270 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



were very favorable recommendations from those who had used 

 them, in the butter dairies of that State. 



From my own experience I can say nothing as to their prac- 

 tical value, but it is my intention to test their merits for myself, 

 during the coming season. 



The only thought of those people who make only a small 

 amount of butter, as well as of those who make it but a part 

 of the year, seems to be to provide the coolest possible place 

 for their milk. This is well enough during the hottest summer 

 weather, but during the cooler portions of the spring and fall, 

 a moderate amount of heat is necessary, since too much cold is 

 as injurious in preventing the rise of cream as too much heat. 

 For this reason I am satisfied that a large amount of butter is 

 always lost by this class of farmers, for the lack of a properly 

 arranged room in which to set their milk, where the temper- 

 ature may be kept high enough to induce all the cream to come 

 to the surface. 



We found it necessary to warm our milk room until nearly 

 the first of July, with the exception of a few of the warmest 

 days in May and June, and resumed warming it nights and 

 mornings early in September. A proper amount of heat has 

 much to do in giving to the butter the desired color. 



A very dry atmosphere, as well as a current of air blowing 

 upon milk, is very injurious to the butter-making qualities of 

 the cream. Cream, when dried, cannot yield as much butter 

 as when soft, for the reason that whenever dry and soft cream 

 are churned together, the butter globules contained in the soft 

 cream break sooner than those of the dried, and thus while, to 

 all outward appearance the butter has all come, much is still 

 floating in the buttermilk and is lost. 



There should be sufficient ventilation to carry off all steam 

 which may arise from the milk while warm. To accomplish 

 this the current of air should be admitted as near the ground as 

 possible, by means of suitable openings, and, in order to regulate 

 this current, movable shutters should be attached. A ventilator 

 leading from the top of the room to the open air is also needed. 

 In arranging the room, slats rather than shelves should be used 

 on which to set the milk. We hear the setting of milk in deep 

 pails highly recommended by some, but from my own experience 

 I can say nothing in regard to it. 



