Farm and Dairy.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 503, 10 January 1906, Page 2

Farm and Dairy.

ORIGINAL ARTICLES. [All Rights Resebved.] GOOD BUTTER IN MOT WEATMEfV IN order to obtain good bu in the first instance, there ust be good milk to operate on, as good butter cannot be made from impure milk. The pails, strainers, cans, and in faot every utensil used in handling milk must be kept scrupulously olean. First rinse with cold water, then wash with warm water, and, lastly, scald with hot water and plaoe them where they will drain and air well before using. Then there must be a good plaoe for keeping the milk and making the butter. Where possible, a stone house or shed is favoured by many people. As soon as milking the oows is oompleted, strain the milk into cans tbrough a oloth stretched ■ over a wire strainer and set the cans into water, letting them remain there from twenty-four to thirty-six hours. In very hot weather twenty-four hours is deemed sufficient. Then skim, taking as little milk with the oream as possible, stirring the oream well each time skimming is done, letting it stand until it thiokens and has a smooth, glossy appearance wben it is stirred. Then Bet it in water until the temperature is fifty-eight degrees. The prooess here indioated is with the ordinary barrel ohurn, which should bo well rinsed with soalding hot water previous to use, and then oooling it with oold water before putting in the oream. Fill the ohurn about half full; the butter should then come in about thirty or forty minutes. When the grains of butter are about the size of wheat kernels, drain off the buttermilk into a olean pail. If partioies of butter run off, skim and put them baok into the ohurn. add a pail of oold water, put the cover on and turn a few times, bet not enough to form the butter into lumps; drain that water off and put in Borne more, rinse it well around, and drain. The last washing should be quite free from milk. Salt, with good dairy salt, for sending it away to a distance many people use a little more than half an ounce to » pound of butter; in some instances a little less than an ounoe. For private oustomers salt is added to suit the taste and requirements, and the butter is allowed to stand in the ohurn until the salt is all dissolved; that oooupies about in hour; then, with a ladle, press out all the brine, and continue working until one can make a solid roll of butter. With a separator the work oan be done in much less time than herein indioated.

EGGS FOR WINTER. If eggs In winter are to be looked tor, attention must first be paid to the origin of the bird kept; broadly speaking, allowing for locality and soil, it is generally admitted that the heavier brpeds are the better winter layers. Their plaoe of origin, feathering, eto., makes them more likely in this respect; consequently it is a point gained if the birds possess blood derived __ to a large extent, from some of the following heavy breeds; Ooohin, Brahma, Wyandotte, Langshan, Orpington, or Plymouth Rook.

Another desirable point is that the birds oome of a good laying strain. If the latter has not reoeived muoh attention, a little oare must be given in selecting the most probable likely layers. The houses must be warm, and rainproof, yet properly ventilated. A day shelter must be provided to proteot the fowls from wet and wind; here will be an excellent place for their dust bath, as birds infested with insects oannot lay satisfactorily. Feeding is a most essential point as regards getting eggs in winter. It need hot be an expensive diet, but quality and quantity must be carefully studied.

WINTER TURNIPS. Turnips must be grown quiokly, consequently it is useless sowing the seed on very poor ground. If the ground has been well manured for any previous orop of a different oharaoter, there the soil is sha'low and hungry. It will be found * very good plan to olear off the ground oooupied by Beoond early potatoes in time to sow turnip seed[ for a late orop. All that will be required in the way of preparation will be to olear the ground of all rubbish and have the surface levelled and broken down fine, firmness alone being desirable. In the event of the soil being at all dry, water the drills before sowing the seed thinly and evenly, oovering with fine dry soil. The plants should be proteoted with the aid of

lime, soot, or wood-ashes from birds, slugs, and fly, and be thinned out early. The! dressings of soot or of soot and lime will also have a stimulating effest upon the growth of the orop. An oooasion&l surface hoeing is all the further trouble that will be neoesßary, and a good orop will result. It will be as well, in order to be prepared for any emergency, to lift and store a portion of the orop previous to severe frosts setting in. If the tops only are lightly trimmed off, and the roots stored in a heap in a 0001, dry position, well covered with straw and then sailed'over, an outlet being provided for vapour, or much as potatoes are damped,- the roots .will keep -well. They will also keep for a long time in a. 000 l shed. Ohirk Castle, BJaok "Stone Snowball, Early White Stone, among the white-fleßhed varieties, and Golden Ball and Orange Jelly among the yell o washed, ure all suitable for present sowing,