A WOMAN'S DAIRY FARM.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 140, 7 March 1908, Page 11

A WOMAN'S DAIRY FARM.

■ , V. ■ USEFUL GIRLS. / At ;5 a.m. the,woman dairy farmer raps at'h'er guest's bedroom door and says; "Time to get up !"■ Twelve-year-old Jean has already, lit tAie fire and boiled' the kettle, while ;her. sisters drive up the cows. 'Thus writes "Sheba" in the "Argus." ' Children are valuable on a dairy farm. My hostess's/activo daughters are,, in her opinion, worth twice the same number of boys, for bo,vs aro apt to absent themselves at evening milking-time. Says the mother, "I couldn t get on without my girls. ; Apart from-milking, they're splendid hands at rearing young stock.' They coddle the calves as if they were babies, and, unlike their brother, would, never let one go without a meal bccause it failed to come .when called. If,'.-,notwithstanding all theiri coaxing, a weakling refuses its milk, Siss\ tempts it with 'beaten egg, and pampers it up till gradually the . puny thing develops Into a saleable beast. My girls have the same ltnack with 1 air animals.' The little ones pet

.tire ioaJ amende on bis back as soon as he's | big- onough. They coax him to lot'.them slip a .halter over his . head, and later you'll seo two' of "them driving off, with tho; colt as quiet as a lamb , ; between the shafts, , for a load of wood -or a' sheep. for • killing' ;. Till " half-past six all hands are .busy -milkihg.vWhen the separating process begins ;the' novico / grows / in- , < terest-ed, aiid is forced to confess •tliat . modern ■ dairy; methods, if ■' uhpicturesquo, are. cleaner, more bygjenic, and far moro. economical of time, labour, and material than of old. The' separated milk, gushing from its outlet, rapidly fills numerous! palls, each • topped . with piled-up froth. This flcccy-' scum, too gaseous to - suit the digestion of tho calves, is removed, 'and is' reserved for the poultry. The milk must be warmed-to.a certain heat before it is regarded,, as wholesome food for the cowbabies; but at last thoir breakfast is ready; and;, leaving 1 a coppe'rful of water to boil for washing-up, wo seize ono bucket, or two, as thc caso may be, and trudge to tho calf paddock, shouting "Sandy!" as we go. Sandy, being the youngest calf, is fed first, 110 drinks-his half-bucket, but then, with his face all a-slobber with mill;,, he begins to 'show.off, like the spoilt bcastie he is.-'His fellows, likewise full of breakfast and tricks, follow suit, and the visitor, surrounded by "chewers," ; ; all kicking up dust and . dribbling .'.facetiously, ! understands, .why tho sprigged dimity, snowy apron; and buckled shoes of the traditional milkmaid are never .seen "off the stago.■ 1 . ''' When wo return, to .tho ishcd ' all the appliances connected with the separator, are submitted to a drastic cloansing.. they are rinsed in cold y/aterj next, soaked in a borax solution, -then thoroughly; scalded,: and lastly the.nozzle of tho stdam-pipe is -intra-' ducod -into every chink and cranny.'" . v.".Tho sbparator is now ready for-to-night, says; the mother; who adds, "two of the' children 1, havo, brushed out the : milkjug stalls', -and ■ two others-havo got tho cows'r evening feed'ready, so we'll sit down comfortably'to breakfast. Then' tho girls will drive tho cream to tho station on their way to' School,- and 'won't; be back till -milkingtinie." . , Do'you_ think dairy fanning is very hard work? ' ■/ "Not too hard. If my girls had to. turn out and work for. strangers/I'd far rather seo 'them . milking, washing tho separator, and attending to calves, pigs, and poultry I than let tbem go into factories, where they'd lose their health' and learn nothing use- . ful." '