chosen, and powers are delegated for the erection of the building, and for putting it in operation. The structure being completed and furnished, a superinten- dent is chosen, and help hired for running the factory ; and the expenses are shared by the stockholders in proportion to the amount of milk delivered. The cost of repairs, additions, &c., from year to year, is added to the expense account. At some of the factories having the milk of 400 cows, the ex- pense account for labor has amounted only to a fraction above two mills per quart of the milk delivered, and the gross proceeds from sales gave to farmers about 5 1-2 cents per quart wine measure. THE MILK BUSINESS. Since the construction of the New York and Brie Kailway, which with its branches, traverses the southern tier of counties, large quantities of milk have been dailj'sent to New York City by regular milk trains, which gather up the milk at the various depots. The milk trains start late in the afternoon, and milk is forwarded but once a day. A portion of the milk is 36 hours old when it arrives in the city. To carry milk sweet in our hot weather for that length of time requires some art in handling, and is effected in the following manner : The milk, as soon as it comes from the cow, is strained and put in long tin pails which are set in cold spring water, care being taken that no portion of the milk in the pails be higher than the flowing water that surrounds it. These pails are 8 in- ches in diameter, and from 17 to 20 inches long. The milk is stirred occasionally to prevent the cream from rising. It is important that the animal heat should be remov- ed from the milk os soon as possible, at least in an hour's time after it is drawn from the cow. The old method was to cool iho milk in the large carrying cans, but it has been found that it keeps sweet longer by divid- ing it into small quantities, and cooling it in paiU as above de- scribed. The milk stands in pails surrounded by fresb spring water until ready to be carted to the trains. It is then put in- to carrying cans holding from 40 to 50 gallons. The cans are completely filled, and the covers, which fit closely, are adjust- ed so that there shall be no space intervening between them and the milk. In filling the cans, if there is not quite enough milk for the last can, either a little water is added to make it as full as the others, or the milk is kept back and used for other purposes. These establishments are conducted on the principle of asso- ciation, and are called creameries — taking that name on ac- count of famishing the New York market daily with a certain amount of cream. These creameries, managed on the associ- ated system, return to the farmer a much larger profit than he is able to obtain individually. The manager of the creamery not only takes charge of the milk, &c., as it comes in, but sales are effected by him of all milk delivered. Members of the association deliver milk night and mornins:, when it is measured and properly credited to them, and no further trouble is had with it on their part. Usually the city milk-dealers make contracts with the creameries for a certain quantity of milk and cream during the season, or for such time as may be agreed upon. Payment is made weekly, or monthly, at so much per quart, at the creamery, or at the nearest railway station. A part of the milk is skimmed and the cream put up in cans, which, when ready for shipment, are placed in wooden tubs made tapering towards the bottom. The space between the cans and tubs is then packed with ice, the covers fastened down, and in this way the cream goes to market, where it ar- rives in perfect condition. As fast as payment is made for milk-sales the money is divided among the patrons in proportion to the quantity of milk delivered. All the transactions are kept, of course, in the manager's books, which are at all times open for inspec- tion and investigation. 9 BUTTER FACTORIES. The creamery was the first trial of the associated system by the milk dairymen, and out of it grew the butter factories. The country milk-sales, being under the control of the city operators, it was found necessary to devise means to become in- depend'^nt of combinations that were being made from time to time to reduce the prices of milk and cream. Hence the idea of manufacturing the milk into butter and cheese when fair terms could not be made with the milk dealers. The plan proved at once a success, as it regulated the price of milk in accordance with the value of other products of the dairy, and avoided losses that previously occurred on account of surplus milk, which, under the old system, often had to be retained at the creamery. The Original Factory. — The first American butter factory was erected by Mr. Alanson Slaughter, of Orange county. New York. The main building is a cheap two-storied structure, arranged on a plan similar to that of the cheese factories. On the ground floor are the miik vats, presses, and other appli- ances for making cheese, while the second floor is entirely de- voted to the dry-room, or department for storing the cheese during the process of curing, &c. The spring-house is built out upon the end of this structure, forming a wing, and is one story high. It is divided into two rooms, one 12 feet by 16 feet, and the other 14 feet by 24 feet. The packing and churning room is in a separate building, 12 feet by 24 feet, and stands opposite the spring-room, with a narrow alley between. This alley is used for a horse-walk where the teams deliver milk and cart away the products of the dairy. Connected with the packing and churning depart- ment there is a horse-gear for churning, and an ice-house and store-room. THE SPRINGS, AND THE MANNER OF TREATING MILK. Among the first factories erected, the springs are situated within the enclosure of the spring-house, and vats or tanks 10 are constructed about the springs for holding the water. These pools are each twelve i'eet long and six feet wide. The earth is excavated, and the sides of the pool are laid up in solid ma- sonry, or with stout oak plank, so that the water in the pools shall rise no higher than the level of the floor of the spring Fig. 1— Butter and Cheese Factory. Awarded the Prize by the Northwestern Dairjanan's Association. house. Near the bottom of the pools racks are aiTanged for holding the cans or pails of milk ; the water flows up through these racks and above them to the height of seventeen inches. When a spring cannot be had in the spring-house, the pools are sunk below the level of the floor and arranged in the same way as above described, except that the bottoms are cemented 11 tight, covered with flagging or oak-plank, and the water con- ducted from the spring through pipes. The pails for holding tlie milk are of tin, from twenty to twenty-two inches in length and eight inches in diameter. In furnishing a factory, two pails are required for each cow's milk delivered. ]^ig_ 2.— Ground Plan of Thompson's Butter and Cheese Factory. oooooooooooo As fast as the milk is received the pails are filled within four or five inches of the top, and immediately placed in the water. Care is taken that the surface of the milk in the pails is not above that of the water in the pools. The pails are set close together, and each pool has capacity for holding 2040 quarts of milk. There should be a constant flow of water in 12 and out of the pools, and the flow should be sufficient to divest the milk of its animal heat in less than an hour. Some experiments have been made with a view of deter- mining at what temperature the water in the pools enables op- erations to be conducted with the most success ; and the best results in cream (quantity and quality considered) are obtained when the natural temperature of the water flowing into the pools is about 5H deg. Fahr. The pools should not be kept at so low a temperature as 4S deg., nor much, if any, above 57 deg. The range of temperature desired by some is from 56 deg. to 60 deg. It is claimed that more cream, and that of belter quality for butter-making, may be obtained by setting the milk on the above plan, than it will yield when set shallower in pans, or when exposed to uneven temperatures. One feature in the process, deemed of great importance, is to expose as little of the surface of the milk to the air as possi- ble, in order that the top of the cream may not get dry, as this has a tendency to fleck the butter and injure the flavor. The milk of one day is left in the pools until next morning, which gives twenty-four hours for the morning's mess and twelve hours for the evening's mess to cream. The pails are then taken out of the pools and the cream dipped off. In remov- ing the cream a little tunnel-shaped cup, with a long upright handle is used, and the thin cream is dipped off down to the milk-line, which is readily recognized by the blue appearance of the milk. In the fall and spring of the year the cream, as it is dipped, goes immediately to the churns, and is churned sweet. In summer the cream is dipped into the pails and returned to the pool, and kept there till it acquires a slightly acid taste, when it is ready for the churns. The cream having been removed, the skimmed milk in the pails is now turned into the cheese-vat to be made into "skim- cheese." The pails then go to the wash-room where they are thoroughly cleansed with soap and water, and set upon a rack exposed to the sun and air. At some factories, the pails, after 13 being cleansed with soap and water, are placed over a jet of steam and thoroughly scalded. They then receive a jet of cold water and go upon the rack to sun and dry. This ar- rangement is a very great improvement in cleansing dairy utensils, doing the work thoroughly and expeditiously. The factories do not all operate alike in regard to the time of setting the milk. Where an extra fancy product of butter and skimmed cheese is desired, none of the milk is set longer than twenty-four hours, and at these factories it is not desired to take all the cream from the milk, but only the best part ; and the balance is employed to give quality to the " skim- cheese." At some establishments the cream is allowed to turn slightly sour before churning; but when it is churned sweet the buttermilk goes into the vats with the skimmed milk and is made into cheese. Some factories adopt the plan of holding the morning's milk in the pools for thirty-six hours and the night's milk for twenty-four hours ; but as the skimmed cheese by this management is less meaty than by the other method, it is a question whether any more profit is realized from it. THE CHURNS AND CHURNING. The churning at the large establishments is done by horse- power. There are a variety of powers, but that most commonly used is simply a large circular platform or wooden wheel, built about an upright shaft, the lower end of which turns in a socket. The wheel sets upon an incline, so that the horse, by walking constantly on one side, keeps it in motion. At the upper end of the shaft, gearing is arranged so as to give motion to the churns. Quite recently a small engine in con- nection with the heating arrangement for the cheese depart- ment has been used to supply power for driving the churns. The latest invention for supplying power for churning con- sists in a system of gearing, driven by a heavy weight attached to a stout rope which is wound about the cylinder of the ma- chine. Sixteen feet of rope will run the power half an hour, carrying the churn-dashers at the rate of fifty strokes to the minute, which is the rate of stroke best adapted for producing 14 good butter in the dash-churn. It is adapted to any size of churn, and has a regulator to vary the dash without changing the weight. The "Scientific American,'' in s})eaking of the merits and advantages of this machine, says: — "Mechanical powers of this character have not heretofore been very acceptable for domes- tic purposes, some requiring too heavy weights, and thus using too much rope. The inventor of this movement has produced a churn-power that seems very free i'rom the objections named. It is very compact, occupying a space only of eighteen by twenty inches, applicable for pumping water and many other kinds of light work." There have been many kinds of churns used in the butter districts, but the factories universally prefer the old-fashioned barrel dash-churn. They use the barrel and a half size with Fig. 3. — The Blanchard Churn. dasher. Recently a churn has been invented with re- volving arms, arranged so that the floats open and close at each revolution, and it does good work. By an opposite revolution to that used in churning, the floats will work the butter, thus combining a churn and butter- worker in one machine. We give its general appearance in Fig. 3. Usually, four (of the dash-churns) churns are placed side by side,_ so as to be all worked by the power at the same time. From sixty to seventy quarts of cream are put into each churn, and each mess of cream then receives from twelve to sixteen quarts of water, for the purpose of diluting it and bringing it to a temperature of about 60 deg. In warm weather cold spring water is used, and in cold weather warm water. 