THE QUANTITY AXD QUALITY OF BUTTER AXD CHEESE. 47 



lu warm weather, it is very important that milk be cooled as 

 early as possible after being taken from the cow, so as to prevent 

 its becoming sour ; more especially if it is to be used for making 

 butter or cheese, as the butter v\'Ould then become rancid, and 

 the cheese would not keep. Although a cure for rancidity is to 

 wash and beat the butter well in cold water, in which have been 

 put a few drops of chloride of lime, and mixing it well, then 

 washing? it anew in fresh vv^ater after beingj left for a few hours. 

 Butter never by any means acquires a bad taste during the 

 operation of churning ; the mischief is done in the gathering of 

 the milk. Attention to feeding, to the keeping of the milk, the 

 speedy churning of it after it is collected, the temperature when 

 it is put into the churn, and the rate of agitation kept up during 

 churning, all influence quality, both as regards the taste, and the 

 colour of the butter. Cheese of a sour taste and of inferior 

 quality, is generally the result of allowing milk to become sour 

 before separating the curd from the whey, which ought to be 

 done as quickly as possible, by means of an acid juice, which 

 will readily curdle it. 



There are several other circumstances, independent of food, 

 which affect the quality of milk, such as the age of tlie cow. 

 The milk of a cow in her third or fourth calf is crenerallv richer 

 in quality than a younger one, and will continue so for several 

 years. In dry seasons, the quality is generally richer, although 

 cool weather favours the production of cheese, hot weather 

 increases the yield of butter. 



The poorer the condition of the cow, good feeding being supplied, 

 the richer, in general, is the milk. If a cow be milked only once 

 a day, tlie milk will yield more butter than an equal quantity of 

 that obtained by two milkings, and even less by tliree. I have 

 also observed that the morning milk is of better quality than 

 that of the evening. 



The colour of the cow has also a considerable effect on the 

 quality. For instance, white cows, whatever may be the breed, 

 generally, as a rule, give milk of poor quality ; for this reason, 

 many who keep cows to make butter and cheese never keep a 

 cow of this colour. Preference is always given to cows of a 

 brown or brown and white, and black or black and white colour, 

 as their milk is generally of ric'liest quality. 



A bad state of the atmosj)here of the byre, and cows inhaling 

 bad odours, all affect the quality of milk, whicli imparts the same 

 to butter and cheese made from it. 



These, I consider, are the principal circumstances which are 

 liable tu affect the ([uality of milk, and butter, and cheese made 

 from it, independent of the food, and having explained tliose 

 all'ecting the (quantity under tiie same circumstances, 1 shall 

 now give results of tlie inlhience of food over th(^se.. 



