Part 156

A hirer of horses may by his own conduct render himself a co-trespasser with the driver, or even constitute the driver his own servant for the purpose of becoming liable for the result of an accident. If the hirer of a whole equipage direct the owner’s servant to drive at an increased pace in a crowded thoroughfare, or in some other way assume the control of the horses, he will draw on to his own shoulders that responsibility which would under ordinary circumstances rest with the jobmaster. Still more will this be the case if he drives himself. (_Field._)

_Care of Carriages._--(_a_) The coach-room should be large, dry, and well ventilated; the walls and ceiling lined and finished in oil or varnish; the windows large, but curtained with blue curtains, so as to admit a moderate amount of light; the floors and ceilings should be kept free from dust or dirt; if the floor is wet when sweeping, the carriage should not be put in until it is dry.

(_b_) If the stable is of brick or stone, the walls should be lined with a close board partition at least 3 in. from the wall, with openings at the top and bottom to allow a circulation of air between the wall and partition. Never allow a carriage to stand near a brick or stone wall, or any other that is damp, as the dampness affects the paint and trimmings.

(_c_) Ammonia destroys varnish and affects colours. Care should be taken, therefore, to locate the carriage-room in such a manner that it will not be exposed to the fumes of the stable or manure heap.

(_d_) A carriage should never be allowed to stand in the carriage-room without being protected from dust by a cotton or linen cover; but this cover should not be put on when the carriage is wet or dusty. Dust if allowed to remain on eats into varnish: the cover should be so arranged as not to touch the carriage.

(_e_) Carriages should be washed frequently, even when not in use. They should also be dusted every 2 or 3 days, and be exposed to the air in a shady place. In washing, use cold water and a sponge. Soften the mud by squeezing the water from the sponge on the panel or other part, and do not pass the sponge over the paint until the mud is soaked off. After sponging, dry with a “shammy,” but do not use the sponge and “shammy” in the same pail of water. Be careful to dry thoroughly, and protect the trimming from injury by water. Do not allow any part of the carriage that is washed to dry before wiping with the “shammy,” as it will stain the paint. Hot or even warm water or soap should not be used. Never allow mud to dry on a carriage, as it will produce spots or stains. Always wash in a shady place.

(_f_) Enamelled leather while new does not need much washing; it should be well dusted, and may be wiped with a moist “shammy”; if it becomes dimmed, make a suds of soft water and Castile or crown soap. Apply it with a sponge and dry with a “shammy” moistened in clean water; if the leather shows spots, rub them with cotton waste and linseed oil; if the leather becomes hard, wash it clean and oil with neatsfoot oil; when the oil has permeated the leather, wash the surface oil off with crown soap suds. Dash and other smooth leather should be treated in the same manner as the paint.

(_g_) The trimmings require a great deal of attention. All roll-up curtains, aprons, &c., should be unrolled and stretched out smooth. The joints should be “struck” so as to slack the leather, but not enough to allow the top to fall. Cloths, cushions, and other removable portions must be well beaten and brushed, and all immovable parts be well brushed; this, while preventing injury from dust, is also a protection from moths. Moroccos can be cleaned by rubbing them with a moist “shammy.”

(_h_) Mountings should be kept clean by repeated rubbing; all acids or powders injure the paint, leather or cloth, and it is impossible to clean metals with them without coming in contact with the trimmings. If the metal is tarnished, use a small piece of “shammy,” that has been prepared by having rottenstone, or other fine polishing powder, rubbed into it and afterwards whipped and brushed to remove all surplus powder, then rub with a dry rag. To clean lamps mix whiting with spirits of wine; apply to the reflector and other inside plating; when dry rub off with a rag, clean the glass with water and polish with paper.

