On the MANAGEMENT of the DAIRY, particularly with respect to the MAKING and CURING of BUTTER. By J. ANDERSON, L. L. D. F. R. S. &c.
[Extracted from the sixth article in the fifth volume of the Letters and Papers of the Bath Agricultural Society.]

WHEN a dairy is established, the undertaker ought to be fully acquainted with every circumstance respecting the manufacture both of butter and cheese; here it is only proposed to treat of the manufacture of butter. The first thing is to choose cows of a proper sort; among this class of animals it is found by experience, [Page 19] that some kinds give milk of a thicker consistence and richer quality than others. In judging of the value of a cow, it ought rather to be the quantity and the quality of the cream produced from the milk in a given time, than the quantity of the milk itself; this is a circumstance of more importance than is generally imagined. The small cows of the Alde [...]ney breed afford the richest milk hitherto known; but individual cows in every country, may be found, by a careful selection, that afford much richer milk than others; these therefore ought to be searched for with care, and their breed reared with attention, as being peculiarly valuable. In comparing the milk of two cows, to judge of their respective qualities, particular attention must be paid to the time that has elapsed since their calv­ing. To make the cows give abundance of milk, and of a good quality, they must at all times have plenty of food.— Grass is the best food yet known for this purpose, and that kind which springs up spontaneously on rich dry soils, is the best of all. If the cows are so much incommoded by the heat as to be prevented from eating through the day, they ought to be taken into cool shades for protection; where, after allowing them a proper time to ruminate, they should be supplied with abundance of green food, fresh cut for the purpose, and given them by hand fre­quently, fresh and fresh in small quantities, so as to in­duce them to eat it with pleasure.

Cows, if abundantly fed, should be milked three times a day during the whole of the summer season, in the morn­ing early, at noon, and in the evening just before night fall. If cows are milked only twice in twenty four hours, while they have abundance of succulent food, they will yield a much smaller quantity of milk in the same time, than if they be milked three times. Some attentive observers I have met with, think a cow in these circumstances, will give nearly as much milk at each time, if milked three times, as if they were milked only twice. In the choice of persons for milking the cows, great caution should be em­ployed, for if all the milk be not thoroughly drawn from a cow when she is milked, a diminution of the quantity gradually takes place, and in a short time the cow becomes dry. In the management of a dairy, the following pecu­liarities [Page 20] respecting milk, ought very particularly to be at­tended to; some of them are, no doubt, known in part to attentive housewives, but they have never been considered of so much importance as they deserve.

In this case, it is believed that the loss of cream will be in proportion▪ to the time that has elapsed and the agita­tion it has sustained after having been drawn from the cow.

From the above facts the following corollaries seem to be clearly deducible.

1. It is of importance, that the cows should be always milked as near the dairy as possible, and it must be of great advantage in a dairy farm, to have the principal grass fields as near the dairy as possible.

2. The practice of putting the milk of all the cows of a large dairy into one vessel, as it is milked, there to re­main till the whole milking be finished, before any part of it be put into milk pans, seems to be highly injudicious, not only on account of the loss that is sustained by agita­tion and cooling, but also, as it prevents the owner of the dairy from distinguishing the good from the bad cows milk; a better practice therefore, would be, to have the milk drawn from each cow separately, put into the creaming pans as soon as it is milked, without being mixed with any other.—Thus would the careful farmer be able, on all occasions, to observe the particular quality of each individual cow's milk, as well as its quantity, and to know with precision, which of his cows it was his interest to dispose of, and which he ought to keep and breed from.

3. If it be intended to make butter of a very fine quality, it would be adviseable in all cases to keep the milk, that is first drawn, separate from that which comes last, as it is obvious, that if this be not done, the quality of the butter will be greatly debased, without much augment­ing its quantity. It is also obvious that the quality of the butter will be improved in proportion to the smallness of the proportion of the last drawn milk that is retained, so [Page 22] that those who wish to be singularly nice in this respect will only re [...]ain a very small proportion of the last drawn milk.

4. If the quality of the butter be the chief object at­tended to, it will be necessary not only to separate the first from the last drawn milk, but also to take nothing but the cream that is first separated from the best milk, as it is this first rising cream alone that is of the prime quality; the remain­der of the milk, which will be still sweet, may be either employed for the purpose of making sweet milk cheeses, or it may be allowed to stand to throw up cream for mak­ing butter of an inferiour quality.

5. From the above facts, we learn that butter of the very best possible quality can only be obtained from a dairy of considerable extent when judiciously managed.

6. From these premises, we are led to draw a conclu­sion different from the opinion that is commonly enter­tained on this subject, viz.—That it seems probable that the very best butter can only be with economy made in those dairies where the manufacture of cheese is the principal object.

As but few persons would be willing to purchase the very best butter at a price to indemnify the farmer for his trouble, I am satisfied from experience and attentive ob­servation, that if in general about the first drawn half of the milk be separated at each milking, and the remainder only be set up for producing cream, and if that milk be al­lowed to stand to throw up the whole of its cream, even till it begins sensibly to taste sourish, and if that cream be afterwards carefully managed, the butter thus obtained will be of a quality greatly superiour to what can usually be obtained at market, and its quantity not considerably less than if the whole of the milk had been treated alike.

No dairy can be managed with profit, unless a place properly adapted for keeping the milk, and for carrying on the different operations of the dairy, be first provided. ^*— The necessary requisites of a good milk house are, that it be cool in summer, and warm in the winter, so as to pre­serve a temperature nearly the same throughout the whole [Page 23] year, and that it be dry, so as to admit of being kept clean and sweet at all times.

