Chapter II: Part 2

Proper coupling, or rather the coupling of proper animals, has received little attention, and is now confined generally if not exclusively to professional breeders. But it is a subject to which the dairymen can as well as not pay attention with good results. By coupling proper animals, we mean having regard to individual points and qualities, never coupling those having the same defects, either in form or quality. For instance, to illustrate, a cow high on the rump may be safely bred to a bull low on the rump, or _vice versa_, the result, in all probability, being an offspring with a level rump. This is breeding together opposite extremes, depending on the one to correct the other. But if we breed two sloped rumps together, or two humped rumps, the result would be to exaggerate and intensify or strengthen this deformity in the offspring. So of quality or disposition. A nervous cow bred to a nervous or irritable bull, would be pretty sure to drop a calf that would be more nervous than either sire or dam. But if one of the parents is dull and sluggish and the other irritable and sensitive, the offspring might be an improvement on both. Again, a cow lacking in the quality of richness of milk, though giving a large flow, should not be coupled with a bull descended from a family having the same peculiarity of large flow lacking in richness. But if there is richness on one side and abundance on the other, the coupling of the two might reasonably be expected to result in improvement in the offspring, which might inherit both the large flow and the rich quality. Bad points and qualities are inherited as well as good ones. Hence, the constant aim and care must be to avoid developing what is objectionable as well as to develop what is desired. It must be constantly borne in mind that like begets like. All the trouble attending inbreeding, crossing or grading comes from not properly regarding this fact. Where inbreeding is followed, the only disadvantage arises from the fact that all the animals are likely to have the same defects of form, quality and constitution. But where these are all right, the advantage is that inbreeding fixes the features and qualities and secures the establishment of them in a type or breed. But crossing or grading animals having the same failing will prove just as disastrous as would inbreeding. But crossing may be done in a way to develop good qualities, and these may afterward be fixed by careful selection and inbreeding of offspring. This subject of breeding is one of great importance, and yet little understood. Many things pertaining to it are yet to be settled, though great progress has been made during the last few years, and public attention is being drawn to it as it never was before. It will be found that man can become master of the situation, and may, by observing certain fundamental conditions and varying only the details, breed domestic animals of almost any form, disposition, and quality, that he may desire.

CARE AND KEEP.

Better care and keep, however, are the key notes to improvement. Higher conditions and better surroundings lead to improvements which may be developed into fixed traits by proper selection and coupling, provided the improved environment is maintained. The status can be maintained only by maintaining the conditions. This is what we mean by care. Under this head, we include all that pertains to the health and comfort of the animal. Judicious care is of prime importance not only in breeding but in securing the best results in dairy products. Proper food and drink and enough of it, with shelter, kind treatment, regularity and the most thorough system, must be provided, or corresponding failure, for any and all abuse, neglect or mistake, is sure to follow.

FEEDING STOCK.

The question of feeding stock is yearly rising into greater prominence and importance. Formerly, it was thought that anybody who could throw out coarse fodder and hay to cattle knew enough for all practical purposes about feeding, and that any sort of a shelter, or no shelter, if the animal survived, was sufficient. Better ideas are beginning to prevail. Few men now think they know all that can be learned about feeding stock, and those who know the most are the most anxious to learn. A thorough knowledge of feeding requires a knowledge of physiology and biology, with the chemical composition and nutritive qualities of the different kinds of food. Added to this must be the practical knowledge gained by observation of the effects of the different foods on different animals under various conditions. And when all is known that can be, there will still be room left for the exercise of the best judgment of the feeder as to the conditions and requirements of the animal fed, and as to the quality of the foods available and the quantity and proportions of each.

CARBONACEOUS AND NITROGENOUS FOODS.

It is pretty well known what the constituents of the animal organism are, and what elements of nutrition are required in the food for the sustenance of the animal. Of these primal elements--some twelve or fifteen in number--it is found that, practically, when foods combined contain two of them in proper proportion, the rest are generally present in sufficient quantity. These two are CARBON and NITROGEN, and the foods containing them in relatively large proportion are respectively called _carbonaceous_ and _nitrogenous_. All foods contain these elements in greater or less proportion. The proper proportion for feeding is found to be about _one_ of nitrogen to _five_ or _six_ of carbon. If the temperature of the weather is low, the proportion of carbon may be raised to eight, and even ten, where little exercise is had--as, for instance, milch cows standing in a cold stable. But, in hot weather, when cows are giving milk, the carbon may be reduced to four and even three--that is, so that there shall be one part of nitrogen to three or four parts of carbon. The carbon is heat and fat producing, and some class it as motor producing, but we think this is a mistake, save so far as heat is essential to motion. We think nitrogen is motor producing as well as muscle producing--or, in other words, that the element which produces the organs of motion also fills them with energy, for the exercise of which heat is essential. We cannot have motion, or even life, much below the normal temperature of about 98 degrees Fahrenheit. At all events, it is found necessary to feed nitrogenous food to all animals that are working hard, to supply the waste of muscle--and we think also to replace the expended energy. Dr. J. Milner Fothergill, in his work on the "Maintenance of Health," published by G.P. Putnam's Sons, says: "The effect of the nitrogen upon the brain is to _evolve nerve force freely_, and this rules and regulates the actual force which takes its origin in the respiratory foods consumed. These respiratory foods furnish the force itself, but the nitrogenized foods furnish the manifesters of force." It appears to us that the nerve force, which he says is evolved, is all there is of it, save the requisite conditions afforded by heat. Dr. Houghton says: "The hunted deer will outrun the leopard in a fair open chase, because the force supplied to its muscles by vegetable food is capable of being given out continuously for a long period of time; but in a sudden rush at a near distance, the leopard will infallibly overtake the deer, because its flesh food stores up in the blood a reserve of force capable of being given out instantaneously in the form of exceedingly swift muscular action." Dr. Fothergill goes on to say: "Nitrogen is the essential factor in all explosive compounds, from gunpowder to nerve force. It endows the consumer of it with energy and enables him to discharge his force quickly and rapidly." Again, he says of the race-horse: "His food affects his speed and endurance, and without his nitrogenized food he would cut a poor figure at a race, because without it he could not discharge his force fast enough."

