218 The 'Book of the Goat. 



acquire a peculiar "goaty" flavour, which, to most 

 people, is extremely unpalatable. 



Those who desire to experiment in a small way with 

 butter-making -may do so by carrying out the following 

 somewhat primitive method. It was practised regularly 

 by a lady friend of mine years ago, who, with the milk of 

 two goats, used to make every week during the summer 

 when the animals were in full profit about 3lb. of butter, 

 and who never cared to relinquish the bottle system for 

 more elaborate- apparatus : 



The milkings of each morning and evening, after 

 being strained through a fine hair-sieve or butter-cloth, 

 are set in small pans about 4in. in depth, holding 

 each about 3 pints, and left for twenty-four hours for 

 the cream to rise, being placed in a dairy or other cool 

 spot free from any kind of smell. Every morning and 

 evening after this process has been gone through, the milk 

 which has stood for twenty-four hours is placed on the 

 kitchen range or stove (a closed stove being preferable) 

 over the boiler, or as far as possible from the fire, and 

 there allowed to remain until the surface becomes slightly 

 wrinkled, when the pan is removed to the dairy. 

 And here it should be observed that the cooler the range 

 or stove and the longer the milk takes to scald, the thicker 

 will be the cream. 



The next day, the cream, which has in the meantime 

 risen, and which should be a quarter of an inch thick, 

 is skimmed off and placed in a white earthenware jar or 

 basin. Twice every week this jar or basin is stood in 

 hot (not boiling) water until the cream is lukewarm, when 

 it is poured into a wide-mouthed glass bottle, holding 

 about a quart, a little annatto or other butter-colouring 

 being added, drop by drop, to obtain the required tint, 

 without which the butter will be as white as lard. This 

 bottle, which answers the purpose of a churn, is 



