Abstract
THE prospectus of this work promises us a thorough treatment of all parts of the important subject of dairy farming. The selection, breeding, and feeding of dairy cows; the production, treatment, and disposal of butter and cheese; the plants or crops used in feeding animals; dairy buildings, and soils adapted for dairy farms; such are some of the subjects embraced in the scheme of Mr. Sheldon's serial work, the publication of which, in monthly parts, has recently commenced. The first number, being chiefly occupied with general introductory remarks, hardly affords a fair sample of what the bulk of the book is likely to be. These prefatory pages do, however, contain a good deal of interesting matter—matter important to many persons besides dairy farmers. Some of the statistics of milk- and cheese-production here given are very striking. For instance, we are told (p. 9) that about 500,000 tons of ripe cheese could be made from the milk annually produced in the United Kingdom, when the quantity of milk required for rearing and fattening calves has been deducted. But, in point of fact, much milk is consumed as such in food, while from that which is submitted to further dairy operations a good deal of butter is made. The approximate estimates, therefore, for the amounts of milk and milk-products in question will stand somewhat as follows for the United Kingdom:—Milk annually consumed as such, 525,000,000 gallons; 126,000 tons ripe cheese from 350,000,000 gallons; 89,295 tons of butter from 550,000,000 gallons. When the cheese, butter, and condensed milk imported from abroad are added to the home production, some notion of the vastness of the amount of dairy products consumed by the population of the British Isles may be gained. Thus, 98,000 tons of cheese are annually brought into this country from the Continent, the United States, and Canada; while the yearly import of butter approaches 90,000 tons. The value of our imports of butter and cheese together is just 15,000,000l. sterling.
Dairy Farming; or, The Theory, Practice, and Methods of Dairying.
By J. P. Sheldon, assisted by leading authorities in various countries. Part I. (London: Cassell, Fetter, and Galpin, 1879.)
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Our Book Shelf . Nature 20, 336 (1879). https://doi.org/10.1038/020336a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/020336a0