WHAT IS CARBON?

It is pure in the diamond, nearly pure in coal, and is the principal constituent of all woody fiber--also of oils, fat, starch, sugar, etc. Nearly all the visible organic world is composed of carbon. It appears to be very plentiful, but of our atmosphere it composes only about four-ten-thousandths, while oxygen, with which it unites to form carbonic acid gas for vegetation to feed on, composes one-fifth and nitrogen four-fifths. Really, we have little trouble in securing carbonaceous foods. The only difficulty is to get them in a digestible form. Only what is soluble can be digested and assimilated by the animal organism. Hence, great care must be taken to get food in a proper condition for animal nutrition.

WHAT IS NITROGEN?

It is almost pure in the albumens; both vegetable and animal. It is nearly pure in the white of egg. Hence, nitrogenous foods are quite commonly called albuminoids. It exists abundantly in all the proteins--as cheese or caseine, fibrin or lean meat, albumen, etc. Nitrogen, in its free state, appears to be an innocuous gas, diluting the oxygen and preventing it from rapidly oxydizing or burning up everything. As before said, it constitutes four-fifths of our atmosphere, but does not appear to be directly appropriated by either vegetables or animals. As food for either, it must be in combination with other elements--especially carbon--and yet it is very difficult to make it unite with other elements, and hard to maintain the union when it is once formed. Its disposition is to break these unions and seek an idle state of freedom. Hence it is that, when held in durance, its constant tendency to free itself makes it the motor force in all animal organisms, and the terrible energy in all explosives. It is secured in the form of ammonia in rain, by a process called nitrification it unites with the soil, and it exists in all decayed animal and vegetable matter in a form suitable for plant food. Men and animals get it by eating vegetables or by eating one another. It is a very abundant and important element, yet very difficult to obtain in an available form for plant and animal food. Fortunately, but comparatively little of it is needed.

COMPOUNDING RATIONS.

By referring to the feed tables furnished by the analysts of this country and Europe, the farmer can learn the constituents of foods. Then, knowing the ration required, he can take different foods and compound in the right proportions aimed at in feeding, whether for work, for growth, for fat, for bare maintenance, or for milk. We give the German standards for feeding animals:

PER DAY AND PER 1,000 LBS. LIVE WEIGHT.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nutritive digestible sub.
-------------------------
ANIMALS. Total Albumi- Carbo- Total Nutritive
organic dry noids. hydrates. Fat. nutritive ratio.
substance. sub.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs.
1. Oxen at rest in stall 17.5 0.7 8.0 0.15 8.85 1:12
2. Oxen moderately worked 24.0 1.6 11.3 0.30 13.20 1:7.5
3. Oxen heavily worked 26.0 2.4 13.2 0.50 16.10 1:6.0
4. Oxen fattening, 1st period 27.0 2.5 15.0 0.50 18.00 1:6.5
Oxen fattening, 2d period 26.0 3.0 14.8 0.70 18.50 1:5.5
Oxen fattening, 3d period 25.0 2.7 14.8 0.60 18.10 1:6.0
5. Cows in milk 24.0 2.5 12.5 0.40 15.40 1:5.4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GROWING CATTLE--PER DAY AND PER HEAD.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Age. Average live weight
Months. per head.
2 to 3 150 pounds 3.3 0.6 2.1 0.30 3.00 1:4.7
3 to 6 300 pounds 7.0 1.0 4.1 0.30 5.40 1:5.0
6 to 12 500 pounds 12.0 1.3 6.8 0.30 8.40 1:6.0
12 to 18 700 pounds 16.8 1.4 9.1 0.28 10.78 1:7.0
18 to 24 850 pounds 20.4 1.4 19.3 0.26 11.96 1:8.0

SAMPLE RATIONS.

Dr. Wolf gives an illustration of the standard for a milch cow, by saying that 30 lbs. of young clover hay will keep a cow in good milk; and that this contains of dry organic substance, 23 lbs., of which is digestible--albuminoids 3.21, carbohydrates 11.28, and fat 0.63. This is .71 lb. albuminoids more, and .22 lb. of carbohydrates less, with .13 lb. of fat more, than the standard. Then he takes the richest and best meadow hay, of which 30 lbs. contains of organic substance 23.2 lbs., having digestible--albuminoids 2.49 lbs., carbohydrates 12.75 lbs., and fat 42 lb. This is almost exactly the feeding standard.

As will have been seen by what has preceded, the German standard ration for a milch cow is 24 lbs. of dry organic substance, containing 2.50 lbs. nitrogenous food, and 12.90 lbs. of carbonaceous food. To secure this, Dr. Wolff recommends for every 1,000 lbs. of live weight:

12 lbs. average meadow hay.
6 " oat straw.
20 " mangolds.
25 " brewers' grain.
2 " cotton seed cake.

Prof. S.W. Johnson's ration for the same purpose is:

20 lbs. corn fodder.
5 " rye straw.
6 " malt sprouts.
2 " cotton seed meal.

