Curious Observations: A Dog-Operated Butter Churn

April 10 1942

TO THE EDITOR OF COUNTRY LIFE

Sir - As an example of interesting things there may be mentioned a dog-operated butter churn, of which an illustration is enclosed. How long it may be since such a contrivance was used anywhere in England, I do now know, but many comparable churns were used in North America less than 50 years ago and a few are still working on remote Welsh hill farms.

* Give Country Life for Christmas and save up to 40%

I have also seen in a museum a dog treadwheel of the drum type, such as was used for turning a spit before an open fire. It may be pertinent to recall that Rowlandson's well-known sketch showing just such a wheel in use was made in South Wales. It was published in 1800. When dogs were last employed in kitchens for such a purpose I do not know, but there is a record (unchecked) of Queen Victoria's having owned turnspit dogs in the 1840s, and other evidence also suggests that a few of these dogwheels were still used less than 100 years ago - COUNTRYMAN'

Reader Offer: Country Life readers special offer: Telephone the

Country Life bookshop on 0843 060 0023 or send a cheque to Country Life

Bookshop, PO Box 60, Helston, TR13 0TP.

Watch our video exploring the making of the book, and going behind the scenes in the Country Life archive on our Youtube Channel.

* Follow us on Twitter