(_i_) Oil the axles frequently, but use but little oil at one time. Support the axle by a jack, having a leather padded top; take off the nuts, and if much soiled, remove the grease with spirits of turpentine; remove the wheel and clean the axle arm and hub box thoroughly, then apply a few drops of castor oil, replace the washers, wheel, and nuts, seeing that each has a thin coating of oil. The fifth wheel and king bolt should also be oiled enough to prevent the metal surfaces from grinding.

(_j_) A carriage should be inspected carefully to see that there are no moths in the trimming, carpet, &c.; if discovered they can be expelled by beating and brushing; moth preventatives are valueless as against the moth grub, but they will prevent the fly depositing its eggs. Musk and other strong perfumes will keep the flies from depositing their eggs in the trimmings.

(_k_) If repairs are needed, it is best to send to the carriage shop; but the paint will become worn off of step pads and tires, which can be restored by a little black japan, which should be laid on thin.

(_l_) Carriages should be revarnished as often as once a year; but if the paint cracks badly, varnishing increases the deformity, and there is but one way to correct it--to burn off the paint and repaint from the wood. Repairing is as much of an art as building, therefore do not send a carriage for repairs to any but skilful mechanics.

(_m_) If a carriage is not in regular use it should be run out of the coach-house once or twice a week, and thoroughly ventilated, by removing cushions, carpets, &c., and opening the doors and windows. After being well aired, it should be thoroughly dusted, and washed before it is returned to the house.

(_n_) The person having charge of the carriage should examine it closely each day after it has been used, to see that there are no loose or broken nuts, bolts, tires, &c. If proper attention is given to this matter the carriage will always be ready for use.

=Cow.=--_Choosing._--Form, general appearance, and the “touch” of the skin, are points to be attended to; with regard to these, an idea may be obtained from the following description of a good dairy cow:--Head small, long, and narrow towards the muzzle; horns small, clear, bent, and placed at considerable distance from each other; eyes not large, but brisk and lively; neck slender and long, tapering towards the head, with a little loose skin below; shoulders and fore-quarters light and thin; hind-quarters large and broad; back straight, and joints slack and open; carcass deep in the rib; tail small and long, reaching to the heels; legs small and short, with firm joints; udder square, but a little oblong, stretching forward, thin-skinned and capacious, but not low hung; teats or paps small, pointing outwards, and at a considerable distance from each other; milk-veins capacious and prominent; skin loose, thin, and soft like a glove; hair short, soft, and woolly; general figure, when in flesh, handsome and well-proportioned. The extent of the upturned hairs on the escutcheon indicate the properties of the 2 hind-quarters of the cow’s udder as to the quantity of yield of milk, but not as to the 2 fore-quarters. These latter should be separately investigated; judges generally look at the size of these and examine the size of “milk vein” which runs along the belly.

_Breeds._--The Yorkshire yields very large quantities of milk when fed liberally; the Ayrshire is held in high estimation for cheese making; and the Alderney (Jersey) for butter and cream. The Suffolk is well fitted for districts where the pastures are poor; the yield of milk is good, and it is comparatively rich in butter. Weight for weight, shorthorns are about 50 per cent. heavier than Ayrshires, and require ⅓ more food. At the same time, it is found that Ayrshires yield quite as much milk as shorthorns. The only difference claimed in favour of the shorthorn is, that it maintains more flesh than the Ayrshire, keeps its money value together better, and can be finished for the butcher with greater ease and more satisfactory results. The small Scotch race is found to be, when used for the production of milk for sale, of greater value than the ordinary dairy shorthorn, producing an equal amount of milk at much less cost, while a far smaller amount of capital is required in the formation of the herd. As a butter maker, the Holstein is nowhere with the Jersey; nor yet as a converter of ordinary farm produce into milk, because no value set upon the Dutch superiority in skim milk can bring them up to the Jersey standard for butter, when the difference in consumption is taken into account. The Jersey milk contains 26 per cent. more solids of all kinds than the Dutch; whilst of butter-fat the Jersey milk contains 80 per cent. more.