From the trials I have made, I have reason to believe that when the heat is from fifty to fifty five degrees on Farenheit's thermometer, the sepa [...]ation of the cream from the milk, which is the most important operation of the dairy, goes forward with the greatest regularity. When the heat exceeds sixty degrees, the operations become dif­ficult and dangerous, and when it falls below the fortieth degree, they can scarcely be carried forward with any de­gre [...] of economy, or propriety.

In winter, should the cold become too great, it might be occasionally dispelled, by placing a barrel full of hot wa­ter closely bunged up, upon the table, to remain till cooled. This I prefer to any kind of chaffing dish with burning embers.

The utensils of the dairy, must in general be made of wood. As the acid of milk readily dissolves lead, with which the common earthen vessels are glazed, such vessels should be banished from the dairy.

The creaming dishes (for so I call the vessels in which the milk is placed for throwing up the cream) when pro­perly cleaned, sweet and cool, are to be filled with the milk as soon after it is drawn from the cow as possible, having been first strained carefully through a close strainer.

These dishes should never exceed three inches in depth, whatever be their other dimensions. As soon as they are filled, they are to be placed on the shelves in the milk house, perfectly undisturbed, till it be judged expedient to separate the cream from them.

In a moderately warm temperature of the [...], if very fine butter be intended, it should not be allowed to stand more than six or eight hours; for ordinary good butter, it may safely stand ten or twelve, or more.

It is of great importance to the success of the dairy, that the skimming be well performed, for if any part of the cream be left, the quantity of the butter will be diminished; and if any part of the milk be taken, its quality will be de­based. ^*

[Page 24]When the cream is obtained, it ought immediately to be put into a vessel by itself, there to be kept till a proper quantity be collected for being made into butter. And no vessel can be better adapted to that purpose than a firm neat made wooden barrel, in size proportioned to the dairy, open at one end, with a lid exactly fitted to close it. In the under part of this vessel, close to the bot­tom, should be placed a cock and spigot, for drawing off any thin serous part of the milk that may chance to be there generated; for if this is allowed to remain, it injures the cream, and greatly diminishes the richness of the qual­ity of the butter; the inside of the opening should be covered with a bit of gauze netting, to keep back the cream while the serum is allowed to pass, and the barrel should be inclined a little forward, to allow the whole to run off.

The separation of butter from cream, only takes place after the cream has attained a certain degree of acidity. The judicious farmer will therefore allow his cream to remain in the vessel until it has acquired that proper degree of acidity that fits it for being made into butter with great ease, by a very moderate degree of agitation, and by which process only, very fine butter ever can be obtained. How long cream may be thus kept in our climate, without rendering the butter made from it of a bad quality, I cannot say; but it may be kept good for a much longer time than is generally suspected, even a great many weeks.—It is certain that cream which has been kept three or four days in summer is in an excellent con­dition for being made into butter; from three days to seven, may in general be found to be the best time for keeping cream before churning.

I prefer the old fashioned upright churn, having a long handle, with a foot to it perforated with holes, as it admits of being better cleaned, and of having the butter more easily separated from the milk than any others.

Where the cream has been duly prepared, the process of butter making is very easy; there is however more ni­cety r [...]quired than most persons seem to be aware of; a few hasty, irregular strokes, may render the butter of scarcely any value, which, but for this circumstance, would have been of the finest quality. The butter when made, must [Page 25] be immediately separated from the milk, and being put into a clean dish, the inside of which, if of wood, should be well rubbed with common salt. The butter should be pressed and worked with a flat wooden ladle, having a short handle, so as to force out all the milk that was lodged in the cavities of the mass. The beating up of the butter by the hand is an indelicate and barbarous practice. If the milk be not entirely taken away, the butter will infallibly spoil in a short time, and if it be much washed, it will be­come tough and gluey. Some persons employ cold water in this operation; but this practice is not only useless, but also pernicious, because the quality of the butter is thus debased in an astonishing manner. In every part of the foregoing process it is of the utmost importance, that the vessels and every thing else about the dairy, be kept per­fectly sweet and clean.

Wooden vessels are the most proper for containing salted butter. Oak is the best wood for the bottom and s [...]aves. Broad split hoops are to be preferred to all others.

Iron hoops should be rejected, as the rust of them will in time sink through the wood, and injure the colour of the butter. To season a new vessel for the reception of salted butter, requires great care: It should be filled fre­quently with scalding water, allowing it to remain till it slowly cools. After the butter has been cleaned from the milk, as before directed, it is ready for being salted. Let the vessel be rendered as clean and as sweet as possi­ble, and be rubbed all over in the inside with common salt; and let a little melted butter be run into the cavity between the bottom and the sides at their joining, so as to fill it, and make it every where flush with the bottom and sides: It is then fit to receive the butter. Common salt is almost the only substance hitherto employed for preserv­ing butter. I have found by experience that the fol­lowing composition is in many respects preferable to it, as it not only preserves the butter more effectually from any [...]aint of rancidity, but makes it look better and taste sweeter and more marrowy, than if the same butter had been cured with common salt alone. The composition is as follows▪

[Page 26]Take of sugar one part, of [...] (s [...]lt petre) one part, and of the best Spanish great salt, two parts; beat the whole into a fine powder, mix them well together, and put them by for use.

