DAIRY FARMING 



TRADE IN BUTTER 



Addition of 

 Hot Water. 



l> li-n iis H i|iif.,i i-ni ini ftlmology to Holvn. What cun be aflirmod^of tho 



i>f India to-day in that tho prim-ipl that churn IB known and practised 



nil ovor tho country, mid miion^ Aryan as woll as non-Aryan races. The moat 

 nt name for the churn is mathani (from matha to stir or churn). It becomes 

 mahal, mahab, mathan, matka, madhani, malurindi, matlci, mathni, math, nv'itMna, Names giren 



tc. lint every part of the contrivance has its own special name, and 

 m. -times tho complete apparatus takos the name of the agitator, at other times 

 of tin- vt-ss.-l iii uhicli tho milk is churned. The simplest of all rotatory churns 

 is Unit used by the ladies of the upper classes : it consists of a shallow basin or 

 pl.it.' in which the milk is placed and a whisk made to rotate on the surface of 

 '!i.- milk by its handle being rubbed between the hands. Vertical churns are 

 u-ii.ill\ ina.li' of bamboos and are most frequently used by the hill tribes. 



The Art of Churning. Great skill is required in judging when the 

 rhuniing is complete. If stopped too soon much may be lost in the 

 butter-milk ; if too long protracted the butter may become greasy. The 

 almost universal Indian practice of adding hot water, during the middle 

 of the churning process, prevailed in some parts of Europe also, but it is 

 low much condemned by scientific writers. [Cf. Fleischmann, I.e. 188.] 

 straining to remove the butter-milk the butter is washed once or 

 twice in order to remove the curd and other impurities, as also as much of 

 le butter-milk as possible. The butter is worked up, squeezed and 

 )eaten until it attains the desired consistence, and is then ready for the 

 larket. Water is, however, one of the chief adulterants of butter. As 

 mch as 25 per cent, may be present, though good-quality butter may 

 smetimes contain as much as 10 to 15 per cent. As already observed, the 

 >resence of butter-milk impairs the lasting quality of the butter, and by 

 ruing sour makes it rancid. The melting-point of butter is a feature of 

 sme importance as it affords a means of readily detecting impurities. 

 Indian butter, curiously enough, has a higher melting-point than European, 

 a fact urged in favour of its great suitability to India. The food 

 given to milch-cows also affects the melting-point of the butter. Cotton- 

 seed, pulse meal, pea straw, ground-nut cake, etc., produce firm butter, 

 whilst most other oilcakes soften it or make greasy butter. The cream 

 from buffalo milk can be churned at a higher temperature than that of 

 the cow and yet produce equally firm butter, and hence one advantage 

 claimed for the churning of mixed cow and buffalo milk. If the mixture 

 be thought to show too strongly the pale (bleached) colour of the buffalo 

 )r sheep butter, the colouring ingredient used should be added before 

 churning. The best substance for this purpose is the pigment of the seeds 

 of Arnotto (/*/./</ Orel! nun). Three ounces of the seeds soaked in 8 oz. Amotto. 

 olive oil, then strained, makes a good staining preparation. One tea- 

 spoonful to 40 Ib. buffalo milk will usually suffice. 



Trade in Butter. Very little of any importance can be furnished re- Trade, 

 garding India's trade in butter. The article is in daily use by the well-to-do 

 of all castes and communities, but, India being an agricultural country, 

 the supply is home-made. As an indication of the progress in modern 

 dairy farming, it may be mentioned that in the Administration Report on 

 Dairy Farms in the Bengal Command for 1901-2 it is stated that 101,402 Ib. 

 of butter, 1,119,216 of whole milk, and 182,799 Ib. of cream were produced 

 and disposed of at the dairy farms of Allahabad, Jabbalpur, Lucknow, 

 Cawnpore and Agra for that year. 



The returns of foreign transactions give, however, certain particulars 

 of value. The IMPORT* of butter were in 1875-6, 76,658 Ib., valued at 

 Rs. 65,433; in 1885-6, 184,183 Ib., valued at Rs. 1,65,335; in 1895-6, 



477 



Adulteration 

 with Water. 



Melting- 

 point. 



I'.uffulo 

 Cream. 



Production. 



