228 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



woods should be used in their manufacture as will not impart a disagreeable flavor to the 

 butter. 



Ash is regarded as objectionable, since it contains an acid; while spruce, pine, and other 

 gummy woods impart a very disagreeable flavor to butter. Oak is highly recommended and 

 extensively used for this purpose, but it should be thoroughly seasoned before using, as the 

 sap exuding from the wood would impair the flavor as well as the color of the butter. 

 Sugar maple is also excellent for this purpose. When properly steamed under a pressure, 

 which process forces out the sap, many kinds of wood that would otherwise be objectionable 

 may be used for this purpose. 



Firkins and tubs should be prepared for packing by pouring boiling water into them 

 and leaving them to soak twenty-four hours, after which fill with strong brine for two or 

 three days; turn out the brine and rinse with pure cold water; then rub the sides of the tub 

 with fine salt, and sprinkle a little salt in the bottom. As soon as the butter is worked, put 

 it into the tub and pound it down solid. Fill the tub within an inch of the top; then cut a 

 cloth one inch larger than the surface of the butter, wet it in brine and spread over; cover 

 this with a layer of salt about half an inch; another cloth one inch larger than the first, and 

 spread over, turning up the edges on the inside of the staves. Care must be taken not to 

 let it hang over the top, as it will then draw out the brine. Fill the tubs with fine salt, fit 

 the cover on tight, and pour strong brine through a plug-hole in it, in order to fill all the 

 intervening spaces and exclude the air, after which put in the plug and keep the butter in a 

 cool, dry, well- ventilated cellar. 



Even butter that is packed in this manner will absorb gases from decaying vegetables and 

 other foul odors, consequently it must be kept in a pure atmosphere. Some put a cloth in 

 the bottom of the firkin before packing. Another method of packing preferred by some 

 dairymen is as follows: 



Make a bag of common bleached cotton cloth, a little smaller than the tub, so that when 

 it is filled there will be a space of at least an inch all around on the sides, above and below. 

 Pack the butter in the bag, and put the bag in the tub; fit on the cover .with a hole an inch 

 and a half in diameter in the centre ; then turn in strong brine sufficient to fill the tub even full. 

 Put in a plug reaching an inch below, so as to keep the butter under brine. The sack of 

 butter will float in the brine and be excluded from the air. The butter should never come in 

 contact with the cover in packing. In the preservation of butter, the exclusion of air is of 

 the utmost importance. It is also highly essential that the buttermilk be entirely worked 

 out before packing, as the casein contained in it ferments and causes rancidity. 



White Specks in Butter. Although there maybe other causes for white specks in 

 butter, they are caused mainly by the milk in the cream curdling while the cream is at too 

 low a temperature, or from permitting the milk to become sour or curdled before skimming, 

 and a portion of the same becoming mixed with the cream. Mr. H. Stewart says relative to 

 this subject; 



&quot; The condition of the cow, caused by several circumstances, such as disturbed health 

 from various causes, and the period of oestrum, will all produce this state of the milk; but 

 these must all be so apparent that they would lead one to suspect their influence at once. I 

 believe these white specks in butter are due in nine cases out of ten to the curdling of the milk in 

 the cream, and the separation of the whey from it. Every time that I have had white specks 

 in the butter the bottom of the cream can has contained clear whey, and of course the curd 

 must have separated and have mingled with the cream. The white specks were all clearly 

 .apparent as the butter was taken from the churn in the form of small grains, and were evi 

 dently nothing more or less than clots of curd. If these had not been carefully picked out 

 from among the grains of butter they would have been worked up among them, and have 

 .appeared as the ordinary white particles which trouble the butter-makers so often.&quot; 