Of this composition, one ounce should be put to every sixteen ounces of butter: Mix this salt thoroughly with the butter; as soon as it has been freed from the milk, and put it, without loss of time, into the vessel prepared to re­ceive it, pressing it so close as to have no air holes, or any kind of cavities within it; smooth the surface, and if you expect it will be more than two days before you add more, cover it close up with a piece of clean linen, and over that a piece of fine linen that has been dipped in melted but­ter, that is exactly fitted to the edges of the vessel all round, so as to exclude the air as much as possible, without the assistance of any watery brine. When more butter is to be added, remove the coverings, and let the butter be ap­plied close above the former, pressing it down, and smooth­ing it as before, and so on till the vessel is full. When full, let the two covers be spread over it with the greatest care, and let a little melted butter be poured all round the edges, so as to fill up every cranny, and effectually exclude the air. A little salt may then be strewed over the whole, and the cover firmly fixed down, to remain closely shut till open­ed for use. If this be carefully done, the butter may be kept perfectly sound in this climate for many years. ^*

It must be remarked that butter cured in this manner, does not taste well till it has stood at least a fortnight after being salted. After that period is elapsed, it eats with a rich marrowy taste that no other butter ever acquires. Butter thus cured, will go well to the East or West In­dies.

Butter, in its natural state, contains a considerable pro­portion of mucous matter, which is more highly putrescible [Page 27] than the pure oily parts of the butter. When it is intend­ed to be exposed to the heat of warm climates, it ought to be freed from that mucilage before it be cured and packed up To do this, let it be put into a vessel of a proper shape, which should be immersed in another containing water. Let the water be gradually heated till the butter be tho­roughly melted: Let it continue in that state for some time, and allow it to settle: The mucous part will fall to the bottom, and the pure oil swim at top. When it cools, it becomes opaque and paler than the original butter, and of a firmer consistence. When this refined butter is become a little stiff, and while it is still somewhat soft, the pure part should be separated from the dregs, and then salted and packed up in the same way as is before directed.

Those who wish to see the subject more fully treated, are referred to the original.

An ACCOUNT of the MANNER of MAKING CHEESE in ENGLAND.

IN this second great object of the dairy, the same precaution as with regard to the butter, is necessary, viz. The cows ought not to be driven violently before milking, and every utensil must be kept equally clean.

The most common defects of cheese are, its appearing, when cut, full of small holes, called eyes; its puffing up, cracking, and pouring out a quantity of thin whey; becom­ing afterwards rotten and full of maggots in those pla­ces where the whey appeared. All these difficulties pro­ceed from a substance called slip curd, a kind of half coagu­lum, incapable of a thorough union with the true curd, and which, when broken into small bits, produces eyes, but if in larger pieces, occasions those rents and cracks in the cheese already mentioned; for though this kind of [Page 28] curd retains its coagulated nature for some time, it always, sooner or later, dissolves into a serous liquor. This kind of curd may be produced by using the milk too hot, by bad runnet, or by not allowing the curd a proper time to form. The first may be remedied by the use of cold water. The second, by good runnet, a knowledge of which can only be acquired by long practice. The only rule that can be given for its preparation is, to take out the stomach of a calf, rince it in cold water, and rub it well with salt and dry it. It may be used immediately on drying, though it is considered best after it is a year old. The best method of making the runnet is, to take one gallon of pure spring water and boil it; then make it into brine with cl [...]an salt, sufficiently strong to bear an egg; let it cool to about blood heat, Two of the skins (or what are commonly in this country called runnet bags) must be put into the brine, either cut in pieces, or whole, as is most convenient; they must steep twenty four hours; after which, it is fit for use. About a tea cup of a mid­dling size, of the liquor, will be sufficient for the milk of ten cows.

In making cheese, supposing the runnet of a good qual­ity, the following particulars must be observed.

1. The proper degree of heat: This ought to be what is called milk warm, which is considerably below the warmth of milk taken from the cow. If too hot, it may be reduced by cold water, without any injury to the cheese.

2. The time allowed for the runnet to take effect: This ought never to be less than one hour and a half.

3. After having the curd firmly formed at the bottom of the tub, the whey must be taken away, and the curd must stand to drain one quarter of an hour.

If any pieces of slip curd are found swimming in the whey, they should be poured off with it, rather than be admitted into the cheese. Some dairy women allow their curd to stand two hours, to obtain a firmness that will require no breaking; but the best method is to break it thoroughly, for the cheese is less apt to be hard.

4. The best method to prevent cheese from heaving, is to avoid making the runnet too strong, to take care that [Page 29] it be very clean, and by no means the least tainted, to be certain the curd is fully formed, which is known by the blue colour of the whey, and by no means to stir it till the air has had time to escape.

5. The best method to prevent the cracking of cheeses, is to salt them in the milk, or after the cheese is formed, which may be done with much more certainty than in the curd, which is a bad method.

6. Dry cracks in cheese are frequently produced by keeping curd from one meal to another, by which means the first becomes too dry and hard, ever, without great at­tention, to mix intimately with the second.

7. Curdly, or what is commonly called wrinkle coated cheese, is always caused by sour milk. Cheese made of cold milk is apt to be hard and fly before the knife. If the weather is cold, cheese should be kept warm, particularly when first made.

8. Slip coat, or soft cheese, is made entirely of slip curd, and will dissolve into a kind of creamy liquor, which is sufficient proof of the nature of this kind of curd, as already mentioned. It is generally computed, that as much milk is required to make one pound of butter, as two pounds of cheese.

