20
THE WEST SHORE
October.
MBBTINO OF THK CALIFORNIA
DAIIIYMKN'S SOUIKTY,
The following addresses went marie at the
late meeting of the above named society held in
San Francisco. They will no doubt 1! found
of interest to many of our readers in this State:
As the President, Judge John A. Stanly, of
Alameda county, had lccn summoned to the
Hast on imiortaiit business, the meeting was
called to order by the Secretary, Mr. Edward
J, Wickson. Upon motion, Hon. tleorgo Steele,
of San I .'i . Obispo comity, was called to the
chair. Judge Steele made bouic fitting ojiening
remarks concerning the imjsirtanco of the dairy
interest of this coast, and the eciiliar con
ditions under which its practices were con
ducted, and which rendered a meeting and com
parison of experience among practical dairymen
of great value to all dairy workers. He trusted
the society would continue its clhirts toward
this nd, and was asmred that in the end the
organization w ould le recognized by all as of
great value and imimrtancc.
Thu Secretary read a letter from Henry
I'age, Kso., tendering Iris resignation as
I reasiirer, lieeause hit l.iimmx.i called tilill I
South America for an indclinite period. The
resiguatuin was accepted, anil a vote ol thanks
tendered to Mr. I'age f'r his past services.
Among those present during the meeting, as
shown by the Secretary's minutes, were
tlie following: Albert Wilson, San relipe; Alex
ander WaUon, Grimy; A. Benson, San Pablo
Hon. George Steele, San Luis Obispo; I. C.
Steele, Pescariuro; haviri A. Urown, San Fran-
ciscu; I. N. Hoag, loio county ; A. Hutf, Henry
rianssen, 1'oint lleves: I). I). Shattuck. K. J.
VViekson, It. (J. Sneath, Amos Adams, San
FhUunaOOl Mierman My, oM antra ( osta; Her
man Hutar, of Yolo; Prof, K W, Hilgard,
California Statu University; ItnlsTt Aslibunicr,
lUrien Station, and a few others whoso names
wi re not recorded.
It. ii. BXUTH'l RlHafUCO,
As the utt'iidaiice was not large, Mr. Sneath
ileferrcil the reading of hisstated paper and made
some impromptu remarks concerning his dairy
practices, fie said he hail given a great dMU
of attention to tlie Jersey breed of animals,
with the most gratifying success. He was at
prMtnt milking 27fi head ol' cows, and found
the Jersey yield of milk to lie alum t on a par with
the common American cow, but in quality far
richer. When three gallons of ordinary milk
jre required to make one pound of butter, two
gallons of Jersey-cow milk were required fur
the same ipiautity, or Hi pounds of milk will
make one I of butter. These cows are
very domestic and kind, and, in fact, btOOIOI
great s-ts. They have a fashion of keeping to
themselves, not associating at all with the other
cows. One of his cows he had sold to a friend,
and though it was a small animal, it kid yielded
live gallons per day. He had found, during
every day in the year, on an average each ani
mal would yield about three gallons, The
heaviest milker in Ins herd yields (10 I -. or
boat seven ami a half gallons of milk per day.
KlalORIMU VALOR IN HAIIIY TOWS.
Mr. Sneath pursues a certain sys
ttfQ te keep a record of the yield of his cows;
he numbers them ami keeps a weekly record of
their yield for statistical information and in or
der to mi prove in the matter. He thought that
farmers had kept poor cows too long. This
city will use the beet of milk, and it is the- most,
profitable for dairymen to produce. The mat
ter of gmsl animals he thought a very import
ant one At three gallons per cow per day the
profit iw little or nothing, and if a watch was
kept, the poor annuals weeded out and the aver
age yit Id raised to four gallon, that extra gal
lon is a profit, A great deal lies in the treat
ment of the cows; he permitted not the slight
est ahuxe id In. animals; did not allow a man to
remain in his employ who made a noise- even in
his bom. Good treatment affected the quality
of the milk. He was in the habit of mixing his
Jersey milk with American, as it raise the
Mandard of richness.