The following milk rations are recommended by Prof. E.W. Stewart:

No. 1.
18 lbs. oat straw.
5 " bean straw.
6 " cotton seed cake.

No. 2.
20 lbs. barley straw.
5 " pea straw.
2 " wheat bran.
5 " linseed meal.

No. 3.
20 lbs. poor hay.
5 " corn meal.
5 " cotton seed cake.

No. 4.
20 lbs. wheat straw.
5 " wheat bran.
3 " corn meal.
4 " linseed meal.

No. 5.
20 lbs. fresh marsh hay.
5 " corn meal.
5 " cotton seed meal.

No. 6.
10 lbs. good mead'w hay.
10 " rye straw.
3 " wheat bran.
5 " linseed meal.

The following are given by the same author as milk rations:

No. 1.
10 lbs. clover hay.
10 " straw.
4 " linseed oil cake.
4 " wheat bran.
2 " cotton seed cake.
4 " corn meal.

No. 2.
16 lbs. meadow hay.
8 " wheat bran.
2 " linseed meal.
6 " corn meal.

No. 3.
18 lbs. corn fodder.
8 " wheat bran.
4 " cotton seed meal.
4 " corn meal.

No. 4.
15 lbs. straw.
5 " hay.
4 " cotton seed meal.
4 " bran.
4 " corn meal.
3 " malt sprouts.

No. 5.
10 lbs. corn fodder.
10 " oat straw.
2 " linseed meal.
4 " malt sprouts.
10 " oat & corn meal.

No. 6.
60 lbs. corn ensilage.
5 " hay.
2 " linseed meal.
4 " bran.

FATTENING RATIONS.

The following rations are recommended by Prof. E.W. Stewart for fattening cattle. The rations are for 1,000 pounds of live weight:

No. 1.
18 lbs. wint'r wh't straw.
40 " corn sugar meal.
4 " cotton seed meal.

No. 2.
12 lbs oat straw.
10 " wheat bran.
40 " corn sugar meal.

No. 3.
12 lbs. clover hay.
6 " oat straw.
40 " corn sugar meal.
2 " linseed meal.

No. 4.
15 lbs. corn fodder.
5 " malt sprouts.
3 " corn meal.
40 " corn sugar meal.

No. 5.
20 lbs. best clover hay.
50 " corn sugar meal.

No. 6.
20 lbs. wheat straw.
8 " timothy hay.
6 " cotton seed cake.

No. 7.
20 lbs. corn fodder.
6 " Indian corn.
6 " linseed cake.

WORKING RATIONS.

The following are rations for oxen at hard work, as given by Prof. Stewart:

No. 1.
20 lbs. best meadow hay.
10 " corn meal.

No. 2.
20 lbs. corn fodder.
5 " clover hay.
2 " wheat bran.
3 " cotton seed cake.

No. 3.
17 lbs. clover hay.
3 " wheat bran.
10 " corn meal.

No. 4.
25 lbs. oat straw.
5 " wheat bran.
4 " linseed cake.

DIGESTIBILITY OF FOODS.

The following table, copied from Prof. Stewart, gives the digestibility of a few of the more common foods:

Digestible
In 100 lbs. Digestible. in 2,000 lbs.
-------------------------------------------------------------
CLOVER HAY.
Albuminoids 15.3 10.7 214
Carbo-hydrates 35.8} 37.5 752
Crude fibre 22.2}
Fat 3.2 2.1 42
----
1008

In 100 lbs. Digestible. Digestible
in 2,000 lbs.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
AVERAGE MEADOW HAY.

Albuminoids 9.7 5.4 108
Carbo-hydrates 41.6} 41.0 820
Crude fiber 21.9}
Fat 2.5 1.0 20
----
948

CORN FODDER.

Albuminoids 4.4 3.2 66
Carbo hydrates 37.9} 43.4 868
Crude fiber 25.0}
Fat 1.3 1.0 20
----
954

OAT STRAW.

Albuminoids 4.0 1.4 28
Carbo-hydrates 36.2} 40.1 802
Crude fibre 39.5}
Fat 2.0 0.7 14
----
844

LINSEED OIL CAKE.

Albuminoids 28.3 23.77 475
Carbo-hydrates 32.3} 35.15 703
Fibre 10.0}
Fat 10.0 9.0 180
----
1358

WHEAT BRAN.

Albuminoids 15.0 12.9 252
Carbo-hydrates 52.2} 42.6 852
Fibre 10.1}
Fat 3.2 2.6 52
----
1156

CORN MEAL.

Albuminoids 10.0 8.4 168
Carbo-hydrates 62.1} 60.6 1212
Crude fibre 5.5}
Fat 6.5 4.8 96
----
1476

OATS.

Albuminoids 12.0 9.0 180
Carbo-hydrates 55.0} 43.0 860
Crude fibre 9.3}
Fat 6.5 4.7 94
----
1134

ELEMENTS OF FOOD.