It is remarked by dealers in cheese, as well as oth­er persons, that much the greatest part of the people that eat cheese have no idea how it is produced. They finding the best cheese of a yellow colour, naturally conclude that cheese of a pale colour must be made of inferiour or skim­med milk, whereas the colour is artificial. The princi­pal ingredient used for colouring cheese is the best Span­ish annatto (or what is commonly called in this country, otter) which gives cheese the beautiful colour of the best spring butter, without injuring the taste or quality in any degree. The best method of using it is, to take a piece and dip it into a bowl of milk, and wash off from the piece sufficient to give the milk a deep colour. Then mix the coloured milk with the milk prepared for the cheese, before either runnet, or salt is put in. If enough annatto has been used, the whole milk will have a pale orange colour, which will be much increased after the cheese is made.

[From LETTERS and PAPERS on AGRICULTURE, published at HALLIFAX.]

THE intention of the Society being so obvi­ously of the first importance to this country, I am induced to request that the following observations may be commu­nicated to the next meeting.

[Page 36]Every day's experience evinces that our soil is good, yet, such is the coldness of the climate, that when land has been improved three or four years without manure, it grows mossy, and afterwards produces but little: There are few coun [...]ri [...]s, therefore, where the article of manure can be more pro [...]itably attended to, because, when well prepared, it not only replenishes the earth with food for vegetables, but by its warmth counterbalances the coldness of the cli­mate. As what has been written on this subject is in the hands of but few, I have endeavoured to bring together the opinions of the most modern authors, which from my own experience I can recommend to the practice of the farmers in this country, remarking at the same time, upon the improper use which too many make of their dung. Lime, Marl, Plaister of Paris, &c. &c. are good, and some of them perhaps the best of manures: But it is not in every one's power to procure them, especially in such quantities as are necessary for the farmer: But a COMPOST is within the reach of every person, and almost in any quantities, and which no prudent person, upon knowing its usefulness, will ever be without.

There is perhaps no one practice in husbandry more in­judicious than that of taking new dung from the yard, in the spring, and using it as a manure for potatoes, spread over the ground; or in any other way whatever, as it introduces grass, weeds, and noxious plants, which more than balan­ces any little benefit that it can possibly do as a manure when used in that unprepared state.

When new dung lies in large heaps it soon grows very hot, and a violent putrid fermentation comes on, which melts the whole into one common mass, reversing what took place in vegetation, bringing that matter which has been the substance of former vegetables into such a state, that it will become the food for succeeding vegetables: But when it is put in small quantities in the hills of pota­toes, or spread on the ground and plowed in, even if it had begun to grow hot and ferment, it will immediately be cooled by the surrounding earth. In order to keep alive that heat which is necessary for its putrefaction, or rotting, it must be kept in large heaps. Let any one spread new dung over the ground, and in a week's time, if the weath­er [Page 37] is dry, [...] [...]ill look little better than dry straw; he will now find it has lost more than half its weight, and with that a large proportion of its real riches. In this state I have often found it in hills of potatoes in a dry sea­son, where it manifestly did more hurt than good, by keep­ing the roots from the moist earth: If after this it rots, yet it never can recover that which it has lost by its rich moisture being rarified and evaporated by the sun. It should therefore be suffered to lie in some convenient place in a body together; by which means its moisture is preserved, a suitable degree of heat generated, and a uni­versal putrefaction takes place, turning every part of it in­to proper manure or food for vegetables: For in its crude state it can scarcely be called a manure, but only some­thing of which a manure may be made, because there is no part of it but what must be dissolved by putrefaction be­fore it can yield much vegetable food; hence it comes to pass that if the season proves wet soon after it is used, it does some good, as it affords a little nourishment by be­ing putrified from the wetness of the season; but should the season prove dry, no putrefaction can take place, so, that of course, it affords no nourishment to vegetables, but does real hurt by keeping the ground too open and hol­low in the hills where it is put. Yard dung, then, should never be used 'till it has been in a proper situation for fer­mentation and putrefaction, one year at least; by this means the seeds of grass, weeds, or noxious plants, will mostly perish, and the dung by its putrefaction, be stored with great quantities of proper food for vegetables, possess­ing those qualities which tend to meliorate and enrich the land. To accomplish this plan in the spring, it should be put into the place where it is intended the general com­post heap should be made. For this purpose a hollow place should be chosen; and if it cannot otherwise be had, it should be dug large enough to hold the quantity of ma­nure intended to be made. I [...] a place can be taken so sit­uated as to receive the wash of the dwelling house, cow yard, hog sty, &c. so much the better. It must be clayed all over its bottom and sides. Drains must be cut from the lowest part of the cow yard, and hog sty, into the place prepared to receive the compost, so that whatsoever is [Page 38] washed out of them by [...]ains may be carried directly into the compost heap. All kinds of weeds from the sides of fields, where they often do much hurt, by shading and drawing the nourishment from plants that grow near them, may be pulled and thrown in: And in hoeing where the land is weedy, small children might often be employed to good advantage in gathering up the weeds after the hoers, and throwing them in heaps; by which they would be prevented from taking root again, the land would lie clean, and cart loads might in that [...]ay be gathered. Sprouts also pulled from the stubs in new ground, when they are in a succulent state, before they grow woody or hard (which by the way is the best time to sp [...]ut new ground) may be thrown in heaps and carted in: Rock weed, kelp, and all sorts of sea weed or grass, may be carried in great quanti­ties, where they can be had; garbage of fish, hair, blood, bones, woolen rags▪ oyster shells, muscles, and every kind of animal substance, are excellent, and capable of making more than four times their own weight of good manure; ashes, such as are made by burning bushes, may all be throw [...] in, and it is better to gather some of the earth with them, than to leave any of the ashes, as the top of the earth in those places is often almost as much impregnated with salts as the ashes themselves; ashes that have been leeched are also good [...] the dung in the cow yard should be removed every morning into a heap by the side of the yard; by this means the yard is kept clean, and the dung is kept from drying, and as often as there is enough may be carted to the general heap. If the farmer has not the conveni­ency of a hog pasture, but is obliged to keep his hogs in a sty, he will find it for his interest to throw in great quan­tities of green weeds, grass, &c. as it will save more costly feeding, and in this case the sty should be often cleared and its contents carried to the general heap. To a com­post heap, made of such materials, considerable earth may be added; but then it should be well chosen; any place where the wash of a road or street is brought to settle, is excellent, and mud may often be taken from settling pla­ces in a road, and dry earth put in its place, to the great advantage both of the road and him who takes it; half a hundred loads of good loam, and even more, where there [Page 39] is a large yard and many cattle, may be carried into a cow-yard in the spring of the year, and be wholly carried into the compost heap by the fall, taking off the top at several different times. In Holland and some parts of Germany, they are at great pains to save the urine of their cattle for manure, and find it of considerable consequence; by the above method it is all effectually preserved, which, together with the hot steam and perspiration of their bo­dies, whilst lying upon the loam, so far enrich it as to ren­der it a very valuable addition to the compost heap. The compost should be turned up from the bottom once or twice in a summer, which will greatly forward its fer­mentation and putrefaction; and towards the fall, when the seeds of weeds and grass begin to be ripe, it is best to move the compost all to one end, that such rubbish as abounds with ripe seeds, may be put by itself and lie round to another year. At the fall, when the crops come in, considerable addition may be made by carrying in all the vines, stalks, &c. of every kind of vegetable from the gar­den; also, potatoe tops and turnip tops, if not wanted for cattle; these last make a manure of a very excellent kind. All the chaff from the several kinds of grain that may be [...]aised—every kind of damaged or rotten straw or hay, or old stack bottoms, &c. may come in, in the course of the year, with every thing that is capable of a quick putre­faction.

