usual amount of grain raised on the farm in this country, will it not afford as much profit as the same cow kept in an exclusive dairy country, on land worth three times as much, and yielding in cheese thirty dollars? for we believe both to be a fair average, though often excelled both here and there on well managed farms.

"One establishment in the town of Genessee, county of Waukesha, has purchased, and shipped East, this season, five tons of butter, and has sold an equal amount in Milwaukee at an average price of fifteen cents per pound, making three thousand dollars paid out in one neighborhood for this one article; and we venture to say that the books at that station, on the Milwaukee and Mississippi railroad, will show as large shipments of grain as from any station on the road, to which the same. extent of country is tributary. The collectors' returns in Milwaukee show that ninety-two thousand pounds of butter were shipped from that port this season, and one-tenth of that amount was bought at one store in the country, does not that speak well for that country!

"The expense of transporting a pound of butter from Lake Michigan to New York or Boston, is from one-half to one cent per pound. The cost of transporting a bushel of wheat to either of the above places is from twenty to forty cents, being in one case about one-twelfth part of the value, and in the other about one-third; showing conclusively that the greater the value of the product, the less the per cent profit on cost, and all that is saved in transportation goes into the pocket of the producer this is a strong argument against the all-grain growing system of farming.

"Of the best method of making butter, the Committee will not express an opinion; they hope that some one more competent will do sobut they will say, that cleanliness is one great important requisite, beginning with the milking of the cow, and following through all the various operations until the butter is packed. The buttermilk must all be worked out of the butter, and salt sufficient to season, and not to save, worked in; if this is done, and the butter kept from the air, in a well ventilated cellar, it will keep until wanted for sale or use.

"The cheese on exhibition was not White- Oak, neither was it as good as genuine Hamburgh. The fact is however established, that six cheeses, weighing in all one hundred pounds, were made in the State, which

shows that cheese can be made in Wisconsin, and should be, at least, to such an extent, as to prevent the importation into the country, if not into our cities, of cheese from abroad. This is not the case now, though we hope it soon will be. The Committee have been unable to ascertain the amount of cheese imported into the State during the past season, but they still know it to be large-far too much so for the credit of our State."

LETTER FROM F. S. ELDRED, Esq.

We have received the following Letter from Mr. Eldred, giving his views and experience in cheese making:

"Dear Sir,

"Johnstown, Dec. 20th, 1853.

"In compliance with your request, which I received a few days since, I will give a little of my experience in cheese making, which you may use as you think best for the advancement of agriculture and the interest of our Society.

"In all the departments of the dairy, neatness should be observed-in taking the milk from the cow-in manufacturing it into butter or cheese -in the care of the butter or cheese-and no less in carrying the products to market. This neatness attracts the attention of the purchaser, procures a reputation and a ready sale, and should be thoroughly practised from the commencement to the end of the process of manufacture.

"Then first, the milk must be perfectly pure, with all the cream on it, to make good cheese. For a tub, I use a wooden vat, six feet long, two feet wide and fourteen inches deep. This is set on three legs, two placed one-third the distance from the end, the other at the end and so arranged that it can be drawn out and pushed in at will, so that I can raise or lower one end of the tub for the purpose of drawing off the whey. Inside of this tub or vat is another of tin, with a space of one inch and an half between it and the outer one, and the inner four inches higher than the other, and raised by cleats running lengthwise, one inch from the bottom. A funnel tube is fixed in the bottom near the lower end of the wooden vat through which the whey may be drawn off. This vat is large enough to contain the milk of thirty good cows.

"At night, when the milk is taken from the cows it is strained into the tin vat. The best way to keep it over night is, if a running stream of water can be brought, by logs or pipes, into the cheese house, to have it run into the outer vat till it fills and runs over, and thus keep a constant flow through it the whole night. This will keep the milk perfect if the water is cold, say at 40° Farenheit. The next best way is to fill

the vat pretty full with water into which a quantity of ice is put. The third way is to put water alone into the vat.

"In the morning the cream is taken from the milk and mixed with twice the quantity of milk fresh from the cow.

"The next thing is to warm it, which is best done by a steam generator made for the purpose, similar in shape to an engine boiler. These are used commonly in central New York. I have substituted a small cauldron kettle, smaller than a barrel, set in a good brick arch, so arranged that the fire will pass completely around it before escaping into the chimney. In the kettle I have a lid fitted tight with a lead pipe starting from the centre of the cover crooked so that the other end will go into the water vat. To this pipe is attached a steam cock and another pipe, so that the steam can be turned with ease into a tub of water for the purpose of heating it to wash the cheese utensils. If a steam cock cannot · be obtained readily, the pipe may be cut and wound with a cloth covered with white lead by which a joint will be formed, and thus the pipe can be turned at pleasure from the vat to the tub. The fire once started, and the steam pipe connected with the water vat, the water will soon raise to the temperature of 86°, which is the proper heat for the rennet. The morning's milk is then strained in, and the cream and milk that have been mixed warmed to 100°, or until perfectly dissolved, and then added to the night's and morning's milk in the vat, and the whole stirred well, then sufficient rennet is added to bring it to a curd in forty minutes.