We give the names of a few foods, with their relative amount of nitrogenous and carbonaceous elements:

FOODS. Nitrogenous. Carbonaceous.
------------------------------------------------------
Meadow hay, medium 1 to 8.0
Red clover, medium 1 " 5.9
Lucerne, good 1 " 2.8
Swedish clover (alsike) 1 " 4.9
Orchard grass, in blos'm 1 " 6.5
White clover, medium 1 " 5.0
Timothy 1 " 8.1
Blue grass, in blossom 1 " 7.5
Red top 1 " 5.4
Fodder rye 1 " 7.2
Italian rye grass 1 " 6.3
Hungarian grass 1 " 7.1
Rich pasture grass 1 " 3.6
Green maize, German 1 " 8.9
Fodder oats 1 " 7.2
Sorghum 1 " 7.4
Pasture clover, young 1 " 2.5
Red clover, before bl's'm 1 " 3.8
Red clover, in blossom 1 " 5.7
White clover, in blossom 1 " 4.2
Buckwheat, in blossom 1 " 5.1
Fodder cabbage 1 " 5.2
Ruttabaga leaves 1 " 3.9
Fermented hay, from
maize 1 " 12.0
Fermented hay, from
beet leaves 1 " 4.0
Fermented hay, from
red clover 1 " 4.1
Winter wheat straw 1 " 45.8
Winter rye straw 1 " 52.0
Winter barley straw 1 " 40.5
Oat straw 1 " 29.9
Corn stalks 1 " 34.4
Seed clover 1 " 7.4
Wheat chaff 1 " 24.1
Rye chaff 1 " 32.6
Oat chaff 1 " 23.8
Barley chaff 1 " 30.4
Potatoes 1 to 10.6
Artichokes 1 " 8.7
Ruttabagas 1 " 8.3
Sugar beets 1 " 17.0
Carrots 1 " 9.3
Turnips 1 " 5.8
Wheat, grain 1 " 5.8
Rye, grain 1 " 7.0
Barley, grain 1 " 7.9
Oats, grain 1 " 6.1
Maize, grain 1 " 8.6
Millet, grain 1 " 5.4
Peas, grain 1 " 2.9
Buckwheat, grain 1 " 7.4
Cotton seed 1 " 4.6
Pumpkins 1 " 18.4
Coarse wheat bran 1 " 5.6
Wheat middlings 1 " 6.9
Rye bran 1 " 5.3
Barley bran 1 " 4.5
Buckwheat bran 1 " 4.1
Hempseed cake 1 " 1.5
Sunflower 1 " 1.3
Corn bran 1 " 10.3
Brewers' grain 1 " 3.0
Malt sprouts 1 " 2.2
Wheat meal 1 " 5.7
Rape cake 1 " 1.7
Rape meal, extracted 1 " 1.3
Barley, middlings 1 " 6.0
Oat bran 1 " 9.7
Linseed cake 1 " 2.0
Linseed meal, extracted 1 " 1.4
Cot'n-seed meal, decort. 1 " 1.8
Cot'n-s'd cake, undecort. 1 " 1.7
Cow's milk 1 " 4.4
Buttermilk 1 " 2.6
Skimmed milk 1 " 1.9
Cream 1 " 30.5

ENSILAGE.

Major Henry E. Alvord, of Houghton Farm, N.Y., gives the following
as the range and average of analyses by a large number of eminent
scientists:
Range in 100 lbs. Average.
Total dry matter 15.10 to 25.90 18.60
Water 84.90 to 74.10 81.40
Protein 0.90 to 1.90 1.30
Fat 0.30 to 0.90 0.60
Nitrogen-free extract 7.60 to 13.40 9.60
Crude Fiber 4.70 to 7.90 5.90
Ash 0.90 to 1.40 1.20

REMARKS.

It is safe to always feed cotton seed meal, bran, or linseed cake with corn fodder, or fodder corn, or ensilage. And it will always be found to work well if corn meal is fed with clover hay. Corn ensilage with clover hay will constitute a proper feed. To avoid waste, and secure the best results, we must learn to balance the nitrogenous and carbonaceous foods. Our greatest difficulty in feeding, as in manuring the soil, is to secure enough of the nitrogenous elements. These are what we have mainly to look out for, the carbonaceous foods usually being over abundant.

Not only must we proportion the elements of food properly, but we must prepare the food so that it will be in a proper condition. It may contain all the elements, but in consequence of being in a bad or wrong condition, the animal cannot digest it. There is plenty of carbon in coal, but who would expect the animal stomach to digest it? So there is nitrogen in saltpeter and gun-cotton, but they are not in a suitable condition or form for digestion, and hence have no food value. Most raw vegetables are indigestible in the human stomach, but cook them, and thus put them in a proper condition, and they become nutritious foods.

There are few, if any, perfect foods. Every food needs to be supplemented with something else. Hence it is that both men and animals want variety. Summer pasture, composed of mixed grasses, makes the best food for all kinds of stock. Meadow hay, cut at the right time and properly cured--provided there is a mixture of grasses--makes a proper food for winter; but even this needs to be accompanied by roots, ensilage or something of a juicy nature, as a relish, if for nothing else, and as an aid to digestion.

In a state of nature, roaming free, animals select and balance their rations according to the cravings of appetite. But when domesticated, they have no such freedom of choice, except perhaps in a few of the summer months. In winter, they must take what is given to them. It is our duty, therefore, to give their food a proper balance of elements as far as possible; and in thus conforming to the laws of nature, we shall find both the greatest economy and the greatest profit.

HANDLING MILK.

It is a comparatively easy operation to milk, if one knows how. The process is about as simple as that of Columbus in making an egg stand on end, but it requires skill, practice and a muscular hand to do it well. Grasping the teat so as to fill it with milk, and then tighten the thumb and fore finger so as to prevent a return of the milk to the udder as the rest of the fingers are gently but firmly closed, so as to give a downward pressure and expel the milk, is not likely to be done by the novice the first time trying. But ordinarily, the performance of this operation is soon achieved by any one who wishes to learn, though it is declared by some that they "never could learn to milk." Substitute "would" for "could," and we think the truth is more nearly approximated. Still there is a great difference in milkers, as well as in cows, the man or woman with a good grip in the hand having decidedly the advantage, both as regards ease and expedition--and it is quite important that the milk should all be quickly and continuously drawn from the cow after the milking is begun, and while the cow is in the mood of "giving down."