Such as can afford it, will find their account in having a shed built over their compost heap, yet it must be open and exposed to the air on all sides, for by such exposure not only the putrid fermentation will be forwarded, but much will be drawn from the air, especially if there be any ashes in the heap, which will greatly increase the richness of the compost; yet a covering at the top will be very necessary, otherwise the rains will not only greatly check the fermentation, by too often cooling it; but will prob­ably, when they come plentif [...]y, cause it to overflow its banks, and carry off the rich juices of the compost; also, without such a shed it might sustain damage by having its most subtle and volatile parts evaporated by the sun. I have indeed seen compost heaps, without clay at the bottom, or a shed at the top; but, that much is lost from such a heap [Page 40] by all its washing [...] in the course of the year, is too mani­fest to need any thing said upon it. It is true, that in this way of putting all his new dung into the compost heap, the farmer must go a year without manure, if he has not that which is old and good by him; but when once he has his compost heap fit for use, after that he has his manure as regularly every year, as those who follow [...]he pernicious practice of wa [...]ing [...]heir new dung, (I can call it nothing better, for it ofte [...] does hurt); and he who follows the above method, or something like it, will soon find that from one acre of land, well manured, he can raise more than he can from two without manure, so that one half his labour will be saved; the labour and pains that he has been at in making manure, will be returned with ample increase into his barn and stores, and his farm at the same time increasing in riches.

Those who have a good stock of cattle, hogs, &c. may, in some such way as the above; increase their manure to almost any quantity they shall need: And such as have no cattle (and there are doubtless some such among our new settlers) may, in the above way, make considerable manure in the course of the year, from the wash of the house only; and such manure is good, and will produce cucumbers, peas, beans, &c. quicker than good yard dung. To conclude, the more any one attends to the affair of manuring his farm, the easier and more elegantly it will support him; whilst, without that, upon such land and in such a climate as we have in this country, an industrious man may, after a course of years, find that all his labour hath been in vain.

EXPERIMENTS to determine whether it is best to plant LARGE or SMALL CUTTINGS of POTATOES.

IN the Nova Scotia Magazine ^* for December, 1789. there appeared some extracts from an Essay on Po­tatoes, [Page 41] published among the Papers of the Bat [...] Agricultural Society, fo [...] 1 [...]88. In these a prodigious difference is no­ticed, between the produce from large cuttings and that from small, in favour of large ones, as nine to one.

That a considerable difference of produce might escape the observation of mere practical farmers, who seldom make comparative experiments, is readily to be supposed, and that, therefore, it might still be a disputed point amongst them, whether large or small cuttings are m [...]st profitable, as the author who relates those experiments as­serts it is, and as we know it to be here. But we can hardly suppose that any farmer, who should see one acre in his neighbour's field produce as much as nine in his own, would continue inattentive to the advantage of using larger seed.