MILS. ritOM llltKWtiKs' U HA INS,
Mr. Sneath quoted from an article in tlio
ObioigO Inltr itcmn, by I'rof. It. M. 1 1 i iter, 00
the various oualities of milks, showinc that the
milk from brewers' grains is as unwholesome as
that iron distillers slop, containing a largo
percentage of alcohol; and concluded that four
fifths of all the deaths of babies and children
are caused by the use of adulterated or iminiru
milk. In San Francisco he was f the opinion
that four fifths of the milk used is made from
brewers' malt or distillers' ilopH. Koch of these
i" obtained so , he.inlv that it has Wen a verv
hold matter for country people tn bring pure
milk here and sell it at a profit. If iKvnlehere
could go alsmt the environs of the city and see
the cows whose milk they are using, they would
Ml startled. Ho Mieved, however, that by
reducing the matter to a system in growing the
right grasses, in feeding, milking and carefully
preparing the milk for the market, it would Ik
old very cheaply, and the milk Wuug so good
would a) itself create a market.
PAIHtlNW I THK IMKHtOH.
Iii answer to invitation, Mr. I. N, Itoag, of
Yolo county, spoke of the progress which has
been made iu dairying III the interior of thu
State. He said history of the dairy interest in
this State tindi its liegiuuiug chielly in Mann
and Sonoma counties. At first nearly all the
battel was imported from the Kastern' States.
Theft were no grasses tit for dairy purK'st-s;
the natural grac were giving way and their
place supplied by weed. Hut by degrees we
have been learning that everything is favorable
in California for the manufacture of butter and
cheese, the atmosphere U-ing peculiarly favora
ble. Cultivated grasses have Isn-n bwtrfoOOd,
and it has bOM shown that some of these are
susceptible of cultivation the entire year. With
alfalfa the great trouble is that it is destroyed
by squirrels, but at his place on the Sacramento
river, where he has the advantage of teenage
watr, squirrels and gopher are uot trouble
MM ft ha heretofore been considered that
the climate of t'alifornia is not a good one for
firkin butter, but of late it has been discovered
that even in the climate of the Saenunento
valley, butter can be packed in firkins and
kept all the year round. A good butter maker
can make butter in that valley any time during
the year, pack it in firkins and keep it as lung
on the exigencies of supply and demand may
require. The system ot dairies in the eastern
portion of the State comprehends both moun
tain lands and valleys. The cattle are taken
into the foothills in the spring, butter being
made, as they go up, of a very excellent qual
ity. The cattle come back in the fall, having
good grass all the year and butter making in
ull seasons. In relation to churning, he said he
had been iu the habit of churning until the but
ter "comes " and is gathered in a mass, and
then taking it out of the buttermilk and work
ing the buttermilk out of it. Hut experiments
had shown him that it is by far better to chum
only until actual separation of the granules of
butter from the milk ; then draw nil the buttermilk
and Hour in cool water, thus washing out tl
buttermilk while the butter is iu agranular
statu instead of working out thu buttermilk iu
the old way. He poured in and drew out
water, shaking tlie cliuru a little cacli time,
and kept up this until the water came out
nearly clear. Alters, not Lin- trains were taken
up and liually worked enough to thoroughly
with a perfect grain ami docs not become salvy
or oily. In this way good butter could be made
in any climate ami kept intact lor a long tune.
It is a very great mistake to suppose that good
butter can he made only in certain portions of
the State, and thu sooner that idea is eradi
cated from thu mind of both producer and con
sumer, thu butter for all concerned. It would
be an uxcellutit plan to disseminate all jtossible
information relative to creameries, and teach
all those laboring under the disadvantages of poor
appliances the benefits to Imj derived trom
uniting their energies. The idua was for the
farmers to establish creameries and go iu to
gether for the production of butter from it.
Thu introduction of alfalfa hu regarded as a
very important move in the right direction.
