■118 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



says it should never be colder than fifty-five degrees, and, at 

 churning, the cream should be brought to sixty or sixty-two 

 degrees. If allowed to go above sixty-five degrees, the color 

 and flavor are injured. It is liable to become bitter before 

 the cream rises, if the temperature is too low; and, if it 

 freezes, the cream rises at once, but is of poor quality, yield- 

 ing white butter. If kept in a room heated by day, and cold 

 at night, it will not rise well, and is apt to be bitter and acid. 

 Philadelphia dairymen find no difficulty in making good 

 butter all winter. One who obtains one dollar per pound 

 keefts the temperature of his milk-pantry as near fifty-five 

 degrees as practicable. 



In testing the butter at the recent exhibition, the commit- 

 tee found some lots that had particles of salt undissolved. 

 This is due to the practice of salting butter after it is churned, 

 the salt not getting thoroughly dissolved. The way to rem- 

 edy this, which we have practised for some time, is to salt 

 the cream. When the cream is put into the churn, a suffi- 

 cient quantity of salt is put into it to render it quite salty. 

 When the butter is churned and worked, it will be found to 

 be evenly salted, not a lump or grain of salt undissolved. 

 Of course much of the salt put in the cream will not remain 

 in the butter, but will be contained in the buttermilk. If 

 you wish nicely flavored butter, salt it before you churn it. 

 We use about a pint of salt to four gallons of cream : common 

 salt that is pure will do. 



Alex. Macy, Jan., Chairman. 



MARTHA'S VINEYARD. 



[From the Eeport of the Committee on Butter.] 



The manufacture of butter is increasing on the island, and 

 it is one of our most valuable products. According to the 

 census of 1875, the production of butter in the county was 

 as follows : — 



15,416 $5,704 .37 