15 ■ Some prefer diluting the cream with watsr and passing it through a pieve before putting it in the churns, in order that the particles of cream may all be of uniform size ; since if the butter does not come evenly, but is mixed with small particles of cream, it will soon deteriorate, and will not make a prime or fancy article. This point is considered of great importance by the best butter makers, and it is claimed that the method of setting the milk in deep pails, by which a thin cream is ob- tained, rather than the thick leathery masses skimmed from milk set in pans, renders it more evenly churned, and thus se- cures a better product. It is partly on this account also that it is preferred to have the churning occupy from half to three- quarters of an hour, since it has been found that when the butter comes too quickly it is more or less injured. In warm weather ice is sometimes broken up and put in the churn to reduce the temperature of the cream ; but it is deemed better to churn without ice, if the cream does not rise above 64 deg. F. in the process of churning, as butter made with ice is more sensitive to heat. It is, however, a less evil to use ice than to have the butter come from the churn white and soft. In churning, the dashes are so arranged as to go downwards within a quarter of an inch of the bottom of the churn, and to rise above the cream in their upward stroke. The temperature of the cream, while being churned, should be kept below 65 deg. ; for if at the close of the churning the butter-milk should be at that temperature or above it, the flavor and color of the butter will be injured. In cold weather, the temperature of the cream, when ready for churn- ing, is a little higher than in v\arm weather, about 62 deg. being considered the right point. Factorymen prefer that the churn- ing shoidd occupy on an average about forty -five minutes : a half-hour being the shortest space of time, and an hour the longest, that should be employed in this operation. When the butter begins to come, the churn is rinsed down with cold spring water. The butter should come of a firm or solid con- sistency and of a rich yellow color. 16 WORKING AND SALTING. The butter is now removed from the churns, and care is taken never to touch it more than is necessary with the hands. It is lifted with the ladle into elliptical wooden trays, and the buttermilk is rinsed out with cold spring water. In the pro- cess the ladle is used lightly, while the water being turned over the butter is allowed to pass off at one end of the tray. This process is repeated two or three times, when nearly all the buttermilk will have been rinsed away. Salt is now added, and worked through the butter with the butter-worker, at the rate of 18 ounces for 22 lbs. of butter. Great care is taken that the salt be pure, and of those brands that are known to be free from the chloride of calcium, as a trace of this impurity gives a bitter taste to the butter. For butter that is designed to be kept over for the winter markets, a little more salt is sometimes used, often as high as an ounce of salt to the pound of butter. Not unfrequently a teaspoon- ful of pulverized saltpetre and a tablespoonful of white sugar are added, at the last working, for 22 lbs. of butter. In the matter of salt, however, the factories adapt the quan- tity to suit the taste of their customers, or for different markets. Of late years, light-salted butter sells best, and the rate of salt- ing varies from one-half to three-fourths of an ounce of salt to the pound of butter. The butter, after having been salted and worked, is allowed to stand until evening, and is then worked a second time and packed. In hot weather, as soon as the but- ter is salted and worked over, it is taken to the pools and im- mersed in water, where it remains until evening, when it is taken out, worked over, and packed. For this purpose a sep- arate pool is provided, which is used only for butter ; it is called the "butter pool," and fresh spring water constantly flows in and out of it, as in the pools for setting the milk. W^ORKING THE BUTTER. In working the butter, considerable skill and experience are required that the grain of the butter shall not be injured. The butter must have a peculiar firmness and fineness of texture, 17 and a wax-like appearance when fractured, which an improp m* handhng, in expelling the buttermilk and working, will de stroy. Care is taken, therefore, not to overwork it, nor sub ject it to a grinding manipulation like tempering mortar, as this spoils the grain and renders the butter of a greasy or salve like texture. The butter is worked with butter-workers. The one in most common use consists of an inclined slab standing upon legs, and with bevelled sides about three inches high. The slab is four feet long by two feet wide at the upper end, and tapering down four inches at the lower end, where there is a cross- piece, with a slot for the reception of the end of the lever. There is also an opening at this end for the escape of the but- termilk into a pail below. The lever is made either with four or eight sides, and the end fits loosely in the slot, so as to be worked in any direction. It is quite simple, but does good execution and is much liked at the butter factories. There are other butter-workers in use, and one of the more recent inventions is represented by the subjoined cuts (Figs. 4, 5,6.) Fig. 4. Fig. 5. Fig. 6. This is a very convenient and efficient machine, the inven- tion of J. P. Corbin, of Whitney's Point, K Y. The illustra- tions above give a good representation of it. A common butter-bowl is placed and held securely on a- light, small stool, firmly against a solid rest that protects it from breaking or springing. It may be revolved either way, at will, also easily tipped by a lever to drain off the fluids, and as readily removed from the stool r.s from a table, and bowls ot different sizes may be used on the same stool. B 18 The ladle is attached to a pendant lever that enables a per- son to press directly through hard butter m all parts of the bowl without drawing or sliding it; also to cut, turn and work it in every manner desired. It is light, strong and simple, everything about it is practical, with nothing to get out of place or order, and it is as handily moved, washed and dried as any butter-bowl and ladle. The lever is fastened to the slot while the butter is being worked, and is raised up to discharge the buttermilk from the bowl as occasion requires. There is a circular iron fastened to the bottom of the bowl, which slides in an iron groove attached to the lever, and which allows the bowl to be moved round, and, when desired, to be removed entirely from the other parts of the worker. After the butter has been washed in the trays, a batch weigh- ing 22 lbs. is laid upon the inclined slab, or butter-worker, first described, and then spread out with the ladle. Pure Ash- ton or Onondaga salt, made fine by rolling, is now sprinkled over the mass and the lever applied, first beginning at one side until the whole is gone over. Only a few manipulations of this kind are required to work in the salt and complete this part of the process. As it is in.portant that the buttermilk should be completely removed, this is facilitated during the working process by ap- plying a slightly dampened napkin to the surface, or by the use of a damp sponge covered with a napkin for the purpose. PACKING, The butter is packed in firkins, in half firkins, and in Orange county pails. The pails are " return pails," that is, they are not sold with the butter, but are to be returned to the factory after the purchaser has taken out the butter. They hold about 60 lbs. of butter, are of white oak, nicely made, and strongly hooped with heavy band-iron. They have movable covers that fit closely, and are fastened with wooden bolts or metallic clasps. The firkins are also made of white oak, heavily hooped, and the sides neatly turned. 19 Fig.l — The WescottRetui-n Butter Pail. The oreatest attention is paid to have the pack- ages perfectly tight, so as not to permit the least leakage. White oak is regarded as the best ma- terial for packages, and the batter fiictories use no other. The firkins hold Lboat 100 lbs. each. The half-firkin is simply the firkin sawed in two, and provided with an oak head, which is nailed on the top of the package after it is filled. These pails are made of white oak, and are hooped with iron bands. They are manufactured at Belmont, N. Y The firkin is prepared for use by soaking in cold water, after that in scalding water, and then again in cold water. It is then either filled with brine and soaked twent}- four hours, or the inside is thoroughly rubbed with dry salt, and left to stand for a short time, when it is considered ready for use. In packing the butter it is pressed together as solidly as may be, and when the firkin iy filled it is immediately headed up, and a strong brine poured through a hole in the top head, to fill all the intervening spaces. The orifice is then closed, and the firkin is set in a cool cellar until it is ready to be sent to market. When the half-firkin is filled, a dry cloth, cut so as to entirely cover the butter, is spread over it, and covered with a thin layer of salt. The cover is then fastened on, and the package is set away in a dry cool place until it is taken to market. MARKETING. The butter factories usually have orders for butter as fast as it is made, so that the consignments are from week to week. In Orange county the manner of marketing butter differs from that practised in other localities. Consignments are not gener- ally made direct to the city dealers, but they are intrusted to " captains," as they are called, or persons who make it a busi- 20 ness to collect freights of this kind, and take tbem in charge to New York, making the sales and returning the proceeds to the manufiacturer. The " captains" go with their freight twice a week, are men of standing and responsibility, who are well acquainted with the trade, and know how and when to ob- tain the best prices. They receive a commission for their labors, and f5nd it to their interest to make good sales, otherwise they lose the confi- dence of those entrusting freight to their charge, and are liable therefore, to be displaced. The captains often receive propo- sals for large lots of butter, which proposals are submitted to the factories, when they are accepted or rejected as seems best to the parties interested. They supply private families and hotels, and by having a line of customers who are willing to pay a high price for an extreme fancy article, very large returns are not unfrequently made to the factories. By this system, the producer being brought near to the con- sumer, he must realise full prices for his goods, instead of feed- ing a class of middle men, each one of whom will take his profit out of the product. With factories quite remote from the city, the product is either consigned to the wholesale dealer, to be sold on com- mission, or the brand, having a reputation, is sold directly to city dealers, on contracts for weekly or semi-monthly deliveries. ADVANTAGES OF BUTTER FACTORIES. The advantages of butter making on the associated dairy system over that in private families are very great. In the first place, by the association system a uniform product of su- perior character is secured. Every appliance that science or skill, or close attention is able to obtain, is brought to bear upon the manufacture, and prime quality necessarily follows as a result. If you could assume that in a neighborhood of ICO families each family had the skill and convenience of the factory, and that each would give the subject the same close attention, then, doubtless, there would be no difference as to the quality of product ; but such a state of things rarely exists. 