Farmers should be careful not to permit cattle
to walk over an alfalfa tield mi a frosty morn
ing, as wherever their lusifa touched the grass
it would remain dcud lor the remainder of thu
season. Hu had had thu same experience as
Mr. Sneath with JcrBey cattle, not the pure
breed hut crossed w ith the Short Horns, which
hu regarded as better, as the characteristics of
both animals aru shown the superior milking
dualities of thu Jerseys ami the Iwcf of the
Short Horns, besides a richer quality iu the
milk and color in the butter.
Mr. Wilson, of Santa tiara, said that in
making butter his experience of the method
preferred by Mr. Iloag had shown that the
Inittor would become hitter, while by the other
method he had kept it sweet tor three months.
Mr. DoM replied that that had not been his
experience, but he had found it to he quite the
opposite.
.Mr. Miealh said, iu reicrenec to aitaita, mat
it produced richer milk than he had ever seen
before, but it would not keep as long as that
produced from other grasses. He found he
could not get us much milk or as good butter
from alfalta, ami if fed to cows in summer it
was apt to produce a decidedly objectionable
tiiHtc: and he had had great dilliculty in making
butter from alfalfa that would uot turn hitter
within a few days, which was something he
could not account for.
Mr. Hong said that alfalfa should he cut be
fore it bloouiud, and that it is a fact that the
lirst crop, although it does not look as well,
will rivo a better (low of milk than any other.
Thu second crop, growing later, has more wood
in it and will not produce the same amount of
milk; it should be cut before it blooms. He
fed his cows entirely on alfalfa, but never dis
covered thu bitter taste.
At.rAI.f.l 11UTTKK.
I). Shattuck, a dealer, said that people in
San Francisco can always tell alfalfa butter,
and will not buy it for first-class butter.
Mr. Hoag wild that Stevenson, a Sacramento
valley dairyman, sellsagreatdeal of alfalfa buttor
iu Sacramento, where it brings the highest price,
and he hud sent this butter to San Francisco,
where it lias done as well.
To sustain Mr. Hoag in his claim that tirst
class butter could le made on alfalfa ill the Sac
ramoiito valley, llennon Hubcr, a largo dairyman
in You county, presented his account with
a commission house in this city, which showed
that his butter has sold this week for cent
per pound wholesale. This, he thought, was
pnof that alfalfa is good feed for butter.
Mill utroiiger evidence in favor of butter
made from altalfa feed, Kith as to its quality
and tn its salability, is at hand iu the reports
of sales of the butter made by Win. Johnston,
of liiohlaiid. Sacramento county. By the ac
counts rendered by his commission merchant in
this city, it is seen that Ins sales from Ootobof
i.l to IK toiler HUH, were .1.1 cents ikt nouinl.
half gold. Mr. Johnston has a dairy of 100
ows, ot wtncli .m are kill breed Jerseys.
Mr. Sneath had led barley hay to his cows at
one time, and More he got through his milk
and cream decreased in Mb quantity and
quality. He could not account for it, and trie!
other feeds, and exiiernuetited in various wavs.
inn oi in i oiscover wnat me matter was until
he itODDOd feodum the barley hav and tried.
aitaita, when Ml product of milk at ouce arose
to tiie maximum quantity and quality. Since
then ho hod determined to use no more coast
hay, but would buy hny produced in the warm
njnyii
Mr. Steele, the t'liairnian, hail fed burr clover
hay with gratifying results. !n answer to a
MMlttaa ho said that he hail found that grass
crown on tlie uplands is much richer than that
of the botton lands. In auswrr to another
question the I hairnuui s.ud it was his opinion
that corn fodder should be fed w hen it is unite
young, In-fore it gets woody and hard. That it
should not be sown as thickly as it the usual
custom, as it will not be as sweet and nutri
tious. H should he sown so wide apart that
the sun cou shine upon the stalks. He, how
ever, prefrrred sorghum to com, and if fed at
the proper tune, that is, wheu it is young, the
cattle will eat it eutirely up, and when cut
young it will produoe two or three growths
during the year.