_Keeping._--Amateur cowkeepers are advised not to think of breeding at all. Buy a cow, newly calved; do not let her be served; feed her very highly all through her time, and when the milk ceases to pay for the keep, sell her at once to the butcher and get another. This is the town dairymen’s system, and they would not so universally follow this plan if it were not the safest. Above all, sentiment must be shunned. The amateur must keep a close watch over each week’s expenditure and income, and sell the cow, however favourite a one, directly these approximate. Then the trouble of settling a newcomer will have to be faced over again. On the whole, it may be doubted if one amateur in a hundred will ever succeed in making a cow pay, even where there is a garden and small paddock, by reason of the costliness of good dairy servants. (_Field._)

The great art of feeding is in selecting the foods most suitable for the purpose in view, without entailing waste, or an undue strain on the digestive system. Every cow should have no less than 650 cub. ft. of breathing space; the cold air should be admitted near the floor line, with ample ridge ventilation, for the escape of the vitiated air; the building itself should be kept clean and free from fermenting or decaying animal odours or vegetable matter (underground drainage, however skilfully executed, is an utter abomination in a cowshed); all the inside walls should be limewashed at least twice a year, and the beds, floors, and passages well washed and scrubbed once a week. Whatever tends to increase the health and comfort of the animal economises food, as well as increases its effective results; every source of irritation, whether in the field or the stall, entails an undue waste of food, whilst for the time it reduces the flow and deteriorates the quality of the milk. The quality of the drinking water has a great influence on the yield of milk. Soft water is preferable to hard; hence the water from running streams or ponds is preferable to well water, which is generally at a low temperature. The action of the atmosphere on ponds or reservoirs has a softening influence on the water, a favourable condition for milk cows; impure or tainted water should be excluded. Unlike the food, a portion of the water taken in by the cows passes direct to the third stomach, and enters at once into the circulation. The influence of the food on the yield of milk is well known. Chemical investigation proves that the milk solids are only slightly affected by the food, the casein and sugar being nearly stationary, whilst the quantity of butter fat varies considerably; the greatest variation is in that of the watery constituents.

Decorticated cotton cake exclusively used as an auxiliary in conjunction with large quantities of roots and hay is not an economical food for dairy cows, owing to the large percentage of flesh formers it contains, whilst practically cotton cake, though admirably adapted for rearing and fattening purposes, when given to milking cows in quantities of 4-6 lb. a day produces a leathery cream, and certainly not a superfine quality of butter. A mixture of pea and palm-nut meals will produce a rich milk, though not of the finest quality. A mixture of rice and linseed meals will produce a large yield of butter of a somewhat oily character. If quality is, as it should be, the chief desideratum, nothing can equal the home-grown cereals--beans, peas, wheat, barley, and oats; under ordinary circumstances these will produce a quality of milk, cream, and butter that cannot be surpassed.