In the extracts, where this amazing disproportion of produce is mentioned, it is not stated what proportion the cutting [...] [...] the one and in the other case, bore to each other▪ [...] there was a greater difference than be­twe [...] [...] which are commonly used here. However, if the [...] by planting small cuttings should only be one half, or even one fourth part of that mentioned above▪ [...]ill it would be an object highly deserving the attention of farm­ers. I thought, therefore, it might not be a useless ex­periment, to try two or three different sizes of cuttings, near to those usually planted in this neighbourhood, and to mark the difference of produce, if any.

For this purpose, in the second week of June last, I took an equal number of cuttings, of three different sizes; the largest (No. 1.) were somewhat larger than those usually planted here. The second size, which I shall call No. 2, was less than one half of No. 1. The third size (No. 3.) was about one third of No. 2. ^*

I planted 100 hills with each size, four cuttings in each hill. The land, manure, and cultivation as nearly a­like as I could make them.

[Page 42]From the first appearance of the plants, a striking differ­ence▪ in favour of the largest size, was observable. Many of the hills from No. 1, had ten, twelve, or fourteen stalks, strong and healthy. Those from No. 2, much fewer and weaker. Those from No. 3, in many instances had not more than [...]our [...], and those [...] [...]eeble. The difference though still [...] per [...]p [...]ible, was not so great [...] the summer, as at the beginning.

In the begi [...]ning of November they were all taken [...]p, and the produce weighed.

No. 1,

produced 280lbs.

No. 2,

249½

No. 3,

168

The mediu [...] [...]ight of a bushel, upon several trials, was found [...]. Therefore the produce of No. 1, was something above four bushels and a half; and the dif­ference between No. 1, and No. 3, nearly two bushels. This is very considerable. If an acre planted with cut­tings such as No▪ 1, would produce two hundred bushels, by planting such as No. 3, the farmer will loose 80 bush­els. In four acres the loss will be 320 bushels; in eight acres, which many farmers plant in a season, it will be 640 bushels!

I am inform [...]d, that some farmers in the province plant only the [...] of their potatoes, and give the [...]est to their cattle or hogs. With these the loss must be still greater.

[From LETTERS and PAPERS on AGRICULTURE, published at HALIFAX.]
On the UTILITY of INTRODUCING the GENERAL CULTIVATION of RED CLOVER in this Province.

AMONGST all the late improvements in the agriculture of Great Britain, which have brought the sci­ence so near to perfection in that country, the introduction of red clover may be ranked as one of the principal and most important; the use of this valuable crop, and [Page 43] turnips, has nearly banished the practice of employing unprofitable fallows as a preparation for crops of grain▪ The farmers of Great Britain use clover not only as the herbage for laying their lands down to meadow, but also as a part of their arable system; experience teaching them, that the cultivation of it, is one of the best courses that can be pursued for preparing land for the raising wheat.

The introduction and general use of this crop, would, I am convinced, be equally beneficial to this country; to the circumstances of which it appears every way perfectly adapted.

It is a position, which I conceive will be universally as­sented to, that this province can never become rich or flourishing, until its inhabitants can accomplish the rais­ing of their own br [...]ad corn; and to this great object, the views of all, who wish the prosperity of the country, and particularly those who are employe [...] in cultivating its lands, should be invariably directed.

The causes of the present deficiency are not to be sought in the climate and soil of the country, but may be easily discovered in the injudicious and improper management of the inhabitants. The reason that more wheat is not raised in this province, is, that more land is not prepared for that grain; and it is a fact well known to those who are acquainted with the general practice, that much wheat is sown without any previous preparation of the land; the crops being such as might be expected from such management.

The complaints made against this country, as unfavour­able for wheat, are founded in ignorance or prejudice; the crops of that grain in many parts of it palpably contradict­ing such assertions, as does the judgment of men, who have had experience in agriculture in other countries as well as this. The chief real natural disavantage that the province labours under, is, the shortness of the season for performing the several works of agriculture; this circum­stance may forbid the use of that extensive tillage which is practised under more favourable climates, but does by no means [...] to prevent every farmer from raising his own [...] a surplus for sale; the aggregate of which surplus [...] a fund not only for the supply of those [Page 44] who are not employed in the cultivation of lands, but also for exportation, which I cannot relinquish the hope of seeing take place from this country.

As the shortness of our season may prevent us from availing ourselves of many modes of preparing our lands, which are practised under different climates, we should unquestionably be more attentive to the use of those which are peculiarly adapted to our own; and the cultivation of clover appears to me one of the most important of these, not at present in use.

We cannot advantageously cultivate turnips (one of the great ground works of modern husbandry in England) to any considerable extent, because our climate will not allow of our feeding them through the winter, and the labour of getting them up and storing them, would make them too expensive; but no such objection lies to the use of clover, which may without loss of time, or additional ex­pense (except the seed) follow ou [...] hoeing crops with the wheat, which usually succeeds them, and would by lying two years in the ground, prepare it in the most perfect manner for another crop of that grain, producing in the mean time most beneficial returns for the land it occupies. By the usual mode of management, wheat is procured but once, after a perfect manuring with potatoes, or other hoed crop [...] (unless by the execrable method of sowing it two seasons successively) it being usually followed by two crops of oats, which divest the soil o [...] all its richness; the land is then turned out to grass, producing little or noth­ing but weeds until time has restored it to fertility, being unfit for the production of wheat, without another ma­nuring, or laying a great length of time in pasture; where­as, by sowing clover seed with the wheat, following a hoed crop, the land is made to produce two valuable crops of hay and grass, and is rendered in the highest degree fit for the reception of wheat; for let the ground be in any de­gree rich, on which clover is sown, the deep penetrating r [...]ots and long shadowy tops of this plant are sure to in­crease its richness, and bring it to that mellow state, so fa­vourable to the growth of that grain.