Mr. Suealh had, tried the experiment of mix
ing the feed with raw potatoes. The milk was
very poor, and a general eomplaint ensued from
nn customers.
ntJOn the nature of thin films of gold and other
Sal S and apon the size of finely dmded Pe
ricles of gold ditfused through various Inmost,
are of a most interring and refined character
Availing himself of the well-known reducing
power ff phosphorus, he iloated smal particles
Of it upou the surface of weak solutions of
chloride of gold. In the course of 24 hours he
found that the surfaces of the liquids were cov
ered with films of metallic gold, which were
thicker near thu pieces of phosphorus "posses
sing the full golden reflective power of tlie
metal," but becoming so thin by gradations, as
to be scarcely perceptible. "They acted as
thin plates upon light, producing the concentric
rings of colors round the phosphorus at their
first formation, though their thickness then
could scarcely he the 1-100, perhaps not the
1-500 of a wave-undulation of light. liy
ueuting very ouhw "JC ,17 ' ,
phorus he obtained the metal dilluBed through
the liquid iu extremely fine particles, producing
alieautiful ruby color. These particles, when
iu their liucst state, oiten remain unchanged
for months, and have all the appearance of so
lutions, but they never are such, containing in
fact no dissolved but only ditfused gold. The
particles are easily rendered evident by gather
ing the rays of the sun (or a lamp) into a cone by
a fens and sending the part of the cone near the
focus into the lluid; the cone becomes visible,
ami though the illuminated particles cannot be
distinguished, because of their minuteness, yet
the light they reflect is golden iu character and
secu to bo abundant iu proportion to the quan
tity of gold present. Portions of gold so
diluted as to show no trace of gold by color
or appearance, can have the presence of the dif
fused solid particles rendered evident by the
sun in this way.
Comical Actios on (iuss. In the courae
of an article on this subject, the Journal of
ChrmiMnj prints the following paragraph :
While, for ordinary purposes, glass is one of thu
most permanent of compounds, it is not so in
different to chemical action as itappears. Water
acts more or less on all kinds of glass. Faraday
found that powdered plate-glass reddens moist
turmeric paper, showing that a portion of its
alkali is readily dissolved out. Pure water,
boiled for a long time in glass vessels, likewise
Incomes alkaliue. Mere exposure to moist air
gradually causes a decomposition of thu surface
of the glass, especially when there is ammonia
in the air. According to (Iritiiths, a flint-glass
bottle, iu whlflh 0 eolation of carbonate of am
monia had been kept for a long time, was bo
much acted upon by the liquid that flakes of
glass could le detached by shaking it. All acids
also act upon glass, especially if there is an
excess of alkali in its composition, or, as already
intimated, if it contains lead. Wine and other
acid liquids kept iu bottles have often been
f I contaminated with salts, resulting from
tiie eolation of the metals in thu glass. Wine is
sometimes put into bottles made of glass wholly
unlit for the purpose, and its taste and color are
athrcted in a very few days by thu salts pro
duced by corrosion. We can imagiuu that
serious mischief might occasionally arise from
putting up domestic wines, fruit juice, and the
like, in bottles not intended for any such ubc.
Notks os OaI PanmNO, We find in the
Oar Iltijltler a reort of a meeting of an associ
ation of car painters, tho following notes oi
sizing, which may hs of use to our decorating
workmen. .Mr. Benuet had used Knglish Jajian
gold size in mixing sizing for gold, but found
that American sizing w as superior, as it had
more adhesive properties and tho gold stood
Iwtter on it. Mr. Stines said he also used
American size as it made a cleaner edne, which
wob tho only advantage hu claimed for it A gold
sizing need not have any wearing properties, as
it is more naine to cracK. mini wiu crack on
all slow si;:es. Mr. 11. C. Bureh preferred
hngliBli Japan gold sue clear, as the quicker it
dries tlie better the gold will wear. Mr. Hem
net had used a quick Bizing on a number of cars,
and found the uold was gone when the cars
were Drought m to no varnished at tho end of
the vear. Mr. .Mrki nii. iM a sue made with
Jajwui gold size and rubbing varnish, with lead
enough to color it. It was medium in dryinj
and gold stood well on it. Size should be ma
to gild in not less than live hours, and should
not stand over 10 hours. It should dry about
the same as toe varnish put on over it. Mr.