21 Again, the factories are able to obtain a larger price, because it costs the dealer no more to purchase the one hundred dairies combined than it would to purchase an individual dairy, and the uniformity and reliability of the product does not entail the losses that are constantly occurring in different small lots by reason of inferior quality. The factories, too, as we have previously remarked, relieve the farmer and his family from a great deal of drudgery, and unless the work can be done by members of the family, who cannot be employed profitably at other labors, it is a matter of economy to have the butter and cheese made at the factory, since what would take one hundred hands scattered over the country to do, is performed in the same time by three or four, when the milk is worked up to- gether in one place. The only serious complaint against the factory-system is in ihauling the milk. This has been obviated in many instances, by establishing a route of milk-teams, where milk is delivered for the season by the payment of a small sum. THE SKIM CHEESE. We have referred to the manufacture of " skim cheese" as a part of the butter-factory system. We have said that the cream is dipped from the milk while it is sweet, and that the latter then goes into the milk-vats for making "skim cheese." It should be remarked that at the butter factories the quan- tity of milk to be manipulated is usually much smaller than at the cheese factories. In making a fancy product it is found advisable that the delivery of milk be kept withhi moderate •bourids, say from three hundred to four hundred cows. The factory milk-vats are all essentially alike in form and size. They hold from five hundred to six hundred gallons. There is a great variety of heating apparatus, boilers, steam- ers, tanks for hot water, and what is termed "self-heaters," that is with fiire-box attached to, and immediately below, the milk- vat. This kind of heater is very popular at the butter factories, as it consumes but little fuel, is easily managed, and docs as good work as the best. 22 The ordinary heater is conptructed separately from the vat, and consists of wrought-iron pipes, screwed together in such a manner as to form a fire-chamber, and present a large amount of heated surface. Fuj. 8. — YieiB of 3IiUar's Healer, idth Frmit and Side of Biickwork removed. When a boiler and engine are used, power is afforded for diiving the churns, and in this respect this system must prove most convenient. Still as the expense is considerably more than for the self-heater, both in the first cost and for fuel, many prefer the latter. We give figures of two kinds of heaters that are very largely in use. 23" Fig. Q.— Millar's Circulating Coil-Heater for Fat- "^^^ factory vat (Fig. tory Milk-mt, {consisting of coil of gas-pipe en- 10) is constructed on closed in bride , • • ^ ^„ the same prmciple as that for larm dairies. The fire-box under- neath runs from end to end. It i? sim- ply a copper cylinder with a jacket two in- ches or more from cylinder on lower side, so that water surrounds the cylind- er or fire-box. This vat requires but I very little fuel. I have one of the farm vats upon my farm, and my farm- er, in summer has . done all the work in making cheese from my dairy of 30 cows, using only a " pan of chips," say 10 to 12 quarts. The pipe hanging over the vat is a movable syphon for drawing off whey. It is represented with one end inserted in the tin strainer, which is also mov- able, or so as to be detached. B is the smoke pipe. 24 Fig. 10.— The Oneida, or Factory Vat. ill The next engraving (Fig. 11) represents the tin or inner vat raised, and the sides of the ' outtr vat broken out to show the heater and the supports of the inner vat. The outer vat is lined with galvanized sheet-iron; B is the inner tin vat ; the copper vat heater, ex- tending the entire length of ihe vat, aiid surrounded, by water in a semi cylin- drical jacket open at the top, which water also fills the space between the vats. D is the tank or reservoir for hot water, separate from that between the vats, and E the cop- per heater for tank or reservoir. F smoke-pipe for both vat and tank heaters. The numbers in- dicate the following parts: 1, fliucet connecting water- space between the vats with tank. 2, water-gate in outside vr.t. 3, water- gate in tank. 4, tube through which the whey is drawn from the strainer inside the inner vat. The strainer and whey faucet are not shown in the en- graving. 25 Fig. 11, — Interior of Milk-vat, with Heated' beneath. The above milk- vat is for farm dairies. Tiiere is another door or fire-box at the back, similar to that at E, where fire is Fig. 12. made to heat the water under the vat (B), when in place. Fig. 14:. In making skim cheese the milk is set at 82 deg., and suf- ficient rennet added to coagu- late it in from forty to sixty minutes. It is then cut in cheeks with a gang of steel knives, the blades set one quar- ter inch apart. It is now left at rest for a short time for the curd to sub- side, when it is further divided, 26 Fig. 15. — The Iron Clad Company's Metallic Hoop. the gang of blades being set at an angle of 45 deg. with the bot- tom of the vat. It is now gently lifted with the hands, and the process of breaking or subdivision completed. Then a slow heat is begun to be applied to the mass ; the curd, mean- while, being stirred to keep it from packing, until a tempera- ture of 96 deg. is reached. This is the highest heat to which the curds are subjected. When the curds have acquired a sufficiently firm consis- tency, the whey is drawn, and the curds thrown upon a sink to drain and cool, after which they may be run through a curd mill and salted, and then put to press. This metallic hoop is an improvement on the wooden hoop, as it al- lows a close fitting follow- er, and is not liable to fall to pieces when out of use as with the woodeu hoop, on account of shrink- age of the staves and loosening of the band irons. The rubber ring is an improvement for keeping the edges of the cheese smooth and in good order while pressing. It has now been thoroughly tested. It prevents the curd from pres.-^ing up around the follower of a cheese hoop, and takes the place of press cloths. Fig. 1 . — Jlillar's Hoop and Rubber Ring. \\^ The above cut represents a cheese hoop cut in too perpen- 27 dicularly. A, represents the cheese Hoop ; B, the Follower ; C, the Cheese ; E and F, the Rubber Washers or Rings. One of these Rabber Rings is placed on the inside of the cheese hoop resting on the press board below the curd or cheese. ^. .« mx. ^ n 73.. The other is placed above the Fig.ll— The Fraser Gang Press. , -, ■, r ^^ cheese, directly under the ioliower. As soon as the pressure is applied it causes the Rubber Rings to ex- pand and fit tight to the hoops, preventing the curd from pressing either up around the follower, or out underneath the bottom of the hoop. By using these rubber rings the followers may fit the hoops very loosel}'-. They are more conven- ient than press cloths, are more readily cleaned, and v^^ill last much longer. They are made beveling, so they leave a nice rounding edge on the cheese, and save all trimming. Directions for Using. — Cut the /jW^^^^^MV^ 'IWIa ^^^o o"ce and then fit the ii\%^m&^^&.d • /M//L rings to the hoops, and if there is any lap cut it out, so that the ends just meet when the ring is fitted closely to the sides of the cheese hoop. Place one at the bottom of the hoop, .0V 2, 18G9, AND OCT 18, 1870, By A. P. BUSSET, Westernvnie, Oneida Co., K, T. as it is drawn from the cow. There is a great variety of these implements. We give figures of the National Milk Coolers, and the Monitor and Iron Clad Cans used for hauling milk to the factory. Cold water or ice may be used for the purpose in- dicated. Fig. 28. A. Cooler, for water (N) and ice (O). B. Cooler, arranged for introducing water by means of syphons E, E, fixing on tubes D, D. C. Cover. P. Strainer. G. Body of cooler. H, H. Carrying-cans witli coolers floating on the milk (M). SWINE. The keeping of swine to consume the whey or refuse slops resultiog from butter and cheese manufacture is considered a 45 necessary part of the dairy business. The hogs are either kept at the factory or upon the farm. "When kept at the factory, grounds are selected near the buildings, but so situated that offensive odors are out of the reach of the milk room and cur- ing department; and upon these grounds pens are erected and the whey-reservoir is placed. Usually the grounds are large enough to give the hogs sufficient space for a range in the open yard. The pens are arranged so that each patron of the facto ry can have a place for his swine separated from the rest. The patrons therefore may keep their hogs in separate pens or allow them to run in common. Fig. 29. Monitor Carrying Cans, for Milk. Fig. 30. Pipes are arranged so as to conduct the whey from t he res- ervoir to the troughs simply by opening the whey g ates or a faucet. By this arrangement the feeding troughs are so sup- plied that each animal gets its daily rations of whey. Each patron is allowed the keeping of one hog for every four or five cows from which he delivers milk. The propo rtion of hogs varies of course with the supply of whey. Patrons 46 who do not care to keep swine at the factory have the privi- lege of carting a certain amount of whey from the flictory to the farm, and feeding as desired. The difficulty of keeping the factory premises free from bad odors has induced many factory men to break up the pens and banish swine entirely from the establishment. In such cases Fig. 31. — Iron-Clad Carrying Can. the whey is run into a reservoir a considerable distance from the buildings, and patrons, after delivering milk, fill the carry- ing-cans with whey, and cart back to the farm. In feeding whey to swine, bran, ship-stuffs, or some kind of meal, should be mingled with the whey. When this is done a 47 good quality of pork is made, and considerable profits are often