KEEP QUIET.

If a cow is suddenly disturbed, so as to get excited, or gets tired and out of patience, the flow of milk may be prematurely stopped. If this disturbance is continued from time to time, the effect will be to permanently lessen the flow, or "dry up" the cow. Anything that irritates a cow, while being milked, reduces both quality and quantity. Hence, milking should be done in a quiet and orderly manner. Treat the cow very kindly and gently, so as to gain her confidence, and be as careful as possible not to hurt her teats by unnecessarily tearing open any cracks there may be, or pinching any warts, and be sure to not dig your finger-nails into the teats.

REGULARITY.

It is a good plan to milk cows regularly in the same order, taking the same one first, and winding up with the same one every time. Regularity of hour in commencing the milking of the herd is an advantage, in securing the best results, since animals as well as men are greatly the creatures of habit, and when the time comes around the cow will desire to be milked and all the functions of her system will concur in this desire.

KEEP DOWN THE FOUL ODORS.

The milking should be done in a sweet, clean place--either a stable kept scrupulously clean, and plaster or other deoderizer freely used, or in a row of stanchions in an open shed, with barely a roof to keep off storm and sunshine, and no filthy deposits allowed to accumulate around it. The milk, as fast as drawn, should be removed from the place of milking, lest it absorb odors from the droppings, the breath, or the exhalations from the cow's body--or even from the sweat and grime of the person and clothes of the milker--for milk is extremely sensitive to these influences. It is much more so than is popularly supposed, and should be put in a sweet atmosphere as soon as possible when drawn. Fine fancy goods, with the most delicious and delicate flavor, cannot be made from milk that has been exposed to the influence of a foul atmosphere.

KEEP OUT THE DIRT.

So, also, great care should be taken to keep out all hairs, dirt and filth of every kind. If permitted to get into the milk, filth cannot be entirely strained out, and hence some of its odors and flavors will linger in the fats of the milk and appear in the product manufactured from it. The indispensable necessity for clean utensils has already been mentioned. Filth from this source will not only affect odor and flavor, but is quite likely to contain the germs of ferment which will multiply in the milk and product, and cause disastrous results. With a clean can, clean pails and clean hands, begin the task of milking by brushing off all loose materials from the cow's side that may rattle down into the pail, carefully brush and clean the udder and teats, and then place the pail between your knees in a way to prevent the cow putting her foot into it, or upsetting it, if she should move about nervously, or be suddenly startled--which should not be permitted if it is possible to avoid it.

LET OUT THE COWS.

As fast as milked, it is best to let the cows go. This gives more room, reduces the generation of heat in the stable or milking place, and lessens the amount of droppings and consequent bad odors rising from them. Those left will soon understand this and not get uneasy.

A LICK OF MEAL.

If the cows have been prepared for milking by giving them a lick of meal, or a little dry hay, when they come into the stable, it will be found to have a good effect. It will also cultivate a willingness to come home at milking time and take their respective places in the stanchions. It pays to please and satisfy a cow. She will deposit her appreciation in the pail.

CARE OF MILK.

When the milking is over, the milk should be taken as directly to the place of manufacture as possible. If it must be kept over night, see that it is well stirred and properly cooled to 70 degrees Fahrenheit, before leaving it. Do not put on a close cover, unless the milk is thoroughly cooled. It is far better to deliver it directly to the cheese or butter maker, who knows how to care for it, and has facilities for doing the work--or, at least, ought to have. Very much depends on having the milk delivered in good condition. If it is not, no after care and skill can make a perfect product from it. True, if all right when delivered, it may be afterward injured or spoiled, but it is not likely to be. It is therefore the duty of the patron to do his part of the work all right; then he may with some reason blame the operator if the result is not right. But butter and cheese makers are too often expected to turn out first-class products from second or third class milk--a task impossible to perform. With good milk and proper facilities, there is no valid excuse for failure.

The first object is the production of good milk. This is of prime importance. Without it, the after product must of necessity be inferior. The next object is to preserve the milk in its best condition, all through the handling, in order to reach the best results. Milk is often spoiled in the handling. Hence care and judgment must be exercised to maintain the proper conditions to the end.

COMPOSITION OF MILK.

Few understand the delicate and complex nature of milk. It is a compound of many ingredients; and if any one of these is disturbed, it affects the whole. Their union is very weak and unstable, and liable to be broken by many influences. To give a clearer idea of the composition of milk, we copy the following diagram, prepared by Dr. E. Lewis Sturtevant, Director of the New York Agricultural Experiment Station:

MILK.
|
+-----------------+--------------+
Cream. Skim Milk.
| |
+----------+---------+ +-------+-----------+
Butter. Butter Milk. Coag'ble Matter. Whey or Serum.
| | | |
+------+------+ ------+------ +--+----+ +------+----------
Solid Fat. Liquid Fat. Casein. Whey By By Salts. Nitrog. Matter
| | or Rennet. Acetic | or
---+--- ----+---- Serum. | Acid. ---+--- Osmazome.
Stearin Olein ---+--- | Potash Sach. Matter
Palmatin Butyrin Casein. --+-- Soda or
Caproin [2]Ziega. Lime Milk Sugar.
Caprylm Magnesia
Caprin Iron
Arachin Phos. Acid
[1]Myristin. Sulph. Acid
Carbonic Acid
Silicic Acid
Chlorine.

[1] Not found in all milk.

[2] Includes, albumen and whatever else is coagulable by acetic
acid.

