When they were quite deprived of green food the milk began to
decrease; and as we had heard that oil-cake was given to cattle, we
thought we would try some. We did so, and with complete success; we
had plenty of milk, and the butter was as good as in the middle of
summer, and nearly as fine a color. We did not make so much as when
the cows had plenty of grass,--besides, it was now several months
since the black cow had calved,--but we had sufficient for the
consumption of the family. The children, it is true, did not have so
many tarts as when the fruit and butter were more plentiful.

We hope that we have made all our statements clearly, and that the
reader will have no difficulty in following us through this narrative
of "buttermaking."

Of one thing we are quite sure, that it is false economy to feed cows
during the winter on anything but what we have mentioned. Grains from
the brewer and distiller are extensively used by cow-keepers in large
towns, but they cannot be procured in the country; and we have been
told that cows fed with grains, though they may yield plenty of milk,
will not make much butter.

One winter, when hay was scarce, we found that they did very well with
carrots occasionally, and that they did not impart any unpleasant
taste to the butter. They are likewise found of potatoes unboiled; but
these things are only required when you keep more stock than your land
can support,--a fault very common to inexperienced farmers on a small
scale.