realized from the whey. We do not approve of feeding hogs entirely upon whey : it does not contain the elements of nutrition in the right proportion to preserve the animal in good health and make the best quality of pork. Hogs, it is true, will live on whey and take on fat, but the pork is soft, watery, and of inferior quality. It is doubtful whether such pork is a healthy article of food, as swine fed exclusively on such watery slop soon show symptoms of dis- ease. Still, many dairymen keep a portion of their hogs on whey alone, and sell in early fall to the butcher or packer. Blillar's P:>' from seventy-live cents to one dollar per pound. Mr. Isaac A.. Calvert, who markets his butter at these high prices at Philadelphia the year round, gives the following par- ticulars of his management in a communication to Mr. J. B. Lyman, of the New York Trihurie. He attributes his success to three points: 1st, the food of his cows; 2d, temperature- 3d, neatness and dainty refinement at every step from the moment the milk flows from the udder till the dollar in cur- rency is paid for the pound of butter. He says, "I have found that I make my best butter when I feed on white clover and early-mown meadow hay. I cut fine, moisten, and mix in both corn-meal and wheaten shorts. Next to meal, I regard shorts and prefer to mix them together. I feed often, and not much at a time. I do not use roots, unless it be carrots. My pas- tures and meadows are quite free from weeds. I cannot make this grade of butter from foul pastures, or a low grade of hay. " Temperature. — This I regard as a matter of prime import- ance in making butter that commands a high price. Summer and winter I do not want my milk-room to vary much from 58 deg. In summer I secure the requisite coolness by spring- water of the temperature of 55 deg. Fahrenheit flowing over stone or gravel floor in the milk-house. This can be accomplished without water in a shaded cellar ten feet deep. As good butter can be made without water as with, but the milk and cream must be kept at all times a little below 60 deg. D 50 " We skim very clean, stir the cream-pot whenever a skim- ming is poured in, and churn but once a week summer and winter. Just before the butter gathers we throw into the churn a bucket of ice-cold water. This hardens the butter in small pai tides and makes a finer grain. In the hot months this prac- tice is unvarying. "In working we get out all the buttermilk, but do not apply the hand. A better way is to absorb the drops with a linen cloth wrung from cold water. The first working takes out all the milk; at the second we handle delicately, with firgers as cool as may be. The salt is less than an ounce to a pound, but not generally much less. The balls each weigh one pound, and receive a uniform stamp. On packing for market, each ball is wrapped in a linen cloth, with the name and stall of the marketman written upon it. Our tubs are made of cedar- plank, 1 1-2 to 2 inches thick, and lined with tin. On the inner face are little projections on which the shelves rest. The balls are not bruised or pressed at all, and pass into the hands of the consumer as firm, as perfect in outline, and as spotless as when they left the spring-house. "We find tmiformity to be a prime virtue in the butter- maker. We produce the same article whether the cows stand knee-deep in white clover-blooms, or sun themselves on the lee-side of the barn in February. " There is a small ice-chamber at the end of the oblong tub which we use in summer, so that in dog-days the heat within the tub does not get higher than 60 deg. Fahrenheit. I need not add that we observe a scrupulous, a religious neatness in every act, and in every utensil of the dairy. Milk which upon leaving the udder passes through an atmosphere loaded with stable fumes, will never make butter for which we can get a dollar per pound. No milk sours upon the floor of the milk- room ; none is permitted to decompose in the crevices of the milk-pans ; the churn is scoured and scalded till no smell can be detected but the smell of white cedar. "Our customers take the napkins with the prints, wash. 51 iron, and return them when they come to the stand the butter- days. These are generally Wednesdays and Saturdays. With these prices we have no difficulty in making a cow pay for herself twice a year ; if she C3st 60 dollars, we se i 1 - ) io liars worth of butter from her in twelve months. 'g It may be remarked that the sour milk is employed by the Philadelphia butter-makers as a feed for swine. It is estimated that such milk will make 100 lbs. of pork per cow. The cows in the district where the Philadelphia butter is made are well sprinkled with the Jersey or Alderney blood, and about a pound per day from each cow is considered a fair average for the best dairies. crozier's milk cellar. A committee consisting of Mr. J. B. Lyman and Frank D. Curtis, from the American Institute Farmers' Club, recently visited the farm of Mr. William Crozier. The following re- port regarding a milk cellar seen on this farm, was presented by Mr. Lyman to the club. The walls are 36 x 18 feet, and it is divided into ice house, milk room and butter kitchen as in this plan, Two tubes or conductors go down from the upper part of the ice house. They are made of boards eight inches wide and ah inch thick, with holes bored in them. The holes allow the cold air to enter from the ice, and it pours in a stream from the mouth of the tube into the milk room. The temper- ature of the air as it comes out at the mouth of the tubes is about 85 degrees. As the milk room has thick walls and the windows are high, this flood of air at 35 degrees is able to lower the mercury to 62 degrees, and even lower, in July. Sometimes he closes one tube to keep the room from growing too cold. The draft is the strongest in the hottest weather. In spring and fall there is little current, and in winter, when the fire in the stove is constantly burning, the draft would be the other way. But then the mouths of the ice tubes are closed. By this arrangement the desired temperature is secured the season through^ and there is no difference between the June 52 butter and his January butter. He makes "June butter" the year round. The stone work was much of it d(ine by larm hands. The hemlock cost $20 per thousand, and the pine $80 to $85. The whole building cost him $650. He gets ten cents a pound over the highest market price. Making, say 200 pounds a week, his gain is $20 a week by having the best arrangement for butter making. Thus his milk house pays for itself every nine mor.ths, to say nothing of the greatly increased facilities for doing work afforded by a pumf), churn and stove so convenient. He consumes about a ton of anthracite in the four coldest months, and a slight allowance is to be made for wood used in summer to heat water for washing and scalding. Y(nir com- mittee could see nothing wrong, and much that was exactly right about this house and this system, and wher-^.ver ice forms to the thickness of three inches and over, it may confi- dently be recommended to every butter maker who milks a dozen cows. BUTTER AFFECTED WITH CASEINE. From a little manual published by the Messrs. Blanchards of Concord, N. H, and which they furnish to go with their churn, we find the following very sensible remarks: " The proportion of caseine remaining in butter, as ordinarily manufac- tured, is quite variable, depending upon the manner in which the cream is separated from the other portions of the milk. By the old method of set- ting milk in shallow pans and permitting currents of dry air to sweep across the surface of the milk, much caseine became dried to the cream so firmly as to be inseparable during all the after processes, finally becoming a por- tion of the butter. By the latter and more improved processes, with suffi- cient painstaking in the after manipulations, the proportion of caseine may be reduced to a mere trace. Upon this, and the proportion of the oleine and the neutral or flavoring fats, the quality of the butter depends, and to the accomplishment ot these two specific ends, he who would succeed must direct his efforts. " The increase of the fatty matter is dependent upon the feeding and care of the animal, and to that branch of our subject such allusion has been made as our space will permit. 53 " Setting and Cooling the Milk. — From time immemorial the practice of getting the milk in very shallow pans has prevailed, and the opinion was formerly believed established, that only through a shallow mass of milk could the cream rise to the surface. This practice had its origin in the ne- cessity for cooling the milk soon after it is drawn from the cow, to prevent its souring before the cream could rise, and not, as has been very erroneously inferred, from any difficulty about the rising of the cream. Hundreds or even thousands of experiments have been conducted with the view to per- manently settle this question, and we have yet to learn of the first one which has not resulted in sustaining the principle that with proper appara- tus for cooling, it is of no possible consequence how deep the milk is set for the purpose of raising the craam. " The cooling of the milk is of the first importance. It contains within itself the elements of decay, and when left to itself fermentation and putre- faction speedily ensue. But by reducing the temperature to about 58° or 60°, the process is retarded, not prevented, and time is afforded the cream to rise before the other parts of the milk become so changed in their struc- ture as to entangle and hold the oily portion of the cream. But precisely the same effect may be produced by the application of heat, and we not un- frequently hear it recommended. In this case, however, the very important circumstance, that the oils which flavor the butter become volatilized and escape, is quite overlooked. " It is believed, then, to be practically settled, that the best results are at- tained by reducing the temperature of the milk as soon as practicable, after it is drawn, to about 58° F. The milk should be placed in the vessels where it is to remain before the cooling is commenced, that the rising of the cream may not be retarded by subsequent agitation. The only really practicable method of cooling the milk, without agitating it, is to place it in compara- tively narrow vessels, and surround them with cold water, as high or higher than the surface of the milk within. It is idle to attempt to cool milk or any other fluid by the application of any cooling substance to the bottom. If the vessel itself be of a material which is a good conductor, it is a little help, but the process is at best slow and unsatisfactory. " We make the rule that milk should be set in vessels placed in water, and the temperature reduced as soon as may be, to about 58° F., but that the temperature of the room should be about 65° or 70° F. " The form of the vessels is not material, if only they be so narrow that the cooling is effected in season to prevent the souring of the milk before the cream has risen. " The most economical arrangement of which we have any knowledge, consists of a long, narrow tank, with a jacket of tin for the cold water. The most approved form is 8 inches broad, 11 inches deep, and 6 feet long, which is made from a single large sheet of tin, without seam or solder, ex- cept where the end and jacket are attached. If more than one is required to hold the milk at each milking, they should be placed side by side in the 54 same frame or sink. In this case it is more economical to dispense with the jacket and use a wooden vat for the water. " There is, in this form of vessel, a verj' large