The cowhouse must be kept as near as possible at a uniform temperature of 60° F.; the cows may be turned into the fold-yard daily for ½ hour, about noon. Large quantities of cold water taken into the system are positively injurious, lowering the temperature of the body, which is maintained in a normal state at the expense of the food. For cows in full milk, cooked food is much preferable to raw, entailing less labour on the organs of digestion and assimilation. The mixture of chop, meal, roots, and grain may either be boiled in the ordinary cast-iron boiler or steamed. To obtain the most effective results, the food should be given to the animals in a sloppy state, and at a temperature of 55° to 60° F. Regularity of feeding and milking must be strictly observed. The morning meal should be given before milking commences, and the dung removed from the beds and grip. As milkers, females are preferable, the hands being soft and pliable compared with the horny hand of man. The quantity of food necessary to supply the wants of individual animals is governed by its weight. A cow in full profit consumes daily 3 per cent. of her live weight. During April, a cow in full milk should have, in addition to boiled or steamed roots and hay or straw chaff, 2 lb. bean or pea meal, 2 lb. wheat meal, 2 lb. ground oats, and 2 lb. bran. If these cannot be grown on the farm or purchased at moderate cost, 2 lb. linseed, barley, or Indian corn meal may be substituted for the wheat meal. If the aim is quality, it is essential that bean, pea, or oat meals be used. Care must be exercised in regulating the quantity of food to meet the wants of the different animals, and not, as is too often the practice, of serving a uniform quantity to each. In every case the mangers should be cleanly swept out before feeding. By far the best kind of hay for milking cows is well-saved clover or mixed seeds cut just before coming into flower. Dusty or highly heated hay injures the health and deteriorates the quality of the produce. The chief part of the hay and straw should be cut and mixed with the meal and boiled roots. Only a small quantity of long hay should be given twice a day in order to excite rumination. Raw roots are only admissible when given as a mid-day meal. As in the case of the steam boiler a quantity of fuel is wasted in raising the temperature of the water from the freezing to the boiling point, so it is in the animal system; the fat producers which, under favourable conditions, would increase the quality of the milk, are expended in bringing a large quantity of water to the heat of the body. Brewers’ grains are highly charged with water, and consequently open to a similar objection. Pastures, if saved during the spring months, will be ready for stocking from the first to the middle of May. With the first bite of spring grass the food must be changed; the boiled roots should be gradually discontinued; the same quantity of meals cooked and mixed with chopped hay as before, fed in a less soppy state, in order to counteract the opening tendency of the young succulent grasses. This régime may be continued to the middle of June, when the quantity of meal may be reduced one half, or, if the pastures are good, discontinued till the autumn. So long as the artificial feeding is continued, cows must be fed in the stalls twice a day. By the beginning or middle of September, the early cabbage should be ready for use; this will increase the flow of milk at the expense of the quality. To maintain the standard, the use of meals and chop must again be continued, commencing with 2 lb. a day, with a gradual increase, arriving at the standard allowance by the 1st of November, which will be maintained throughout the winter and following months.

The estimated cost of keeping a dairy cow in full profit during the winter months, including labour of milking and attendance, is not less than 1_s._ a day, charging the home-grown produce at market price. Green hay is greatly to be preferred for milking cows, tending to enhance the value of the produce. Grasses should not be allowed to stand till over-ripe, causing the soluble matters to become converted into indigestible woody fibre; and sufficient labour should be employed; the hay should be constantly stirred from the time it is cut until it is placed in the stack, unless meantime showery weather should intervene; hay barns, too, are indispensable to the dairy farmer. (Gilbert Murray.)

Turnips give a disagreeable flavour to butter, when used in feeding, in autumn and winter. No mode which will prevent the taste of turnips being imparted to the milk is better than the practice of giving the turnips to the cow after she has been milked, instead of before.

When at pasture, cows are often tethered with chains or ropes of 12 ft. and upwards in length, having swivels to prevent twisting. At one end there is a ring, through which the chain is passed to form a loop that is passed over and tightened round the base of the horns, or secured to a head stall. The lower half from the swivel is sometimes made of rope, and at this end the tether is attached to an eye in a pointed iron peg of 9 in. or so long and about 1¼ in. in diameter at the head, which is flattened like the head of a nail. This peg is driven into the ground. The cows are shifted according to the weather and the grass they have eaten, averaging perhaps 6 times a day, the swivel referred to usually preventing the chain from fouling; and they are left out at night in warm weather only. The amount of grass economised by the tethering system is considerable.

=Pig=.--To make it pay, any kind of stock must be well treated. This is even true of the pig, and no animal pays better when well housed and fed. Much depends upon the system adopted--whether sows are kept for breeding, or whether the pigs are fattened. Some persons do best with breeding sows, and cannot make any profit out of the fatting process; others declare that fatting is very lucrative. In keeping pigs for profit, several points are to be considered.

