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About Oregon City courier. (Oregon City, Or.) 1902-1919 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 10, 1905)
THE PICTURESQUE DAIRIES OF EUROPE Government Investigation Shows Them Below the American Standard. GUY ELLIOTT MITCHELL. : liHinmii i " We often hear of the model dairies of Europe, co-operative dairies into which a epeck of dirt is never allowed to lodge, of Danish butter that is in truth a dream and brings a fabulous price, of eggs guaranteed ' fresh and country-like, and other reports of the way they do things on tne nne om farms of Europe until one begins to think that one can not be more tnan half llviBg in this country. . But how much of this sort of thing will bear investigation and close analysis? The Dairy Division of the United Sates Department of Agriculture is a progressive and useful institution and has done several things to destroy prevailing fallacies and incidentally establish the fact that American meth ods as a whole, in at least some phases of agriculture, are as far if not farther advaneed than those of any other coun try. Not the least interesting of such in formation gathered was that collected by the late Henry E. Alvord, for many years the chief of the Dairy Division, in a tour of the countries of Europe conditions do exist abroad where the cow is taken in as a member of the family as they do in no place in the United States, but they are the excep tion. Stables which in summer are converted into conservatories and rooms for weaving and cheese curing are the unusual and show places. The construction of cow stables generally in the dairy countries of the Old World is of a substantial nature, with little regard paid to light and ventilation, i pie room for improvement In our coun. try, the only foreign country from which the United States can possibly learn anything is Denmark. There the best creameries are models of cleanll ness. good order, and systematic man agement. But all these details are ac complished only through a lavish ex penditure of labor which would appal an American creamery manager. It is not an uncommon thing for six or eight persons to be constantly em ployed for six or eight hours a day, turning out a quantity of butter which is ordinarily made in this country by a man and a boy who have all the work finished daily at 3 or 4 o clock in the afternoon. Major Alvord found It impossible to draw any comparisons between the methods of cheese-making and the re suits in this country and those abroad, It is believed that the American fac tory system, common to the United State3 and Canada, is superior to any thing elsewhere. In variety and fancy cheese this continent can not yet at- SELLING MILK IN DENMARK for the purpose of looking into the dairy industry of the continent. Major Alvord stated first, upon his return home, that while the United States has never evolved a strictly dairy cow of its own, it has now noth ing to gain through the importation of new blood from Great Britain, the Channel Islands, the Netherlands, Den mark or France. There are many pic turesque and useful breeds of milch cattle In these countries but they do not compare, he stated, with the adapt ed American breeds. For instance,, U frill -4V l4v COMBINED DWELLING AND COW STABLE IN DENMARK-STABLE IN FRONT tempt to compete with the Old World In order to learn the bottom facts about making any of the famous spe cialties in cheese, it is necessary to go conveniences of arrangement or ease in cleaning. While much attention is paid to cleaning cow stables, it is ap parently more from an appreciation of the value or the manure than irom an effort to have sanitary conditions in the dairy. Foreigners Provide Good Feed. There is one thing where Europeans may be ahead of Americans. They seem to be better versed in the feeding o cattle. Even the poorest peasants do not hestitate to purchase concentra ted cattle foods where necessary, yet it appears that the only reason the na tives can give for this practice is the U.Uand CI,,,,, U J if, ,! - Ml -M W: W .1 Danish Prize Winners. Brittany, In the north of France, has within Its borders pretty, active little black-and-white cnttlo with marked dairy characteristics, producing often an astounding quantity of milk for their size, but they are believed to be useful in the United States only as playthings. American Cow Stables Up to Average In the stabling and general care of dairy cows no foreign country shows, in genoral practice, any methods or conditions better than our own. While the averago conditions throughout the country are undoubtedly far from what they should be, the United States , MODEL CO-OPERATIVE FRENCH CKEAMKUY i farmer ..ad dairyman are making as rapid strides forward as can be found anvwhero. Major Alvord found comparatively few nlaces in Holland ami tivvir.eruimi where there is such close relationship between the dairy cows and families a thn occunancy of connecting apart- men's, so often described in poetic fannv bv European travelers. These stereotyped answer: "My father did. so." The American farmer, Major Alvord thought, has undoubtedly a much more intelligent knowledge of the principles of feeding, but there is probably more carelessness and waste in feeding ani mals of all ldn.ls in America than any where else in the world. The nio9t astonishing feature of Eu rope in the care of milk on the farm is the entire absence of refrigeration in France, and the general ignoring of the value of cold in dairying. In the matter of dairy appliances and equip ment, the United States is surpassed by no other country, although Den mark and parts of Great Britain stand about as well. In most big cities of Europe there are a few well-conducted milk delivery establishments, such as are usually found in our smallest cities, while in some localities dairy animals are driven through the streets and milked at customers' doors. Milch cows are managed in the snme way even in the best streets of Paris and of Kome, Paris probably