PACKING BUTTER 371 



The tub covers should also receive some attention. They 

 often contain cinders, soot and dust, which they usually gather 

 in transit to the creamery and in the creamery stock room. 

 These impurities, when the cover is fastened to the packed 

 tub, drop on the salt which is generally sprinkled on the top 

 circle and they soil both the salt and the circle, give the pack- 

 age, when opened by the prospective buyer, an unsightly ap- 

 pearance and convey an unfavorable impression. If the tub 

 happens to be subjected to very rough handling, they even may 

 work into the butter. It is important, therefore, that the tub 

 covers be thoroughly cleaned before they are fastened to the 

 tub. This can readily be done by turning them bottomside up 

 and turning the water hose on them until they are freed from 

 all foreign matter. 



Boxes and Cubes. Some of the Eastern markets require 

 the butter to be packed in square wooden boxes, holding about 

 50 pounds of butter. These boxes should be constructed of 

 good sound wood, with bottoms, sides and tops at least one-half 

 inch, and ends at least % inch thick, properly assembled and 

 nailed with 4 penny cement-coated wire nails. They should be 

 paraffined and otherwise treated in the same manner as the tubs 

 and carefully lined with parchment paper. 



In the Pacific Coast markets, both for domestic and for 

 export trade, the cube is the standard butter package. The 

 San Francisco Wholesale Dairy Produce Exchange issued offi- 

 cial regulations concerning the size, shape and preparation of 

 the cube, which went in force Feb. 1, 1916, as follows : 



"In order to grade as 'extras' butter must be packed in cubes 

 as follows : The materials of the sides, tops and bottoms shall 

 be one-half inch in thickness and the ends % inch in thickness. 

 Lumber to be surfaced on both sides, and corners of cubes 

 nosed and rounded. Inside dimensions shall be 12%xl2j4xl3^2 

 inches and the cubes shall be packed to a uniform weight of 69 

 pounds net at churn and marked 68 pounds on each end of each 

 cube, as the shrinkage from creamery to market is about one 

 pound. The cubes shall be paraffined on the inside and lined 

 with parchment paper." 