sa\'ing in the cream which adheres to the sides of the smaller style of vessels ; but the economy of labor in the cleansing and care of the vessels is really the greatest of all. " Whatever the form of the milk vessels, running water is the best and most economical agent to be employed in cooling the milk. Well water answers a very good pvirpose, but the labor of raising it is sometimes a bar to its successful use. " Ice should never be used in butter-making in any of its departments, except to reduce the temperature of water, and then it is well to bewai'e of ice cold water. The immediate contact of ice with milk, cream or butter, does in some manner not well understood, exert a disorganizing eflPect, and the product is permanently injured thereby. " When and how to Shim. — Milk cooled and set as has been recommended, will keep sweet as long as is necessary for the cream to rise, however warm the room; and the time for removing the cream may be subordinated to the convenience of the dairyman. The more convenient and profitable time will generally be found to be from 24 to 30 hours after setting. It should not, in any case, be deferred until the milk begins to turn sour. " The old form of skimmer, required to separate a film of cream almost as tough as a leather apron from a body of hard loppered milk, is not adapted to the removal of the cream that rises on milk cooled as above described. The cream, under these genial influences, having been constantly parting with its caseine instead of becoming encased in it, is in a condition of fluidity and must be removed by dipping instead of skimming. The most approved im- plement for this purpose is made of tin in the form of a cone, and holds about a pint. The small end should be made pointed. The edges of the large end should be left sharp, and not be rolled or wired. An upright, straight handle should be attached to the lai-ge end of the cone. When used it should be pushed perpendicularly down through the cream into the milk, until the cream runs in on all sides at the same time. If some of the milk is taken with the cream, no injurious result will follow ; indeed many good butter-makers prefer taking enough, so that the cream may not become too stiff during the operation of churning. " Cream may be kept several days, if necessary, but it is better, as a rule, to churn every second or third day. The practice which has acquired among many, of keeping cream several days, and drugging it from time to time with saltpetre or something else, can not be commended. " When milk sours, it is because of the formation of lactic acid from the milk sugar. This chemical change is the result of the growth of a microscopic vege- table organism, which, according to Hallier's late investigations, is of the same origin as common yeast. Like common yeast, this plant requires oxygen for its development. This it gathers from the air if the latter have access ; 55 but in tlie comparative absence of air, as when growing in milk, it decom- poses the sugar, and a lactic acid is the chief result of this metamorphosis. If milk, which by short exposure to the air has had the microscopic germs of the ferment-plant sown in it, be then excluded from the air as much as possible, the plant, in its growth, is necessitated to decompose the milk sugar, and hence the milk rapidly sours. On the other hand, exposure to the air supplies the ferment-plant with free oxygen, and the mUk remains sweet for a longer period. Such is the theory of the change. That low temperature should prevent souring, is in analogy with all we know of chemical changes. " Stirring the cream does not promote souring, but rathers hinders it by increasing access of air ; it may be advantageous in making the souring uniform. Firj. 34. Millan & Son's Milk Pails. Fig. 35. " When to (Jhwi'u. — Although the milk should never be permitted to sour before skimming, the cream, on the other hand, should become slightly acid before churning. To accomplish this end most expeditiously, the tem- perature may be raised slightly ; keeping it in the warm milk room will usually suffice ; but previous to putting it in the churn it should be again cooled, according to the quality of the cream. If it be rich summer cream 55° is most favorable ; if it be the product of short, poor feed, or of straw, or of roots, or if the cows have been exposed to cold storms, and under the necessity of exhausting the oleine of the butter, the temperatui'e must be raised to correspond ; and it may even require so much heating that little of the butter flavor will remain. For all ordinary cases the range may be set down as from 55° to 65°." MILK PAILS. The importance of using milk pails that will not absorb 56 paints and whicb can be easily cleaned, can not be over-esti- mated. Wooden pails should never be used for milk, because of the difficulty of keeping them in order. Chas. Millan & Son, of Utica, N. Y., have recently brought out a superior tin milk pail, a cut of which we give in the figures on the preceding page. They are made in the best possible manner, from four-cross tin, imported on purpose for them, have but one seam in the body of the pail, and are soldered very smoothly. A tinned malleable iron rim or band is soldered firmly to the bottom en- closing it, and is so constructed as to thoroughly protect and support it and to raise it sufficiently to prevent it from resting on the floor and from picking up the dirt ; it is also convenient for tipping the pail. The wire in the upper edge of the pail is enclosed by the tin and then soldered so that it cannot rust. Fig. 36.— 7to?2- Clad Pail. The pail is made from the l^est tinned wire. The Iron Clad Co. of New York city makes a very substantial pail with convex bottom, upon which are rests to keep it out of ihe dirt, which ensures clean- liness in this part. The ac- companying cut shows the form of this pail. SCALES. Another important requisite for the dairy is a convenient and Fig Sl.—Famih/ Scales. accurate pair of scales. Edward F. Jones, of Bingham- ton, N. Y, manufactures a very desirable article in this line. The Universal or Family Scale, of which we give a cut, has both platform and 67 scoop, and combines all the advantages of a portable and counter scale. Its capacity is from 1-2 ounce to 240 pounds, Fig. as. —Platform Scales, and is best adapted to the purposes of the butter dairy, or when any light article is to be weighed. The 600 pound portable platform scale on wheels is the size usually used in cheese factories. The accom- panying figure represents it. In cheese manufacture, especially where the milk is liable to become changed or is not deliv- ered in good order, the curd mill is of great service. Butter factories should always be provided with this machine if skim cheese is made in connection with butter. One of the best curd mills made is the American, manufactured by Wm. Ealph & Co., of Utica. It has a double cylinder, and being provided with a heavy balance wheel is worked with greater ease and more efficiency than some mills. We give an illustration of the mill in the following cut : Fig. 39. — The American Curd Mill. TH'd BUTTER DAIRIES OF CALIFORNIA. In 1870 I crossed the continent and made an examination of some of the butter making districts on the Pacific. My ob- 58 servations were given in a series of articles in Moore's EuEAL New Yorker, from which I select and quote the fol- lowing : The Coast Range of California^ etc. — California is estimated to contain within its boundaries 189,000 square miles. About 50,000 square miles are supposed to cover the entire range of coast- vallejs and mountains. There are large tracts of country on the coast range adapted to grazing and the dairy, though, taking the whole state to- gether, I was told the dairy lands were of comparatively limi- ted extent. One great advantage which the coast lands pos- sess is a low, even temperature — a temperature averaging about 60 deg. Farenheit during summer and winter, and subject to no extremes of heat and cold, like that prevailing in the middle and north Atlantic states. The winters are so mild that cattle do not require to be housed, and during most of the time can procure sufficient sustenance in the field. In- deed, cattle are often wintered without a particle of food other than that which they pick for themselves over the ranches — though it is not generally considered good economy to allow the herds to thus shift for themselves during the first part of the rainy season, since the rain washes out the nutritive ele- ments of the old grasses, while the new vegetation springing up, is flashy, or too immature to afford the requisite nourish- ment for the thrilt and well-being of the animal. Hence in November and December it is considered good economy to eke out the pastures by giving the herds a daily allowance of fodder. The Climate^ Grasses, etc. — To understand fully how stock is fed in California some explanation of the seasons and the char- acter of herbage found upon the ranches will be required. If we except the higher mountainous ranges, the California year may be divided into two seasons only — the wet and dry. The rains begin to fall during the latter part of October and con- tinue during November and December. The moisture is suffi- cient to start vegetation into a vigorous growth. Green past- 59 urage is abundant in Jauuarj, February," March, April, and up to about the first of June and July. Then comes the dry season, during which no rain falls until the latter part of Oc- tober or first of November, and sometimes it holds off until December. Most of the native grasses are annuals. The wild oat grass and bunch grass are regarded of most value. The Gramma, or bunch grass is exceedingly nutritious. Stock thrive upon it at all seasons, except, perhaps, at the beginning of Ihc rainy season, when, for a few weeks, its nutritiousness is impaired from the causes which have been previously explained. In July and August, it as well as all others, becomes dry and brown, and the fields present hardly a vestage of green. Indeed, the fields are so devoid of any green or growing plant, and the tufts of grass are so brown and dried up that the east- era stock-grower can scarcely rid himself of the impression that the whole country is of little, if any, value for grazing, and would supply only a meager sustenance for a few goats ; and yet immense herds are seen cropping this withered, dead, or perfectly dry, crisp herbage, and the animals look sleek and fat, and fit for the shambles. Nothing astonished me more than this seemingly incongruous state of things;, for to an eastern farmer, fat cattle at pasture are always associated with luxurious vegetation and an abundance of succulent food. It is true, along the borders of streams, in the narrow valleys or deep gorges, a fringe of green breaks the monotony of the dead and apparently worthless vegetation, covering the hills, and stretching away to the distance on the plains ; but these are scarcely sufficient to account for the uniformly fine condi- tion of stock. It becomes evident, therefore, that from the peculiarity of the climate, and perhaps from the nature of the plants them- selves, their nutritive elements are retained; and that the standing grass in the field is cured as perfectly for food in a natural way as farmers at the east do it by artificial means. And this is more readily explained from the entire absence of 60 rains, the dryness of the atmosphere, and the uniform temper- ature of the climate. Evidently, in case of the bunch grass, which grows m dense tufts, the dry weather coming on arrests the further growth of a mass of foliage, thoroughly curing it upon the