Here are between twenty and thirty different constituents, in various proportions. Their combination is effected through the organism of the cow, the ultimate work being performed by the udder, where it is no sooner completed than reaction begins and change is the result.

DETERIORATION OF MILK IN THE UDDER.

The longer the milk remains in the udder, the more it is impoverished by absorption of some of its ingredients. This is specially true of the fats, which are taken up by the absorbent vessels of the udder and carried into general circulation. For this reason, the first milk drawn--which is the first secreted, and therefore remains in the udder the longest--is the poorest milk drawn, and that which is last secreted and last milked (the strippings) is the richest. Hence, the longer the interval between milkings, the poorer the milk for butter making. Three milkings a day will give better results than two.

DO FATS EXPAND BEFORE CONGEALING?

If milk is to be set for cream, the sooner it is put to rest and the less heat it looses before setting, the better for the separation of the cream. If cooled down much, the cream will rise more slowly and separate more imperfectly. In cooling, the fluids and semi-fluids condense faster than the fats, and hence become relatively heavier, and settle as the fat globules rise, by virtue of the law of gravitation. The theory has been broached by Mr. H.B. Gurler, of DeKalb, Illinois, that in sudden cooling, the fluids and semi-fluids are not only condensed, but the fats expanded, thus increasing the difference in specific gravity in both directions. In this way, the rapid rising of cream in sudden cooling he thinks may be better accounted for. His idea is based on the fact that water, just before congealing, begins to expand and continues to expand as the temperature lowers. Fats consolidate at a much higher temperature than water, and he thinks the same law of expansion may intervene in both cases. So far as we are aware, it is not known whether fats do actually expand before and after reaching the point of congelation or not, and we shall feel an interest in having the question positively settled by the scientists. If it is a fact, it introduces a new element into our philosophy, and will help in the solution of some points not yet satisfactorily determined.

EFFECTS OF FALLING TEMPERATURE.

It is a fact that cream rises best in a falling temperature, very slowly in a stationary one, and little or none in a rising temperature. Hence, in cold weather, when milk cools very rapidly after being drawn from the cow, it is the practice of many good dairymen to raise the temperature of the milk to 100 degrees when set. In this way, they get a quicker and more complete separation of the cream as the milk cools down.

It would be a good idea to have, in all butter factories, apparatus for setting milk so constructed that the temperature of the mass of milk can be gradually and evenly raised to 100 degrees, or even slightly above; for it is difficult to deliver warm milk in a good condition especially in hot weather--if it has to be carried any considerable distance, while in cold weather, it is sure to get considerably reduced in temperature, both in milking and on the road to the factory. Hence, it seems almost absolutely essential, if the best results are to be attained, to have some means of properly raising the temperature of the milk at the factory.

COOLING AND AIRING.

If milk is to be sent to the factory, for either butter or cheese making, where the distance is half a mile or more, it should be aired and cooled--especially if it is to be shut up in a tight can. This cooling should be done as speedily as possible after milking, to avoid taint or souring. If the milk is kept over night, such airing and cooling are absolutely indispensable. The mode of doing this must vary with conditions and circumstances; but, whatever method may be adopted, we would by no means recommend putting ice directly into the milk. The effect cannot be to improve flavor or keeping quality.

PROTECTION FROM THE HOT SUN.

By no means should the can of milk be exposed to the direct rays of a hot sun, either on the platform waiting for the delivery wagon, or on the wagon. Give it shelter and shade of some kind, in both cases. If a woolen blanket is wet in cold water and wrapped around the can, the rapid evaporation from the blanket will keep down the temperature. Everything that can be should be done to preserve milk in its normal condition.

TREATMENT OF NIGHT'S AND MORNING'S MILK.

The night's milk and the morning's milk should never be mixed before starting for the factory, but kept in separate cans and so delivered. The effect of mixing will be seen soon enough at the factory, and often much too soon in hot weather. If the morning's milk were made as cool as the night's, the effect of mixing would not be so speedy and disastrous. But it appears to be an immutable law, that reducing the temperature and then raising it hastens decomposition. A low temperature only retards decomposition; it does not prevent it, unless very low and it is continued. As soon as the temperature is raised, decomposition sets in with accelerated rapidity, as if to make up for lost time. Hence, we have always looked upon low temperatures in the dairy as objectionable. As low as 60 degrees but not below 50 degrees is the limit which we prefer. We think this range more effective for long keeping than a lower one. Certainly, dairy goods made and kept within this range will not go to decay so soon as in a higher temperature.

RECEIVING.

In receiving either milk or cream from the patron, it is essential not only that justice be done in the weight or measure, but that the patron should be satisfied of this fact. The agent sent out to gather cream should be an honest man, in whom the patrons as well as the employer have confidence, and should understand his business and do it in a workman-like manner, so as to inspire confidence. He should also be versed in the various tricks that may be resorted to by patrons to deceive and cheat, and be on his guard, quick to discern any suspicious surroundings or indications. As much depends on his judgment and observation as on his honesty--especially if any of the patrons are disposed to be dishonest, as is sometimes the case where it would generally be least suspected. The later device of not only measuring cream by the gauge, but of testing its yield of butter by churning a sample, is not only a guard, to considerable extent, against fraud, but more closely approximates justice by getting at the actual quality of the cream, on which depends its value. There is no associated system yet devised--save that of churning every patron's cream separately and weighing the product--that secures exact justice to all. Nature does not appear to have furnished standards of commercial measure or value for the purpose of indicating mine and thine in mixed transactions, or in speculative exchange. We have only relative and approximate guides, by which justice, in a business sense, is by no means secured.

