Hints on Dairying

In Short

Written in 1885 as a manual for American farmers, this book examines the foundational principles of profitable milk, butter, and cheese production. The author systematically breaks down dairy management, from evaluating herd genetics and balancing feed rations to optimizing cream separation and curing cheese curds. He argues that domestic consumption drives the industry more than foreign export, advocating for scientific rigor over traditional guesswork. By grounding everyday farm labor in biological and chemical realities, the text remains an invaluable snapshot of the historical transition toward modern agricultural science and proper animal husbandry.

The Story

The narrative begins with a statistical evaluation of the American dairy industry based on federal census data. The author demonstrates that despite popular focus on foreign markets, domestic consumption consumes the vast majority of national milk output. Furthermore, private farm dairies produce more than double the volume of commercial factories. From this premise, the text establishes that individual farm management—rather than industrial consolidation—serves as the primary pillar of agricultural prosperity.

Moving from macroeconomics to the farmyard, the author outlines the selection and care of dairy stock. A successful enterprise requires picking animals with specific physical traits indicating high milk volume and butterfat content, such as a deep flank, thin thighs, fine coat, and well-developed milk-veins. The text analyzes the dominant breeds of the period, praising the Devon for its rich milk and hardiness while warning against the Shorthorn, which has had its milking traits bred out in favor of beef production. The author also notes the potential of Swiss importations and addresses polled cattle.

From breeding, the exposition advances to the chemistry of animal nutrition. The author rejects the old method of throwing coarse hay to stock without system. Using precise feed tables and German standards, the book details how to compound balanced rations from carbonaceous and nitrogenous materials. A cow requires tailored proportions of dry organic matter, digestible protein, carbohydrates, and fats depending on whether she is at rest, fattening, or producing milk.

The focus then turns to handling raw milk and the mechanics of cream separation. The author investigates how temperature drops alter specific gravity, allowing fat globules to rise. He evaluates deep and shallow setting systems, water cooling, and churning variables, arguing that mechanical concussion separates the butterfat from buttermilk.

Finally, the text addresses cheese manufacturing and curing room design. The author vigorously attacks the prevailing preference for over-soured, acid-soaked curds, proving that premature acidification washes away essential fats and nourishing mineral salts. He champions a "sweet curd" system, early knife cutting, low rennet usage, and strictly controlled curing temperatures below 75 degrees Fahrenheit. The treatise concludes by showing that proper curd processing leaves whey as little more than sweetened water—warning farmers that feeding sour whey alone to young stock is ineffective and cruel.

How It Unfolds

Analyzing the census figures The text opens with a statistical comparison of national population growth against cow numbers and dairy product yields between 1850 and 1880. It proves that home consumption absorbs over five-sixths of total production, demonstrating that private farm dairies far outweigh factory outputs in real market value.

Selecting the ideal milker The author outlines the physical markers of an efficient dairy cow, emphasizing broad hips, a soft and high-reaching udder, large milk-veins, and a thin, tapering neck. He reviews common breeds, endorsing the Devon for butter production and warning against Shorthorns bred strictly for beef.

Balancing the winter ration Transitioning to animal nutrition, the text introduces chemical feeding standards based on German laboratory analysis. It illustrates how to combine meadow hay, straw, roots, brewers' grains, and meal to meet exact daily requirements for protein, carbohydrates, and fats.

Managing cream and churning The treatise explores the mechanics of butter making, examining how falling temperatures alter the specific gravity between water and fat globules. It assesses setting methods and argues that mechanical concussion inside simple, easily cleaned churns yields the best butter separation.

Reforming the cheese vat The author criticizes the practice of over-souring cheese curds, introducing precise instructions for early curd cutting, mild heating, and sweet whey removal. He demonstrates how proper rennet use and stable curing temperatures under 75 degrees preserve vital fats and digestive phosphates.

Evaluating the waste products The work closes with a biochemical analysis of whey, proving it consists almost entirely of water and low-grade sugar. The author strictly advises against feeding sour whey to young farm animals without supplementary nitrogenous feeds.

The People

• T. D. Curtis – The author and editor who serves as the guiding voice of the treatise. He seeks to elevate farm productivity by replacing traditional agricultural superstitions with empirical chemistry, meticulous sanitation, and sound business sense.

• The American Dairyman – The primary subject and audience of the book. He is often depicted as working against his own financial interests through poor herd selection, improper feeding, and neglect of basic sanitation, yet capable of great success if he adopts systematic methods.

• Dr. Emil von Wolff – The German agricultural scientist whose empirical feed tables and animal digestion standards provide the theoretical baseline for Curtis's recommended rations.

• H. B. Gurler – An Illinois dairy practitioner cited for his theory that sudden cooling causes milk fats to expand before congealing, illustrating the period's active dialogue between practical farmers and scientific theory.

• The Dairy Herd – The collective living engine of the enterprise. Whether comprised of Devons, Shorthorns, Ayrshires, or Swiss stock, the cows are presented as sensitive organisms whose comfort, quiet treatment, and balanced nutrition directly dictate farm revenue.

In Its Own Voice

"Complete success in dairying depends on right conditions."

Context: The foundational premise printed on the title page, establishing that profitability relies entirely on controlled environmental and scientific factors.

"Many a dairyman has remained poor all his days because he spent his time and energies on an unprofitable herd."

Context: Opening the section on dairy stock selection, emphasizing that hard physical labor cannot overcome bad genetics.

"It is cruel to feed sweet whey to any animal exclusively."

Context: Concluding the chemical analysis of cheese-making byproducts, warning that low-protein whey fails to provide necessary nutrients for growing livestock.

What It's Really About

Beneath its practical instructions on churns and cheese vats, the book is an argument for applying scientific discipline to manual labor. Curtis wages a war against habit and ignorance, showing that failure on the farm stems from ignoring natural laws. He challenges the prevailing commercial obsession with foreign export markets, showing that national prosperity rests on the quality of goods produced for the domestic table. The text exposes how sloppy practices—such as letting milk set in unstable temperatures or over-acidifying curds to create tough cheese—waste valuable butterfat and vital mineral salts. At its core, the work asserts that farm animals are precise biological converters: treat them with kindness, shelter, and balanced chemistry, and they render raw fodder into real wealth.

Why Read It Today

This volume appeals to modern homesteaders, agricultural historians, artisanal cheesemakers, and readers curious about nineteenth-century farm life. Rather than offering dry abstractions, it provides a vivid, practical look into how rural Americans managed livestock before electricity, mechanical refrigeration, and automated milking equipment. Reading it feels like sitting in on a series of direct, no-nonsense lectures from a sharp late-nineteenth-century farm editor who has no patience for sloppy work or market hype.

Readers should expect historical period details, including technical feed ratios, numerical census breakdowns, and nineteenth-century unit measurements. The prose is clean, direct, and unpretentious, though modern readers may find the lengthy chemical breakdowns of milk fluids and curd processing somewhat technical. What endures is the author's grounded philosophy: respect for the animal, insistence on clean practices, and a conviction that rigorous daily observation yields better results than unthinking tradition.