root before its nutritive elements have been lost or changed into woody fibre, while a large proportion of those stalks bearing seed have also been checked in growth and dried in time to retain a large proportion of nutrition. In comparing California, as a dairy region, with grazing lands on the Atlantic slope, the v^ inter and spring months cor- respond with our best grazing season. From the first of Janu- ary to June, the grasses grow in great luxuriance. July, Au- gust and September, correspond with our fall and early winter, while November and December, when stock require a little feed, may be ^et against our six months of cold and snowy weather. It is evident, so far as climate is concerned — so far as the storing of cattle-food and the necesi>ary breadth of land for growing such food, the advantages are all in favor of the Pacific. But on the other hand, our nearness to the markets of the world, the permanency of our grasses, our established system and skill in manufacture, must, in a measure, compen- sate for the rigors of the climate, and other disadvantages which do not obtain in more favored sections. Comparative Profit froin Grazing Lands. — From what I saw of California, and California farming, I became strongly im- pressed with the idea that the grazing lands of the state, for stock-growing and the dairy, can be made to pay quite as largely as lands devoted to almost any other special agricul- tural interest. Fruit trees of all kinds grow with great rapid- ity, and produce enormously. But, at present, the markets are limited, and the supply so much beyond consumption that there is no profit in fruit-growing. I saw peach trees producing choice varieties of fruit, (only across the bay from San Francisco, and where daily transport of fruit could be made for a mere trifle), that were paying nothing to the owner beyond affording food for swine, the fall- 61 iDg frait being carted out for that purpose. The product of large apple orchards is often left to rot on the ground, or a por- tion only of the fruit converted into cider for vinegar. The vinej^ards, car, perhaps, be made to pay well tor wine, since the climate and soil are so wonderfully adapted to grape culture that grapes can be grown at a mere trifling expense. Tlie Largest Butter Dairy Estate in the World. — But I set out to speak of some of the dairy lands visited, and perhaps a brief description of the Howard k Shafter Eanche will be of interest. This is probably the largest butter dairy estate in the world. It is at least the largest that has come under my own immediate observation, whether in this country or in Eu- rope. Some general idea of its extent may be gathered from the fact that it has a coast range of fifty miles, and contains seven- ty-five thousand acres. About one hundred miles of fence have been erected on this estate at a cost of $400 per mile. It is located in Marin county, at Point Keyes. Marin county lies directly north of San Francisco and the Golden Gate. At the northwest point of the county Toma- lis Bay, a long, narrow body of water extends southward, and is nearly met by Sir Francis Drake's Bay pushing northward. This makes a neck of land, which has the appearance on the map of projecting into the ocean. Now, by extending a line in a southeasterly direction from Tomalis Bay toward San Francisco, so as to give us a strip of country on the east coast of Sir Francis Drake's Bay, we have on the west of this line and bounded by the two bays and the ocean the famous Point Reyes Ranche. The character of the country over the Point Reyes estate may be described as a succession of hills and valleys. In some places there are large, level tracts. Good roads have been made over the lands, and as the carriage winds over the hills and through the canyons the scenery is most picturesque and charming. The climate here is delightfully cool and refresh- ing. Fanned by the breezes of the Pacific, the temperature 62 scarcely ever rises above 65° or sinks below 50°, while the average through the year is not far from 60°. Bunch grass, wild oats, and other natural grasses, grow in great luxuriance, and are depended upon as pasture for stock. About three thousand cows are in milk on the estate, and they are divided up into twenty-one dairies, averaging about one hundred and fifty cows to each. The different farms or ranches are substantially fenced with red wood pickets six feet long, driven into the ground about six or eight inches apart, with a rail placed horizontally about two feet from the top to which each picket is nailed. As there is no frost here, these fences keep their position, and will stand without needing re- pair for twenty years. Generally, each ranche has interior fences dividing the land into four fields. Mr. Howard states that he commenced improving his stock about the year 1858 hj crossing common eastern cows with two thoroughbred Short-Horn bulls of good milking family brought from Vermont at a cost of $10,000. One ot the Vermont bulls was an exceedingly fine one, and his stock proved to be excellent milkers. A year or two after, twenty-two head of Devon cattle were purchased and introduced among the herds. This breed did not prove satisfactory, and it was discarded, and in 1865 he commenced again with the Short-Horns, raising annually one- fifth of the calves from the best cows. In this way the stock has been improved so that a good flow of milk is obtained. Size of Stock Influenced hy the Surface of the Country. — I have stated that the Point Eeyes estate was broken up into numerous hills and valleys. Many of the hills almost approach the dignity of mountains. Their sides are rounded, and do not generally present an abrupt surface, but are of a sufficient inclination to be readily reached in all their parts by cattle. This uneven surface, requiring the climbing of hills and descent into valleys in quest of food, has had a strongly-marked influ- ence on the size and form of the stock. The animals are quite small for Short-Horns, and apparently more active than is 63 usual for that breed, showing, in a very marked degree, what a controlling influence the surface of a country has in mould- ing the form of animals. The stock I found universally in fine condition as to flesh, and in every respect it appeared to be in vigorous health ; but the smallness in size was a point of interest to me, as showing how animals bred for several generations in a hilly country gradually adapt themselves to the surfaces over which they are compelled to travel in quest of food. It seemed to me that the Ayrshires were the kind of cattle best adapted to this locality, and I strongly advised an infusion of this strain of blood among the herds of Point Reyes. System of Rentals. — The management of so large an estate is not without difficulties. Eecently Mr. Howard has introduced a system of rentals, which relieves the proprietors from a vast amount of care and vexation. With the exception of what is termed the " HomeRanche," all the places are rented at a fixed rate per cow. The general features of this rental are as fol- lows : The landlord furnishes land, cows and buildings, mak- ing the rent at $30 per cow. The tenant is required to raise one fifth of the calves, and build or keep in repair certain fences, the landlord furnishing the material. All implements of husbandry and dairy utensils are furnished by the tenant. The dairies, on an average, make about one hundred and eighty pounds of butter per cow, which is sent to San Francisco, and commands from thirty-three to thirty-five cents per pound. Quality of Baiter. — The butter made at Point Reyes is good, and dealers in San Francisco informed me that it was the best that was brought into the market. The texture, when well made, is exceedingly fine, being more waxy in its consistency than much of the butter of New York. With the same skill as that exercised in the butter factories of Orange county, I should say that the very finest fancy product could be obtained. The low, even temperature of the climate favors the obtaining of milk in the best possible condition. The water is soft and 64 pure, and the feed is said to be sweet and free from plants that give a taint to milk. Tlie Dairies. — I visited quite a number of dairies, traveling, in all, nearly a hundred miles over the estate. The dwellings are neat and substintial, each place provided with dairy house, corrals for enclosing cattle, and sheds and barns for storing fodder. The cows are milked in the open yard, and the milkers empty the milk into a receptacle outside the building, from whence it is strained and flows into a receiving can in the milk room. From this it is drawn through a faucet into pans, which are immediately set upon the racks. Water, either con- ducted by pipes from springs, or pumped into reservoirs, is in the corrals, and supplies the dair3^ The temperature of the milk rooms is scarcely ever above 65**, and artificial heat is more frequently required in the milk rooms than too high a temperature resulting from natural causes. I saw the process of butter making in all its stages, but perhaps a detailed description of the work at two or three ranches may be suf- ficient to give the reader some general idea as to the manner in which California dairies are managed. On the Point Eeyes estate several of the dairy establish- ments, or farm buildings, are located in the canyons or valleys ; though whure there are large, level tracts of land and con- veniences of running water, advantage is taken of the situation to establish " headquarters " for the rancho. The tenants, or those managing the several ranches, are mostly from New England or INew York, In some cases unmarried men with Chinese house-servants carry on the establishment ; but usually married men with their families are located here. At one point I found a school for the education of the children, taught by a genuine New England " school mistress," who received $30 per month and board for services. During my trip I not unfrequently saw " little lassies " going and returning from school mounted on mustang ponies. Regular water communication is soon to be 65 established between Point Reyes and San Francisco, which, of course, will render the estate less isolated. A few days before my arrival, a division of the estate had been made between the three partners, which gives each some 25,000 acres of land. In the division, that portion lying upon Sir Francis Drake's Bay falls to Mr. Howard. The point at the head of the bay is exceedingly lovely, the harbor is excellent, and the level stretch of land back from the shore seems to be admirably adapted to the location of a town or city. Indeed, the natural advantages for a town at this point are so great, that the time cannot be far distant when this spot will be uti- lized for that purpose. Muddy Hollow. — The buildings here are substantial and con- veniently arranged. The dairy house, or milk-room, stands on one side of the corral, and is twenty-four feet square. Racks are arranged along the sides of the room for setting the milk — the pans resting on slats in tiers, one above the other. The cows are milked in the corral or open yard, and as fast as each milker fills his pail, he carries it to a platform on one end of the milk-room, where it is emptied into a receiving conductor provided with a strainer, from whence it flows into a large tin can in the milk-room. In this way the floor of the milk-room is not soiled by the feet of the milkers, and slops and dirt are avoided in straining the milk. The milk is drawn from the can through a faucet, each pan getting about half a gallon of milk, or a quantity sufficient to set in the pan from