Kirkpatrickiliil not favor dlowsiiiiL'. as the erold
will crack and tlaku off on it. Varnish did not
wear as well over gold as on color, thu reason
ot which could not be satisfactorily explained.
riinMisiitv ash Kxi'i.osivrs. In a recent
address on the achievements of industrial chem
stry, Prof. AM made the following noints it
the line of scientific work as amilied to exnln
sive compounds: It is to a careful study of the
innueiico wnu u me pnysicai characters ot gun
powder fits density, hardness, etc. . 1 and its
mechanical condition (i. t,, form and size of the
niossua and condition of their surfaces) exert
upon the rapidity of the explosion under con
finement, that we chielly owe the very import
ant advance which has Won made of fate years
in conwiuuug m uxpiosivc lorce, in its applica
tion as a propelling agent, and the consequent
simple and effectual means whereby the vio
lenee of action of tho enormous chare now
used in -uvc and shipguns, is effectualy reduced
to within their limits of endurance, without
diminution of the total explosive force devel
oid. But consurrentlv with these imnnrtant
practical result, the application of combined
chemical and physical research to a very ex
tended and comprehensive investigation of the
action of tired gunpowder, has furnished result
which possess considerable interest from a
purely scientific point of view, as in many re
pecta modifying, in other supplementing, the
conclusions based upon earlier experiment and
theoretical considerations with respect to the
natnre and proportions of the product formed,
the heat developed by the explosion, the ten
sion of the product of combustion, and the
oonditiout which regulate it, both when the
explosion ii brought about in a ctoee vessel and
when it occurs in the bore of a gun.
NOTES ON THE USE OF BELTS.
A now work on a subject of interest in ta
machine shop is on the " Use of Belting." Th,
writer is J. H. Cooper, and the following pari,
graph is quoted from the book: "Special con
ditions of successful practice, within which is em.
braced the driving capacity measurable by th
area of contact, and modified by the state of
the pulley and belt aurfacus, anil adhesive used,
which must not permit tho Mt to slip or stick
tho proper material for and treatment of belts'
tho utmost contact or arc of enrollment on the
pulley; the proportion of diameter of pulley
and length and width of lielt for best running;
thu least rounding of the pulley faces, and the
greatest smoothness obtainable; the hair Bide of
leather belts always to pulleys, as it is the
smoother side, for what is lost in contact inuit
be mado up in strain, and because the stronger
fibers lie nearest the HeBh side, and should be
preserved; the amount of adhesion or traction
developed by the tension employed: tho fasten.
inga, which should be of the best; the disposi-
tinn of thn Up such that the motion of dnvinj
will run with not ajninst them; the einplovtnnnt
of large pulleys, high speeds, and light belts'
the careful putting on and skillful joining of
belts; tho running of them slack as possible, in
the upper fold or strip; tho avoidance of tight
ness by excessive strain or binders, and of lateral
atraining, as in some quarter-twist metbodi-
the introduction oi ny wheels, or like devices,
for rendering tho work of tho belt uniform; the
increase of driving capacity, for overcominir no.
