Our Farm of Four Acres and the Money We Made by ItCoulton, Miss
History
Our Farm of Four Acres and the Money We Made by It
Coulton, Miss
Agriculture; Farm life
I do not quite know how to believe the stories I am told of wonderful
cows which my friends are fortunate enough to possess. One gentleman
has informed me that he has one which gives fifteen pounds of butter
weekly. Now we have had several, but never made more on the average
than eight pounds per week. I believe that a great deal depends on the
manner in which they are milked, and once in the hands of a beginner
in that art the cows decreased in milk so rapidly, that we did not get
more than a gallon daily from both animals; after they had been three
weeks under his management we changed the milker, but did not get
anything like the proper quantity again till after they had calved.
I believe the usual average is one pound of butter from every ten
quarts of milk. Ours used to give us thirteen or fourteen quarts each
daily, and yet we never made more than eight pounds. We used about two
quarts of new milk, so that if ten quarts will give a pound of butter,
we did not get so much as we ought. Still we were very well satisfied
with the produce we received.
There requires management with two cows, in order that one may always
be in full milk when the other calves. If you rear a calf for the
butcher, it will require the whole of the milk for six or seven weeks,
which is about the age they are killed for fine veal. We once--it was
in the winter--received $26 for one. With two cows this may usually be
done, and its is more profitable than making butter. Where only one is
kept, it is better to part with the calf when a few days old, and then
the price is $5.
If a lady wishes her dairy to be very nicely finished, she should have
all the articles she requires of glass, instead of wood and
earthenware. Everything for the diary of that material can be
purchased in Leicester Square, and certainly, if expense had been no
object to us, we should much have preferred a glass churn, pans, &c.
They have the great advantage of being kept beautifully clean with
very little labor; but they are so liable to be broken, that they
should never be used unless servants are very careful. A marble table
is, however, in every respect better than a board to make the butter
upon. It is expensive at first, but will, with ordinary care, last
several generations of butter-makers.
Whilst on the subject of the dairy, I must say a few words respecting
the great care required in washing the articles used in it. As soon as
the butter was taken from the churn I was in the habit of half filling
it with boiling water, into which I had put some lumps of soda, and
then turning the handle a few times, in order that it might be well
washed round. It was then left till it was convenient for "cook" to
cleanse all the utensils we had used.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account