TESTING.

Where milk is delivered at the factory, we have as yet no standard test of value. All the receiver can do is to see that it is in a normal condition--neither sour nor tainted, nor containing bad odors. For this purpose, the smell must mainly be relied on. Hence, healthy and keen olfactories are a great aid here, as in some other cases. If one catches the fumes when the can cover is first removed, or as the milk runs into the weighing can, he is pretty sure to detect any very positive bad odor. The eye, to one of experience, is almost certain to detect any great variation. Even slight watering is seen by some from the peculiarity of the reflection of light from the surface--especially when in motion. Much water shows from the "thin" appearance of the fluid. Where the smell or appearance are cause for suspicion, or there is any other cause, a sample may be saved and such tests as are at hand may be applied. The so-called lactometer will show whether the specific gravity is below or above the normal standard. The cream gauge will give the percent of cream at a given temperature. If, afterward, a sample right from the herd, taken so as to know that it has not been tampered with, shows better quality by these two tests, it is pretty conclusive evidence that the milk from which the factory sample was taken was not in a normal condition. If the herd has been subject to no change of feed or conditions between the times of taking the two samples, any jury would be safe in bringing in a verdict against the defendant for watering, skimming, or otherwise tampering with his milk, as the facts in evidence might indicate.

BAD MILK.

Sour or tainted milk, to any perceptible degree, ought not to be received at the factory. One such mess will injure, if it does not spoil, a whole batch. The sour milk is likely to lead to a sour, leaky batch, and the tainted milk to huffy if not floating curd, and porous, quickly off-flavor and decaying cheese. We have little patience with those who deliver such milk, and none with those who attempt to devise means to work it into palatable cheese and thus to get it into the unsuspecting stomachs of the consumers. It is too much like making omelets of rotten eggs. This is especially the case with tainted milk. The first stages of souring are not so objectionable, so far as wholesomeness is concerned. Sour milk may make good pot-cheese to which we do not object, but it will not make good American cheddar cheese. To attempt to work it into this is the worst use it can be put to.

WEIGHING.

All possible precautions should be taken to avoid mistakes in weighing and giving credit. A hasty comparison of each mess with that of the previous one delivered by the same man will indicate any marked departure from weight and serve as a check against error. It is well to always announce the weight to the patron, who then has a chance for comparison with his average or previous messes. He will be pretty likely to mention any marked variation, especially if it is against him. Some patrons like to have a pass-book, in which the weight of each mess is entered. This is a little trouble to the receiver when in a hurry, but it is a complete check against errors of entry on the factory book, and against the forgetfulness of the patron, who may get the impression that he has delivered more milk in a given time than he has been credited with. Everything that guards against error or misunderstanding will be found to pay and give satisfaction to honest men. An honest factoryman not only wants to be right, but to appear right and have the confidence of his patrons. A dishonest one will want to appear right, and it is well to take such precautions as will make him what he appears. See that the weighing can is properly balanced, that the scales are true, and that the weights are correct. An honest man will bear watching, and it is absolutely necessary to watch a rogue. Where the milk is sold to the factory, of course all interest in the matter with the patron ends when he gets his milk correctly weighed and his money for it. Where the _pro rata_ system is carried out, this interest extends to the weighing of the cheese, its marketing and the division of the proceeds.

KEEPING MILK.

When the milk is in the cheese vat, it should be stirred and aired at night until the temperature is down to 70 degrees, if it is to stand quiet; if an agitator is used, which is preferable, no further attention need be paid to the milk but to see that the supply of cold water is ample and continuous. As to mixing the morning's with the night's milk, it appears to be preferable to working up the two milkings separately.

BUTTER MAKING.

There really are but four systems of setting milk for cream, notwithstanding the numerous inventions and devices. These are: 1. Cooling in water; 2. cooling in air; 3. shallow setting; 4. deep setting.

DEEP SETTING AND WATER COOLING.

Deep setting, whether in pails or pans, is always accompanied with water and the use of ice. In many instances, however, where running water is abundant, ice is dispensed with, and the pails are set in pools or tanks, while the pans have water run around them, if not under them. Under-cooling, however, is pretty well understood to be a disadvantage, unless the vessel containing the milk is submerged in water or nearly so. Ice is a good deal used, and the milk rapidly run down in temperature. Some think this is the better as well as the quicker way, if not the only way to get all the cream. Our only objection to this rapid cooling is that it runs the temperature too low, and, in our opinion, injures the keeping quality of the product.

EFFECT OF TOO LOW COOLING.

If run below 40 degrees, or the point where water begins to expand, all cooling below that point lessens the difference in specific gravity between the water and the fat globules, and operates diametrically in the opposite direction to what is desired. The aim is to condense the water, which is a good conductor, and leave the fat globules, which are poor conductors, unchanged or but slightly contracted. In this way, the heavier fluid settles and drives the light particles of fat upward to rest on the surface. But, if we go below 40 degrees, we produce the directly opposite effect and retard the rising of the cream. For quality, we prefer the slower cooling in water, and think the longer time given will secure all the cream available and in a purer condition.

BUTTERMILK FLAVOR.

If more cream or butter is obtained by rapid cooling, we think it is because more particles of caseine are entangled in the cream and remain in the butter when churned. This would of course make more weight for market, but of inferior quality and sooner to go off flavor. But where the butter is consumed fresh from the churn, this does not matter so much; and if the particles of caseine give the butter a slight buttermilk flavor, it pleases some palates that have been educated to like it. We, however, prefer the sweet, delicate flavor of cream butter, free from caseine or lactic acid. But, if one has a special line of customers, he must please them, whatever the demand may be. If the butter is thrown on the general market, and there is liable to be delay in getting it into consumption, it cannot be made too pure, nor retain its rosy flavor too long.