On the whole, I most earnestly recommend to my broth­er farmers the use of this plant, the cultivation of which will so much increase the quantity of their wheat lands.

[Page 45]The great obstacle to the adoption of it, is the cost of seed (if purchased); and many have been de [...]erred from raising it by the difficulties they have experienced in at­tempting to get it cleaned from the husk; but the first objection may be obviated by purchasing but a small quantity of the best English seed, for a stock to raise more from; and the difficulty of cleansing seed may be removed by attending to the following circumstance, which is, that in raising clover, to ripen seed, it is necessary to [...]eed down, or mow the first growth in the spring (which tends wholly to [...], leaves and chaff), not letting it grow up till near midsummer; by this means the stalks will be short and thick, will have few leaves on them, and will be covered with large heads well filled with seed, which parts easily from the husk.

A member of this society (Mr. Burton) who first men­tioned this circumstance to me, has raised as fine clover seed in this way as any imported from England, and will doubtless communicate to any person, desirous of infor­mation, the methods he took to clean it.

A NEW METHOD of CULTIVATING and PREPARING HEMP.
Printed in England, by order of the Lords of the Committee of Council for Trade and Foreign Plantations.

IT is sufficiently known, that land intended for a crop of hemp must be well manured, well ploughed, cleansed, and gotten fine; and the season being arrived; which varies much according to the soil, weather, and con­veniency of the cultivator, extending from the 25th March to the 15th June; sow the hemp seed, which ought al­ways to be new seed, thin, not exceeding two bushels to an acre, and if you have the advantage of a drill plough, still less will do. After the land is sown, go through the whole with a shovel, and with it make little paths at seven feet distance from each other, the length way of your piece, so [Page 46] that at the proper season you may [...]each the female hemp, which you will have occasion to pull out, without [...]ramp­ling on the male, which must stand at l [...]ast a month long­er to ripen its seed. The female hemp, (which is that which bears only flowers and no seed) is known to be ripe by the flowers fading, the sarina foecundas falling, and some of the stems turning yellow. You must then draw out carefully the whole of the female hemp, breaking as little as possible the stems of that which you take, or that which you leave.

Immediately as it is gathered, take it in as large hand­fuls as you can, and either cutting the roots off, or leaving them on, as you like best (I prefer cutting them off) hold the root end uppermost, and with a wooden sword dress off the flowers and leaves, which you leave in the field, since they assist in manuring; pick out any weeds or spoilt plants; put twelve handfuls, or gripes, together to make a bundle; then lay the bundles in water; it is much the best to be a running and clear water, and if shaded and over­hung with trees the better; lay poles, or planks, or whatever else you have that is suitable, across a large number together, so as to keep them at least two inches under-water. Take particular notice which you lay in first, and how you lay the bundles, in order that you may be able to get them out again successively as they were laid in, without breaking or tangling. At the end of six days, visit the hemp, and see whether the reed will draw out from some of the bundles. The time required for soaking depends very much on the nature of the hemp, the weather, and of the water it is soaked in—from six days to nine, or even to eleven. It is a trouble that is not ill bestowed to sort the hemp for soaking, if it is of unequal sizes, the slender­est generally requiring most soaking.

When you find any quantity sufficiently soaked, take it with care, putting the hands under it to prevent break­age, and transport it to a trough or to a table; for there are two methods of working it. If you work it in a trough, you must be provided with one somewhat longer than any hemp that you mean to work in it—twelve, or fourteen inches deep, and of what width you think proper according to the number of persons you employ at it, as [Page 47] one, two, or four. To this trough must be fitted two pieces of plank, of about a foot length, but of such width as to stretch over a bundle of the hemp as it lies open in the water: These planks must be set on one side with teeth of brass wire, and when the hemp is ready for draw [...]ing, must be laid on it as it lies in the water, to keep it straight and immerged.

If you work the hemp on a table, you must, before taking it out of the water, open a little the bundles, and rub the stems between your hands to get off what you can of the slime, and to loosen the rind. You must likewise push the bundle along in the water, with the loose end foremost, to loosen the [...]ind at that end where the op­eration is to be begun. If you do not thus rub and scour your hemp in the water where you soak it, you must do it in the trough. But in either case you must be careful to keep an even and steady hand to avoid breaking the reed, which, as many times as it happens, renders the operation of getting the reeds out tedious. If it is wrought on the table, the bundle must be frequently though slightly wet­ted. If any suitable method could be taken to make water drip gently on it, it would be best. A plank must be laid on the bundle to keep it steady.

All matters being properly disposed, either on the ta­ble or in the trough, you must begin at the root end to push back a little of the rind from the stem; then taking hold of one stem at a time, and rather near the outside than the middle of the bundle, keep your hand and the reed under water (if you work in a trough) and draw it out from the bundle as strait as possible, you will find it come out as clean as a sword from its scabbard. As you proceed, you may take two, afterwards four, up to six or more reeds at a time, which will draw out still more easily. When you have drawn out all the reeds that you can find at the root end, lift up the spiked plank which was at the upper end, leaving on that which was in the middle, and draw out such pieces of reed as you may find at the upper end, and which have remained after drawing out what you could at the root end, because they were broken. Lastly, take off the plank which lay on the middle, and take out all the relicks of reed you can perceive. If [...]our hemp [Page 48] was in good condition for drawing, you will find all your reeds perfectly clean on the floor, and the rind, which is the hemp, lying in strait threads, in the water or on the table.