two and a- half to three inches deep. Management of Milk. — The climate here is so cool that the temperature of the milk-room does not rise above 65°, and in summer it is often so cool that a little fire is necessary in the room to keep the milk at the desired temperature for the cream to rise. The milk usually stands about forty-eight hours, and is allowed to get slightly acid before skimming. The pans are then removed to a bench in the center of the room, the cream loosened on the edges of the pan by running E 66 a thin wooden blade around it, when the pan is canted up, and the cream flows off into a large tin cream can. The milk then goes into a slop reservoir on the bench, arranged with pipe at the bottom for conducting it off to vats away from the build- ing, where it is to be used for the feeding of swine. The por- tion of conducting pipe in the milk room is arranged in a double curve, or Y, so that in cleansing the water remaining in the curve prevents gases from passing through into the room from below. Chums and Churning. — Churning is done every day by horse power, a common lever power located outside the build- ing being employed here as well as at the other dairies. Mus- tangs are attached to the lever and put the machine in motion by travelling round and round in a circle. An oblong box churn is used. The ends are twenty-seven inches square and the length of the box is five feet. It hangs horizontally upon a frame supported by two iron gudgeons at the ends of the box, and upon which it revolves. On one side of the box there is a door, which opens to receive the cream, when it is closed and the churning accomplished by set " g the power in mofiou and revolving the box. The temperature of the cream when it goes to the churn is about sixty-two degrees, and churning is usually perfected in from one-half to three-quarters of an hour. The butter, when it comes from the churn, is washed in soft water, worked and salted at the rate of one ounce of salt to the pound of butter, when it is set aside until next day and then worked a second time and packed for market. It is manipulated but very little at the second working, just enough to get it into shape. Butter - Worker. — The butter- worker at these establishments struck me as a very handy appliance. It consists of a heavy oak slab, in a perfect circle, about three and a-halffeet in diam- eter, set at an inclination, so as to allow the buttermilk to pass off, and revolving on rollers arranged in a standard which sup- ports it in the center. At the lower end of the machine, just beyond the circular plank, there is an upright, at the top of 67 which is fastened a metal socket for the reception of the lever used in working the butter. This socket works on a iiniversal joint, so as to be moved in any direction. A plank with groove near the outer edges, is arranged below the circular slab to catch the buttermilk and moisture flowing from the butter during the process of working, and it is also slightly inclined, so that all slops pass off along the grooves and are deposited in a tub. By this arrangement, it will be seen the circular slab or bed of the butter worker can be moved backward or forward on the p^ane of its circle, while the universal joint to which the lever is attached, allows the lever to be handled in any direction. These butter workers are the most convenient of of the kind of any I have seen, and can be profitably introduced into some of our New York butter factories. Molding and Packing. — The butter is put up and sent to market in two forms — in barrels, half barrels, and in two pound rolls placed in packages. The barrels are of oak, nicely made and strongly hooped. They hold about two hundred and twenty-eight pounds of butter. The butter is packed solid, the cask headed, and brine as strong as it can be made is pour- ed in to fill up all the interstices. Butter going to market in this way brings from two to three cents less price per pound than that put up in rolls. The rolls are made three inches in diameter and nearly seven inches long. A mold is used for the purpose of forming the rolls, and it has two iron bandies crossing each other on a pivot, and worked like a pair of nip- pers. Thti molds being opened a bit of butter is nipped up sufficient to fill the mold, and by pressing the two arms or handles together a powerful leverage is brought to bear upon the butter mold, compressing the butter into a solid roll Then with a thin wooden knife, or paddle, the ragged points of butter which have been forced out on either end of the mold, are cut off even with the mold and smoothed down, and the instrument opened, when out drops a neat roll of but ter, weighing just two pounds. The whole mass having been rapidly molded in this way, and the rolls dropped upon the 68 table, the next process is to wrap each roll in cloth. Fine thin bleached cambric, cut in strips of the desired length to go round each roll, and wide enough to leave about half an inch projection of cloth at each end of the roll, are moistened in strong biine and placed upon the table. Then one of the strips is spread out, the roll of butter laid on one edge and rapidly rolled forward, the cloth adhering smoothly to the package. The cloth on the ends is now pressed down in place, and you have a dainty little roll in neat white muslin wrap- pers, with a little golden circle at the ends to show its texture ami quality. Then the rolls are set on end in an oblong box of cedar or red wood, the cover fastened down, and thus they go ti) market. The wholesale price for butter, put up in rolls, has ranged from thirty-three to thirty-five cents per pound when it arrives at San Francisco. The Stock. — In the Muddy Hollow dairy there were one hundred and sixty-six cows in milk. I found the cows in fine condition as to fle.^h, notwithstanding the feed upon the hills was brown, dry and crisp. Mr. Hagertf, the manager, stated that in " flush ot feed," when cows were doing their best, the average yield of butter per day was one and one- fourth pounds per cow. The cows have a large range, and it struck me as somewhat difficult to collect all the animals to- gether in the corral, night and morning, since the numerous hills and valleys must be looked over to find loitering beasts ; but I was assured that there was seldom any trouble from miss- ing animals. At milking time two persons, mounted upon mustangs, are sent out to collect the herd together. Each driver has his beat or ra^nge to look over, and the mustangs scour the hills and valleys, starting the cows into line ; and as the drivers are responsible for missing cows, and are discharged for neglect in bringing them to the corral, they become ex- ceedingly expert and sharp in looking over their range that no animals are left behind. 69 Character of Butter. — At this as at other ranches, I tested nothing but fresh or newly made butter. The color was a light yellow, but much deeper than could have been expected from the dry and brown feed. The distinguished characteris- tic of all the butter I saw, was its solid, waxy texture. The flavor was fair, but it had less of that peculiar aroma which the finer fancy samples of New York butter possess. This may have been attributable to the condition of dry feed in part, and perhaps in part to the manner of manufacturing. 1 tested the milk and buttermilk in numerous instances and found it of excellent flavor, and in no instance could I detect a taint or anything objectionable in flavor. I should say that such milk, in such a cool even climate, ought to make, if prop- erly manipulated, the finest quality of both butler and cheese. The Home Rancho. — This ranchio is about ten miles west of Olema, a small village on the road to San Eafael. It contains three thousand acres, has four hundred and thirteen cows and one hundred and fifty-eight horses — mustangs, roadsters and lasso horses — including an imported English stallion, a thor- oughbred racer. Mr. Nichols, the very intelligent foreman of this establish- ment, informed ine that there were about two thousand head of beef cattle connected with this ranclio, or under his man- agement, and four hundred heifers, which were being raised for cows. The beef cattle go to market at San Francisco, and other parts of the state, at three years old and upward, bring- ing from $40 to $60 per head. The buildings at the Home rancho are commodious and more extensive than at some of the other places. They a^e situated in a lovely little valley, surrounded by round hills, over which the cattle roam and feed. Butter is made here, as at the other dairies, and the applian- ces and mode of manufacture are similar to what has been pre- viously described. From twelve to fourteen n en are employed on the rancho, and they get at the rate of $3( per month and board, for a period of six months, or during the busy season. 70 The hay here, like all California hay, consists of oats cut while the straw is green. About one hundred tons have been harvested during the present year, and this quantity has been grown on fifty acres. Growing the Hay Ci-op. — Mr. Nichols says he begins to plow for the oat crop in November, sowing in December at the rate of one hundred and fifty pounds of seed to the acre. The crop is cut with mowing machines just before the oats have ripened, and as no rains fall during harvest time, the curing of the crop is accomplished in the most perfect manner. Upon this rancho they commence feeding stock in August and up to November, or until the rains begin to fall and fresh grass is started. The feeding" in August is only occasional, and de- pends altogether upon the weather. If the weather is windy, so that stock cannot feed in comfort on the hills, an allowance of oat hay is given ; but in mild weather, when the animals can get about over the range, no extra food is given. Beets are also raised here in considerable quantities for cattle food. They are cut up, roots and tops together, and each cow in niilk gets a pail full per day. Stock run out over the rancho all winter, and during some seasons no extra food is required. Cows commence dropping their calves in December, and continue till March, at which time it is desired that they should all be in m,lk. Usually it takes the labor of four men to care for the stuck on this rancho. Here, as upon other ranchos, the " bunch grass," or gramma, is depended upon for pasturage. It grows with great viL-or at all seasons, when there is sufficient moisture. It is enduring, and cattle prefer it to any other grass, thriving upon it, whether it be green, or crisp and brown, daring dry weather. The sour milk and buttermilk go to the hogs, a considera- ble number of which are thus fattened for market. They are sold on foot when ready fcr market, and brmg from six to eight cents per pound. This mncbo is substantially fenced in, with red wood pick- ets, and the stock I found in remarkable thrifty condition. I spent a night at the home rancho, and the two young Chi- namen cooks served up repasts as toothsome as the famous cooking at the Occidental. It is true, the courses were not so elaborate, but the meats, and a great variety of vegetables, were dished up in a manner that would have delighted the most fastidious "good liver." And here a word may not be out of place in reference to Chinese Servants — Everywhere in which they came under my observatiou, I found them neat, attentive, respectful, quick to anticipate one's wants, quiet in manner, and altogether "filling the bill in full," of what is understood by a good ser- vant. The better class in San Francisco, who have had abund- ant opportunity of testing their faithfulness and capacity in the various