SHALLOW SETTING AND AIR COOLING.

Generally, in shallow setting, whether in large or small pans, cooling the milk in air is depended upon. Formerly, an underground room, or one in a shady place, was the only appliance usually resorted to for cooling. But, of late years, some method of artificially cooling the air by the use of ice is generally adopted. In some cases, the milk room is made small, with low ceiling and double walls, so that a cake of ice near the ceiling does the cooling. Usually, however, some sort of refrigerator construction is resorted to, so that cool air from the ice-house, or ice placed above the milk room, is introduced to regulate the temperature and keep it steady. We prefer cooling in air, though it may take a little more space and time. By this method, extremely rapid cooling and low temperature are avoided, and no violence is done to the milk or cream. Deep setting, it is true, exposes less surface to the air; but if the milk is not submerged, the surface is likely to be cooler than the air above, and to condense the vapor in it, which falls with all its impurities on the surface of the cream. Any foulness or bad odors are thus absorbed and go into the butter product. While submerging obviates this objection and keeps out all impurities from the air, it also prevents all escape of bad odors by evaporation. Whatever that is objectionable may be in the milk is retained there. By setting in open air, which should of course always be pure and sweet, the air, being cooled down and used as a medium for cooling the milk, takes up the exhalations of moisture and odor from the milk, and thus purifies it. The colder medium is always the condenser and absorbent, and it is only when the milk gets colder than the air above it that it condenses the moisture in the air and absorbs its odor. This will never occur where cold air is the cooling medium. The milk theoretically can never get cooler than the air, while practically it remains a degree or two warmer than the air.

OXYDIZING CREAM.

There is another advantage in using the air as a cooling medium. In shallow setting, more surface is exposed and the air, coming in contact with the surface, imparts to it a portion of its oxygen, which mingles with the oils and develops that fine butter flavor so much relished by most and which is a peculiarity of fine butter. Again, slow cooling gives more time for this oxydation to go on, and thus "ripen" the cream for churning without souring it. This leaves all the fine flavor in it, unmixed with flavors resulting from acidification. But, where milk is set deep for creaming--and especially where there is no exposure to the air, as is the case in submerging--no butter flavor is developed, and the cream has to be kept until sour before it is properly oxydized. There is not a full development of butter flavor proper, but development of flavor resulting from the mingling of lactic acid with the oils. But without this exposure and acidification, the butter is insipid and comparatively flavorless. Any subsequent exposure to the air soon throws the butter off flavor, the oxygen mingling with the fats alone while the cream is rising and still sweet. This development of flavor by oxydation is not mere theory; it has been scientifically demonstrated at Cornell University, New York, if not elsewhere, and must sooner or later be generally accepted and butter making proceed on a more rational and certain basis. But it is hard work to get people out of old ruts, or to overcome fixed habits and prejudices. Really scientific butter making, in which every step will be thoroughly understood and deliberately taken, is a thing of the future. It will come in time, and then our descendants will wonder why we were so stupid and slow as not to see and adopt the simplest principles when they were thrust into our very faces. But mind and judgment are matters of growth, the same as everything else in this universe of being.

SKIMMING MILK.

So many improvements or inventions have been introduced in the setting of milk for cream that the term "skimming" has become almost a misnomer. In both deep and shallow setting, arrangements have been made in several of the patent pans and cans for drawing out the milk from the bottom and leaving the cream. Glass gauges are set in the vessels so that the exact depth of the cream can be seen, and the milk drawn down close to the cream or a small amount of the upper portion of the milk left with the cream. In skimming with a skimmer or dipper, many aim to take the upper portion of the milk, on the theory that the separation is less perfect toward the top than it is lower down. Especially may this be done where a dipper or skimmer without holes is used. It is claimed by some careful experimenters and close observers that this adds to the quantity of butter yielded without deteriorating the quality.

WHEN TO SKIM.

Whether skimming off the cream or drawing off the milk be practiced, the question arises as to the proper time for performing the operation. The more general practice is to "skim" just as the milk gives unmistakable signs of acidity, or thickens a very little on the bottom of the pan or can. A few prefer to skim the cream sweet, and still another few let the milk lopper. This wide divergence of opinion and practice shows how very imperfectly is the real philosophy of butter making understood; but, notwithstanding this, each one is usually very tenacious in his belief as to the superiority of his own practice. A few fancy butter makers say that the finest butter is made from sweet cream, raised in cold air by shallow setting. It is insisted by them that airing and oxydizing, and not souring, is what "ripens" cream and fits it for easy churning, while this airing and oxydizing imparts the fine aroma so much desired in the finest butter. This view of the origin or development of flavor is sustained by experiments made at Cornell University, at the suggestion or under the supervision of Prof. L.B. Arnold. It is also claimed that the lack of flavor and the short-keeping of sweet-cream butter churned from cream raised by deep setting is due to its lack of oxygen, and that souring the cream thus raised, before churning, both oxydizes it and imparts a ranker and more positive flavor resulting from the effects of the lactic acid. We think both propositions look reasonable, and we should like to see a series of scientific experiments made to determine both the effects of oxygen and the effects of lactic acid on the butter product of cream. At present, theory and practice vary so widely with different butter makers who turn out a high-priced butter for the market, that one is led to doubt all theories and query whether the quality of butter does not depend on something not yet known, which is independent of all current theories and practices.

CHURNING.