"It is then allowed to stand until the curd will cleave from the side of the vat upon placing the finger in it, which should be in an hour after the rennet is put in. The curd is then cut into pieces, three quarters of an inch square, with a knife made for that purpose out of fine brass wire, and worked moderately with the hands for fifteen or twenty minutes. The steam is then again turned into the water, to raise the temperature slowly, and the curd worked carefully the whole time it is heating until it reaches

the temperature of 104°, which requires an hour. The steam is then turned off and and the curd stirred occasionally for half an hour longer, or until it will 'squeak' a little when placed between the teeth, and then allowed to settle. The whey is then drawn off, as low as possible, by a syphon. The water is then let out of the vat through the hole made for the purpose, and at the same time cold water turned on until it is reduced to a temperature of 86°. The vat is then raised by the slide leg and retained so by a pin through the leg, and the remainder of the whey drawn off. During this operation the curd is to be stirred occasionally to prevent it from adhering together, which should not be permitted after it is once separated by the wire knife. If worked rightly the coarsest of the pieces. will be no larger than peas. When drained a tea-cup full of salt is added to every fifteen pounds of curd. When the salt is thoroughly worked in and the curd free from lumps, it is then ready for the press. It is of no consequence how a cheese is pressed if the whey is only got out of it. Twelve hours is sufficient for this. The cheese should be turned in an hour and a half after it is put into the press, and again about six hours after this. A bandage of light sheeting is then put on, coming over the edge of the cheese an inch, and gathered with a coarse thread. The cheese when taken from the press is greased with butter made from whey, in the same way as common butter.

"This is all the greasing that is needed, unless the cream has been taken from the inside; which, if done, is an irreparable injury, although the cheese may, in other respects, have been properly made.

"The cheese should be turned and rubbed every day.

"I will here say, under the head of general rules, that the milk must be perfectly sweet; if not, the swill-barrel is the best place for it, as it is only time and labor thrown away to attempt to make good cheese out of it. A thermometor is also necessary, for no two cheeses can be made alike without it.

"When a good cheese has been made, it is highly advantageous to note the process. Experience is as necessary for proficiency in this branch of rural husbandry as any other.

"From a cow, kept on tame grass, three hundred and fifty pounds of cheese can be made in a season, which commands from seven to eight cents per pound.

"This quantity can be increased by improving our cows as milkers. It is not uncommon in Central New York to make six hundred pounds from a cow; and I have cows in my dairy that will yield more than that. Our feed is as good and as abundant, and the only difficulty is in procuring cows.

To ALBERT C. INGHAM, Esq.,

"Respectfully yours,

"F. S. ELDRED."

Sec. of the Wis. State Agr. Society.

FLOUR AND HONEY.-No. OF ENTRIEs, 7.

Judges-TALBOT C. DOUSMAN, Waterville; GARDINER GALLUP, Fox Lake; Mrs. E. W. Edgerton, Summit.

Best barrel of flour; L. A. Cole, Watertown. Diploma.

Best ten pounds of honey; E. B. Quiner, Watertown. Bronze Medal. Best bee-hive; Joseph A. Carpenter, Waukesha. Vol. Trans.

GRAINS AND SEEDS.--No. OF ENTRIES, 21.

Judges-THOMAS HISLOP, Milwaukee; J. C. HOWARD, Lake; H. B. HAWLEY, Milford.

Best sample of (Soules) winter wheat; Leonard Coleman, Summit. $1. Best Connecticut seed leaf and Cuba tobacco and cigars; H. B. Hawley, Milford. Silver Medal.

Best sample of Indian corn; James T. Walklin, Eagle Center. $1 and 'Sett Trans.

Best sample of winter wheat; Simeon Ford, Watertown. Second Vol. Trans.

Best bale of hops; Charles Avery, Concord. Sett Trans.

JAMES T. WALKLIN'S STATEMENT.

"I cultivate my corn land in the following manner: I plow my land in the month of May, and plant my corn about the 12th or 14th of the same month. In preparing the ground after plowing, and before planting, I harrow the land smooth, and then lay out my furrows four feet