_Styes._--The styes must be practicable, dry, warm, and easily cleaned, not facing the north, nor with a moist or damp earth bottom. Farmers generally fill the bottoms 1 ft. deep with chalk; but although this is better than nothing, it is a poor substitute for a proper floor, which should be of concrete, with a nice dry raised wooden bench at one end for sleeping. Wherever earth is found in a stye, there will be mud very soon--and very filthy, unhealthy mud too. The stye must be warm, and the straw clean--wheat barley straw is not so healthy, and encourages vermin as well as dirt. If it is true that a pig, put up to fatten, should be either sleeping or eating, then the bed must be as sweet as the food, and even at 35_s._ a load in the country straw will be paid for; but in a bad stye twice as much will be used as is necessary.

_Breed._--Choice small breeds are too small for the market; they have not quick growth, and that is what is wanted in breeding for sale at 8-10 weeks; again, choice breeds, from men who exhibit, are sometimes wanting in vitality, sometimes diseased, and never produce so many or such vigorous litters as hardy breeds of another type. The best breed to select is, perhaps, the larger or middle York, which has quickness of growth, and makes a big strapping youngster in a few weeks. A cross with a strain of the same type, but of entirely different blood, is quite necessary for vigour, and to obtain large, strong, and frequent litters.

_Breeding._--It is an old practice to advise that the pig should never be used for breeding until at least 15 months old. There is soundness in the advice, if a man desires to obtain the finest animals for stock or exhibition: but not when the object is to obtain as much money out of your stock as you can. Some make a practice of obtaining first litters from yelts under a year old. A September litter is divided into boars and sows; the former are cut and fattened; the latter are well fed, and allowed to run out to increase their vigour until the following September, when they have a litter, having been put to the boar about the end of May. They thus grow fast during the best months of the year, and approach maturity just as they litter. The young do not show any symptoms of deficiency in stamina, but grow well, and are sold off in 8-9 weeks at 20_s._-22_s._ each, and the mother is soon prepared for mating to the boar again, bringing the litter about the beginning of April.

A breeding sow costs very little when she is without pigs; but she is naturally an expensive animal when she has a litter. It has been said by many that a sow should be always in pig or with pigs, and this is very near the truth. When her pigs are taken from her, she should be dried and fed up for taking the boar as quickly as possible. Thus, as she goes 16 weeks with young, she will, if they are taken from her at 8 weeks produce 2 litters a year, if she has no accident, and if she is rightly managed, for she will at each time have just a fortnight for taking the boar. Of course, the thing will not always be managed so exact and so regular as could be wished; at the same time it is a good guide, and if 2 litters can be managed in the year, so much the better. Taking the pigs at 10_l._ at 8 weeks, this gives a return of 20_l._ and the value of the manure. Against this you may place 8_l._ as the cost of keeping the sow, where everything has to be bought, but much less where there is plenty of house wash, milk, roots, and refuse from gardens, &c.

In breeding little pigs for sale, there is not the same element of chance that exists when pigs are fatted. The little ones vary but a shilling or two if they have not done so well as usual, whereas with a fat pig the process is longer, much more expensive, and may not turn out so profitable after all. When a large quantity of skim milk or refuse has to be consumed, fatting may be necessary, and, valuing the food at much less than meal and corn would cost, it may pay very well; but as there are plenty of men who buy young pigs for the express purpose of fatting, and who have no milk, no refuse, and, indeed, no stubble for them to clear up at all, but have to purchase everything, there must be some return.

_Fatting._--When fatting will invariably pay for purchased food, is when porkers come in just right for the London market, nice in size and quality, and realise about 5_s._ 9_d._ per stone. A 16-stone pig would at this rate realise 4_l._ 12_s._; and there is no reason in the world why it should not be attained in 16-20 weeks, instead of which it would, as a store, be worth at this age some 2_l._ Breed, attention, and feeding will help to bring this about. The youngsters must be continually pushing ahead; if they get a check, so much profit goes, and so much time is lost. To this end, too, it is of no use to go in for a small breed--the York or the York and Lincoln will do very well.