caaional resistances and starting frictions; the
uuiioruiiiy oi uuiv suction, ami weight and the
texture of material; the straightness of edge
for smoother running at high speeds; the em
ployment of gum belt for elevators, or to ron
in moist or hot situations, or where uniformitv
of section, without joints ia desirable in fact,
in many places where leather is generally used,
always avoiding twists, all devices rubbing the
eciges, aim mo contact wnn any solvent gum;
the adoption of leather covering for pulleys, bj
which 33 I of adhesion is gained; the securinff nf
Btrips to the outer edges of single belts to in
crease adhesion; tiie running ot a licit atop of
another to mako it drive; increasing the speed
of a belt, which may bu as high as a mile in a
minute and be safe ami advantageous; the Intro,
dilution of the devices for augmenting the tree
tivu pull of Itults; the utilization of belts for
imparting and arresting motion; thu substitution
of "wrapping connectors" for gear, aa in twist
belt arrangements, which do not overstrain thi
libors; these, and a multitude of other condi
tions, involving the essential elements of best
practice, will lie imind on examination to be ac
cepted and used by tho numerous authorities
quoted, ami to which thu reader is directed and
assisted hy a complete index, arranged especially
lor ready reterencc.
New (Jon fOH OaOT StoBL. We notice by
English exchanges that progress is being made
iu tho employment of simplu cast steel instead
of forged. Thu first experimenta were made a
year ago with several eight and ten-inch shells,
madu out of steel without blows, which had
been simply cast, tempered and reheated. These
had penetrated armor-plate of a thickness
equivalent to thuir diameter at an angle of 30.
These remarkable results were obtained not
only in France, but also by the Italian and
Hussian nnvics. Iu such oblique firing the work
of perforation liucomea complex. Thu first ac
tion on contract is ono of compression; this ii
followed by a certain amount of tluxion, which
tends to bring thu projectile to a position per
pendicular to the plate at the point of least
thickness; at last after penetration of the con
ical head, comes tho friction of the cylindrical
portion against the rough edgea of the hole,
which tends to elongate thu ahull longitudinally.
Such a metal resisting both tension and com
pression against instantaneous deformation ii
remarkable. loiter teats have been as follows:
Several piccea ono and one-fourth inch square
and eix inches long were next aubmitted to tha
shock of a lull weighing 40 pounds, and allowed
to fall from increasing nights. The support
were five inches apart, and rested on an anvil
weighing 1,800 pounds. These piece resisted
well, and ono of them did not break when ths
ball fell from eight feet in hight, which gave it
a bund in center of about one inch. The re
markable result of those first experiment show,
if nothing else, that we have had to deal with
metal possessing very interesting and valuable
properties, well worthy of the attention of en
gineers. Iiios 8HiH I'lankkp with Wood, It h
been for boiiio time under consideration by the
naval architects of England, lay Iron, to dis
cover a node of applying iron and wood in
combination with shipbuilding, ao aa to give them
the strength and durability of iron and the
buoyancy of wood, enabling the vessel to bt
aheathed with anti-fouling metal, and, by this
mcana, to obtain greater speed and weight
carrying powers. Thero has been a vessel of
this description lately built in London, by
Messrs. Mills and Knight the Ury, a clipper
three-masted schooner, of 236 ton register.
She is an iron ship, planked with wood from
keel to gunwale, which is fastened to the iron
by meanB of wooden holte with iron head driven
from tho inner side of the ship, forming
secure fastening, and preventing all galvwue
action, and over this planking she is sheathed
with the ordinary yellow metal Great result
arc anticipated with regard to ipeed from thii
method over the ordinary iron vessel. Th
method of plonking is said to be adaptable for
toe restoration oi old iron vessels.
Av tcSLajrHC Nkwspapir. A type foundry
in St Paul ha lately furnished the type tor
the fmmran, an Iceland newspaper, to bt
published in the Icelandic colony at Keewatin,
on the Ited river, in British territory, nbont CO
mile from Fort tJarry. Thi will be the fifft
newspaper published on the American continent
in the Icelandic language. The preparation of
the types required the greatest care. They are
in the Roman alphabet, but with a great many
culiaritie in regard to accent ti on, and or
of a very antiquated form. The Icelandic lan
guage is something like the Norwegian lan
guage as it waa spoken about 1,000 years ego.