has the poorest milk servieo of any of the large cities. Dur ing the Exposition at Paris in July, 1900, a special show of perishable dairy products was held as an annex to that exposition. Paris Milk Exhibit Very Poor. While the French producers had every opportunity of exhibiting their goods in the best possiblo shape, the only samples of natural milk and cream, absolutely free from chemical preservatives and uncooked, which were sweet and palatable after noon of the exhibition day, wero from the dairies in New York and New Jersey, then eighteen days from the cow! Tlie American products had been preserved solely by cleanliness and cold. Major Alvord made the statement on his re turn from Europe that no milk-supply company In Europe could duplicate this performancei la butUr-making, while there is am- to the locality where they originate, Making: Dairy Work Popular. Americans find novelty In Europe in the "fairs" and "markets" where prod ucts of the dairy are sold to the highest bidder. In Normandy the wives and daughters of farmers and peasants as semble by the hundred in the parks or along the streets, ' selling their "mottes" of butter. The cheese fairs of Frome, England, and Kilmarnock, Scotland, and the street markets of Alkmaar, Hoorn, and Utrecht, Holland, also present lively and interesting spectacles in connection with the sale of dairy products. Major Alvord's observations show that while too much can not be said of the industry, frugality and thrift of Europe's dairymen, a close comparison leads one to feel that the conditions of the industry in the United States are decidedly more satisfactory in almost every particular. large scale. The ordinary big green cucumber pickles are usually quite free from cider vinegar. The only way to make them edible is to soak the pickles in strong brine, to extract the acid, then to soak them in water to get out the brine, and finally pickle them in real vinegar. Pure vinegar can be made as well from other fruits as from apples. Grapes, plums, and other fruits which contain a considerable proportion oi sugar, which Is converted into alcohol and then into acetic acid, make good vinegar. The Department of Agriculture has in press a short bulletin on vinegars, which can be had upon application to members of Congress. It is known as Farmers' Bulletin No. 233 and is com piled from the work of the various agricultural experiment stations on this subject. Thoroughbred Milch Goats. Among the various European , milch gouts the Spanish goat is said to be foremost in the quantity and quality lof milk given. The accom panying illustration is from a photo graph taken by Explorer David G. Fair- child, of the Department of Agricul oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooocoooooooocoooc NO OTHER WAGONS APPROACH s In Perfect Adaptability Under all Conditions to The Strong Old Hickory SPANISH MILCH GOAT ture, while he was touring Spain making observations of the milch oat industry of that country The remarkable size of udder of this goat is nothing abnormal among the Spanish goats, but on the other hand is the general rule. Many of these goats give eight quarts of milk a day. Briefs From Everywhere, British Columbia is the only British province in America which has pre served the old English custom which obliges judges to wear wigs. In Arizona Indian children may be seen catching ants and eating them, and in Mexico the honey ant is eagerly sought after by the natives as an ar ticle of food. Nine-tenths of the people of Persia are Mahometans. MANUFACTURED BY Kentucky Wagon Manufacturing Co. iouisviixe, KY. LARGEST PRODUCERS OF FARM WAGONS IN THE WORLD SOOOQOGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOv AMERICAN CROWN SQAP 's a green soap, consistency of paste, a perfect cleanser for automobile machinery and al' vehicles; will not injure the most highly polished surface. Made from pure vegetable oils. If your dealer does not carry American Crown Soap in stock, send us his name and address and we will see that your wants are supplied. Put up in 85 and 60 lb pails. James S. Kirk & Company CHICAGO ILL, The Irish bogs, it is stated, could pro duce fifty million tons of peat a year for one thousand years. The steel in the modern band-saw is of finer quality and will stand rougher usage than the far-famed Damascus blade of the ancients. The physician in China collects no fee, but receives a percentage of the money paid to the apothecary. Wholesome Cider Viaegar. In an ordinary cheap restaurant the safest thing to do if you wish to use some vinegar on your food is to try and get half a lemon. Then you will know that you are not eating out the lining of your stomach with caustic chemi cals. Vast quantities of "pure cider vinagar" are quite innocent of the meaning of apples and are distinctly injurious, being purchased by the re tail dealer in barrels, at seven to ten cents a gallon, which every apple grow er knows is a prohihitive price for cider vinegar. However, real ci'Jcr vinegar is a good condiment. The rea son it can not be sold for the prices at which chemical vinegar is offered is that it takes from one to three years to make properly. The cider first must go through the process of alcoholization, and then be changed into acetic acid. There are methods of artificially hastening this process, but the product is not first class, and it can only be done on a Zorene, a new chemical compound, will, it is said, double the life of metals exposed to the air, such as bridges, vessels, tanks and the like. An adulterator of food in Germany is liable to a term of imprisonment of six months and a fine of 1,200 marks. A man will die for want of sleep in about ten days and for want of air in about five minutes. A Laplander will sometimes travel on skates one hundred and fifty miles in a day. Cromwell was a gypsy baiter. He once ordered them expelled from Eng land and if they refused to depart by the next wind they should be hanged without delay. 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