relations of household work, are unbounded in their praise. They make excellent cooks, are unsurpassed as laundresses, and learn the ways and requirements of household work with a rapidity that is perfectly astonishing. And I could not help thinking what a vast relief it would be to the dairy- men of central New York, if this class of labor could be in- troduced. Now, all through the dairy districts of the east, it is extremely difficult to obtain male and female labor except of the mc st inferior kind. The cost, too, of labor is excessive and eats up the entire profits of many a man's farm. Hund- reds of farmers are mere slaves to hired help — help that are indeed " lords of the manor " — who will not work unless they are watched ; j7ho take delight in wasting and destroying their employer's property; who are brutal to all animal life under tbeir control or entrusted to their charge, and who hang like a dead weight upon the farmer's family, because they cannot be dispensed with. Go among the farmers to-day through central New York, and hear how gladly they would rid themselves of this incu- bus, and do all the work on the farm with their own hands, if it were possible to do so. Not that they are unwilling to pay 72 for labor, but because tbej are obliged to pay for inefficiency — vexed, tortured in mind and body, and made slaves to the help they hire. There is no place here to discuss Chinese immigration in its moral and social aspect, but the question of labor is growing every year and every day moro and more intricate and difficult to be solved, and there iij am;iii^ farmor ; .in irrepressible desire for relief. Tlirowing the Lariat and i atching Wild Cattle in Califor- nia. — We rise in " the gray dawn " and breakfast early, on the morning of August 2d, far Olin was to have a new four- horse team from the rancho and drive us out on the plains among the wild cattle ; following Mr. Nichols and a band of old Californians mounted upon mustangs, and each armed with the lariat. This meant sport, and Olin drew his lines and handled his long lash in a way that plainly indicated there was to be no " small driving," so Laig as he filled the box. I had had a taste of "break-neck speed" the day before, down steep declivities, along the edge of mountains where a foot's deviation from the track would have plunged carriage and horses in a shapeless mass below, making our hair stand on end at the reckless way he turned a corner or passed a ten- mule team on the edge of a precipice. But Mr. Howard as- sured us that "Olin's head was level," and that we were safe in his hands. So we shut our eyes over the worst places, and heard the whip crack and felt the carriage sweep and sway as it plunged after the galloping horses and slackened speed only at the next ascent. And so this morning we dashed along over mountains, and down into deep canyons, until we struck a broad plain in sight of the cattle, and here we halted. Then we saw in the dis- tance, the wild bulls, with flying tails, rushing over the plain, pursued by the horsemen. Now they plunge into the tall grass, and again the scamper and hurry of feet is heard as the horsemen turn the herd in the direction of the carriage. On they sweep in a body, led by a famous red bull, fleet as the 73 wind. The men urge forward their mustangs, dashing " pell mell" for the leading bullock. One of the horsemen is now ahead. We see him swing the lariat ; but he is yet too far back of the frightened bull. Onward they come, the horse steadily gaining, and now the lariat swings round and round, and then shoots forward. Has he caught him? Yes ! — No ! "By George! sir," the lasso is over his horns; but the end of the cord has been jerked from the rider's hands, and the bull bounds along uncaught. Then the race is pushed faster and faster, and the horseman is seen swaying over and almost touching the ground. He has caught up the dragging lariat, and with a loud bellow from the bull he is checked in his flight. On come the other horsemen, and again a swing of the lariat round and round, and the mustang stops, holding from the pommel of the saddle the lariat, which is fastened at the other end to the hind leg of the bullock. Another horseman swings his lariat and clutches the foreleg, and in a moment the poor bullock falls upon his side, bellowing lustily in his fright and rage. Then the horsemen loosen the animal, and sweep off in a body after fresh victims, and thus bull after bull is caught, and cheer after cheer goes up from our carriage — for this, in- deed, is rare sport, the most exciting and best we have seen in crossing the continent. It is perfectly astonishing what skill these men have ac- quired, and how unerringly they throw the rope, and lasso the mark desired. In their riding one can almost fancy them a part of the horse, for they can sway over and touch the ground when the horse is on a run ; and they descend the steep declivities of high bluffs, urging their mustangs at their full speed, and you \Nonder how they can make these frightful rides without being dashed upon the ground, a mangled mass of broken bones and jelly. Other Dairies. — Turning partly about, we drive to the Evans dairy, of one hundred and forty cows, and from thence to 74 other ranchos numbering from one hundred and fifty to one hundred and sixty cows. At these places the buildings, man- agement of cows and manufacture of butter, are all on the same plan as that previously described. At some dairies the average yield of butter at the time of my visit, was at the rate of half a pound a day for each cow; but in the best season, it had been from a pound to a pound and a quarter. At one place of 1,200 acres, I found a corral of heifers, a hundred of which were two years old, and fifty were three years of age. Here, during the early part of the season, the average daily make of butter was one pound per cow. These heifers were of fine form, with a good proportion of Short-Horn blood ; and Mr Howard thought at four years old, they would make an annual average of two hundred pounds of butter per cow. System of Farming, Suggestioyis^ dtc. — The system of farming over these lands is now, of course, rude and wasteful ; but Mr. Howard is organizing a plan for the application of manures. What it seemed to us should be done, is to divide the lands up into smaller farms — say of capacity to keep a dairy of sev- enty to eighty cows — and then establish butter and cheese factories at convenient points, where both cheese and butter can be made on the associated system. In this way the estate would become better colonized, schools and churches would grow up, and the families would not be so isolated. At the same time by relieving the tenant from the manufacture of dairy products, more time and opportunity would be had in improving farms. Mr. Howard thought it quite probable, now that a division of the estate had been made, that dairy farms could be purchased at very reasonable prices, say $25 to $30 per acre. Considering the climate and the nearness to the markets on the Pacific coast, the situation has many advantages for practical dairy- men who desire a residence on this part of the continent. Loohing out on the Pacific from the most Western Limit of Cen- tral California. — Desiring to see the most western limit of cen- tral California and come face to face with the broad Pacific, we , 75 kept on our way to the rocky cliff, or sharp point of land jut- ting out into the ocean, the extreme point of Point Reyes. Here the government lighthouse is in progress of erection, Mr. Howard having sold to the United States a hundred acres for that purpose. Looking down the cliffs upon the rocks, upon which the waves of the ocean were dashing and throwing up columns of spray, while the unceasing moan and sobbing of the mighty waters echoed along the shore, the sight had a sublimity which made a deep impression upon our hearts, and one never to be effaced from memory in this life. Here and there the seals were basking upon the rocks, or making their way in the foaming waters, now and then ex- posing a bead above the waves that ma le us almost fancy that they were human beings shipwrecked on the coast, and strug- gling to lay hold of the slippery rocks. Here we looked out upon the broad Pacific — as we had done a few weeks before upon the Atlantic, from the shores of Maine — hardly able to comprehend how the journey across the continent had been made in so brief a time, and with thanks and praise in our hearts to the good God who had permitted us to see all these wondrous works of his hand, and who had held us without harm in his holy keeping; and then we turned our way back over the rancho to San Rafael — a journey through the country of nearly fifty miles, which Olin, by a relay of galloping horses and incomparable driving, brought us over safely before midnight. Cheese Malting. — Cheese is manufactured in California, but the quantity is comparatively small. It is made in farm dair- ies, though one or two factories are soon to be established. I went through the storehouses in San Francisco and examined numerous samples of cheese. Some of it was very well made, meaty in texture and fair in flavor; but I saw nothing that could be called a " fancy article," as that term is understood in New York. One of the largest dealers in San Francisco had \ipon his 76 shelves about a half million of pounds. It was placed on shelves on each side of the store-house, extending from the floor to the ceiling. No samples shown me were in boxes, al- though the firm, I was told, dealt in New York factory cheese to some extent. With a climate so favorable for the produc- tion of good milk, and especially for the curing and keeping of cheese, I should expect California to be able to excel in the finer "fancy grades." Indeed, I know of no region having a temperature so admirably adapted to the production of clean, sweet-flavored daily products as the coast range of California. Influence of Climate upon Dairy Products. — The importance of a moderate, uniform temperature lor the manufacture of choice dairy goods, can not be over estimated. Much of the butter and cheese made in the middle and eastern states during hot weather, is more or less affected in flavor on account of the overheated condition of milk as it comes from the cow. The driving of cows from the pasture to the stable when the tem- perature is from 90 to 100 deg., has a tendency to overheat and injare the mdk of such cows before it is drawn, and it is ex- tremely difl&calt to collect a herd together during the intense heat of our summers without over-exercising some of the ani- mals to that extent that the milk will be feverish, and unsuited to the manufacture of fine flavored goods. Add to this the diSiculty of making and keeping dairy products in a tempera- ture not above 70 deg., when the temperature of the atmosphere is above 90 deg., and it will be seen why such vast quantities of butter and cheese made during hot weather are condemned as ordinary, inferior, and positively bad. The summer of 1870, as compared with the season of 1869, practically illustrates my position. The season of 1869 was unusually cool and even in teniperature, and at no time in the history of dairying has the aggregate annual cheese product proved to be of so uniform good flavor. The English shippers and cheese mongers were very greatly astonii3 '^siSi^ W^l?tl?.:^l^ ■55^33•:S^^:i4/^% S, :j>?555 .? «?'^i>ll' i,j) x>:'"'^^<'' -33^>'332X|Q 3 3«> ^ ,,0 :^>^-3 :^. ;,=5.>o >^ ^ j> :> > > J ^ ^SJ* s^3 i> _>^ ^ v^3> mM^li '_^^ 3>> 3 5D oj:;j^i^:3 ^> 3^ ;■ ^ :^3>^ ^ =^ -v^- >J>> -^ -» ,. .^ > 'a ^ 3 5j> J • 2) v)X> X1DZ3 :: .'^ ?V^^-^^? > >> JB J.' >