You will perceive that among the hemp there is a great quantity of gum left, looking like a jelly; this you will wash out as if you were washing any long strait piece of cloth, observing not to displace, or twist the threads, which would thwart the future operation of dressing, or heckling. The finer and whiter you desire the hemp to be, the more waters you will run it through, squeezing it out at each time of washing; but I think it always right at the last to run it through a water in which a small quantity of soft soap has been beat up, after the rate of an ounce of soft soap to three pounds of the hemp when dry. Do not squeeze it out from this soap water, but hang it to drain, and when a little stiffened, open a little the bundle, and lay it to dry on a grass plat, or floor; the former is preferable. This soap water is not absolutely necessary, but is certainly of great use for softening the hemp, and rendering it pleasant and easy to dress; but may be dispensed with where it is very inconvenient, and where the hemp is intended for coarse purposes. It is ob­vious that all these operations would be carried on to the most advantage near to some running stream, or large lake, if it be a standing water, on account of the great use that is made of that element, and to save a great deal of the trouble of transportation.

When thus dried, the hemp is proper either for dress­ing, or storing; if the latter, particular care must be taken that it be thoroughly dry, it will otherwise heat and spoil. As the hemp peculiarly intended to be hitherto spoken of is the female, or flower bearing hemp, which is intended for fine uses, it is to be observed that it must be worked with heckles, or hatchels, such as are used for flax dress­ing, and may be brought to an extreme fineness; and the sho [...]ts, having no pieces of straw, or reed among them, may be carded and spun, and brought into use for all the same purposes as cotton, and the same methods used for bleaching and softening. It is likewise requisite to work this hemp as soon as pulled, without which the greatest [Page 49] softness and whiteness cannot be obtained; and as this sort generally falls ripe between h [...]y time and harvest, when the weather is warm and fine, and the [...]omen most at lib­erty, it will be a suitable occasion to draw and cleanse the hemp—the dressing may be reserved for winter.

I now proceed to speak of the male hemp, which being a more considerable crop, cannot all be worked as fast as it is pulled or cut. It is known to be ripe enough by the stems becoming pale; for if you stay till the tuft contain­ing the seed appears ripe, or the stem turns brown, the hemp will be in a great measure spoiled. When it is come to a proper maturity, you must get a good number of hands, so as to expedite the business, because such as re­mains standing after it is ripe, will have its rind fixed to the reed, the gum turned hard and dark coloured, and the whole operation of drawing becomes difficult, troublesome, and ungrateful. The leaves are to be stripped off with a wood­en sword, in the same manner as those of the female hemp, as are likewise the se [...]d, the branches which grow laterally, and even the tuft bearing seed at the top: But if this lat­ter should not come off clean, it must be chopt off with an iron instrument. All this must be done over a cloth, or on a spot of ground in the field, well levelled and smoothed, to avoid losing any of the seed. And it is pro­posed, and said to be successful, to leave the seed abroad, covered with the leaves and chaff strewed on the land. This certainly saves trouble, and is practised in many parts, but seems to me slovenly, and I would rather take it home to a barn; but I would certainly burn all the roots, and such parts as are too hard to rot easily, and strew the ashes as well as the leaves, and such other parts as will easily rot, upon the ground, as these matters are reckoned to go half way towards manuring the land for next year's crop. The male hemp, thus stript of leaves and seed, will gen­erally dry for storing in twenty four hours; but at any rate must not be left long abroad, but rather taken into sheds to dry, which, when thus stript, it will speedily do. Sun and rain would soon spoil it. That which can be wrought green must be treated as before set forth for the female hemp; and it is obvious that it is a great advantage [Page 50] to work it in this manner, rather than to dry and store it, which causes much trouble and expense and produces less and worse hemp; but where the crop is considerable, and the hands few, it is unavoidable. If, however, much rain comes, it is impracticable to dry it for storing with­out spoiling, as every year's experience shews in the pres­ent received method; whereas the working the hemp green entirely avoids this disadvantage and inconveniency, and the hands engaged may continue their employment under the shelter of trees, or of a temporary shed made of a few rough poles and hurdles, covered with straw, reeds, &c.

All the same procedure is to be used with the male, as with the female hemp, as to drawing, scouring, &c. but as the reeds of it are less brittle, and the rind coarser, it re­quires more soaking, but is easier to draw, and produces much more and stronger hemp. What is stored must, when wanted to be wrought, be soaked, peeled, washed, and in general treated as before said. In cold weather it takes long soaking.

An improved METHOD of PRESERVING the FINE FLA­VOUR of BUTTER, and of PREVENTING its GROWING RANCID.
Communicated to the "Burlington Society for the promoting Agricul­ture and Domestick Manufactures," by their PRESIDENT, and ordered to be published. From the American [...]. Vol. VIII. Page 172.

TO a peck of fine salt add one ounce of crude sal ammoniac, and two ounces of saltpetre, both finely powder­ed: [Page 53] Mix them very well with the fine salt: With this salt, work your butter, until the butter milk be entirely ex­tracted. Then pack it in wooden firkins, salting it with the same mixed salt, to such a degree as to be palatable, when eaten with bread, and no salter. The mixture is stronger than fine salt: Of consequence something less is required.