Cows should be milked three times a day, if fully fed, throughout the sum mer; and great caution should be ex ercised by the persons employed to draw the milk from them completely, not only to increase the quantity of pro duce, but to preserve its quality. Any portion which may be left in the udder seems gradually to be absorbed into the system, and no more is formed than enough to supply the loss of what is taken away; and by the continuance of the same mode, a yet farther diminution of the se cretion takes p lace, until at length scarce ly any is produced. This mode of milk ing is always practised, when it is intend ed that a cow should be rendered dry.
The apartments appropriated to daisy purposes should, if possible, possess a moderate temperature throughout the year, and should be kept perfectly clean and dry. The temperature of about fifty five degrees is most favourable for the se paration of the cream from the milk. The utensils of the dairy are best made of wood ; lead and copper are soluble in acid, and highly pernicious; and though iron is not injurious, the taste of it might render the produce of the dairy unpala table.
Objects of attention, with a view to the ment and success of a young .ipieulturiat.
It is an object of extreme importance and difficulty to awaken due attention, without exciting nseless anxiety. In se lecting a situation in which to exercise the occupation of a farmer, various cir cumstances wre minutely and deliberately to be -regarded, and great consideration is required to form an accurate compari son of advantages and disadvantages. After these have been fully ascertained, a balance is to be drawn, and a decision to be made. More attention than time is requisite for this purpose, and hesita ting, broken application will often occu py a longer period in arriving at an injudi cious determination, than, with persever ing and dispassionate examination, is ne cessaryto obtain a correct one. Headlong temerity, wlaich diminishes, or even anni hilates to the mind, substantial evils, and minute, apprehensive prudence, by which every ant-hill of difficulty is made to swell into a mountain, are both to be carefully avoided ; and a firm confidence in human exertion should unite, on this critical oc casion, with keen and comprehensive ob servation. The soil is an object of parti cular consideration, in reference to a vast variety of circumstances ; as to its stiff ness and moisture; levelness or slope ; its exposure or its stoniness ; the manuring, draining, and fencing that maybe requir ed ; the state of the roads; the accessibi bility of markets; the prices of manufac tures, of produce, and labour; the cus tom of tythes ; the amount of poor-rates ; the compactness of the land, and the covenants concerning crops; are only a few of the points which dvmand, in such circumstances, to be duly ascertained and estimatecL To fix on good land is a prudential general direction. For such it is not easy, with ordinary discretion, to pay too much, while for poor soils a small rent very frequently exceeds their worth.
The most advantageous of all soils are, the mellow, putrid, criimbling, sandy loams ; those which will admit tillage, soon after rain, and, though finely har rowed, will not harden, as if' baked, in consequence of the hottest sunshine, after violent rains. The stiff loam, which is very nearly approaching to proper brick earth, is, without plenty of manure, an unfavourable soil. On walking over it, it
is found extremely adhesive in wet Wea th er, and it requires a long time to dry. It mav be considered as forming a tnedi um h'etween the clods of clay and the crumblings of loam. In stubble, a small green moss is frequently seen to cover it. By farmers, poverty and hunger are me taphorically and most expressively ap plied to this land, which Has a great num ber of varieties. It requires a large quan tity of manure, and is wonderfully im proved by hollow ditching. The expense of these operations must never be forgot ten, in connection with an estimate of their result.
Warm, dry, gravelly loams are, in win ter, easily distinguishable. Unless in a particularly wet winter, they may be ploughed during almost any part of it, and will break up in a state of crumbling, running mould. A very bad soil is con stantly formed by wet, cold gravel, which, in winter, is always indicated by its wet ness, and in spring is known by the bind ing effects produced upon it by short and violent showers. It can be fertilized only by very extmordinary quantities of ma nure : and drains, fully and neatly com pleted in it, will considerably improve it. Some gravels are of so particularly sharp and burning a nature, that, unless the summer be particularly wet, they will pro duce absolutely nothing-. At any season this soil is obviously distinguishable. With respect to sands, the rich, red sand possesses always a dry- soundness, and. a temperate moisture, and will, in the driest summer, secure a crop. Its excellence and profitableness can scarcely be ex ceeded. Another admirable soil is form ed of the light, sandy loam. It may be ploughed during. the whole winter. The degree of its adhesion is precisely that of its perfection. It may be usefully ob served, that when stiff land is dry and crumbling, it is a pure indication of its goodness, as the adhesive quality of a sandy soil is, with respect to that species of land, an equally decisive symptom in its favour. That which falls flat in powder is a mere barren sand. The chalk marle runs exceedingly to mortar from vio lent showers, after bein,,o. pulverized, and is a cold and unprofitable soil. Clay land of' great tenacity is usually let for more than it is worth ; and though it will yield abundance of wheat, is attended, in its management and preparation, with so great expence, that its profit is often trifling, and fortunes are far mom fre quently made by lands of a directly op poste description, consisting of light and dry sand. The common fault of stiff clays is wetness. 'Where fields are level, and, even though the furrows are well ploughed, the water stands in the land, the extreme tenacity of the soil is obvi ous, It is also broken up by the plough only by a very powerful draught of cattle, and in pieces of vast size and extreme hardness. In winter, soils approaching to tlUs character are most to be distinguish ed. They will yield large crops ofbeans and wheat, but the sight of these should always be blended with the consideration of the immense expense at which they are necessarily raised. There are many variations of peat, bog, and fen, and all may be found exceedingly profitable ; and if marl or lime be in the neighbourhood, that circumstance is a most important inducement to undertake the manage ment of them.