386 PACKING BUTTER 



perfectly level and smooth surface, the liner extending one inch 

 above the edge of the tub is carefully folded over the butter with 

 clean hands, a clean cloth circle is placed on top and on this is 

 sprinkled a little clean dry salt, evenly distributed. After the 

 lid is put on the tub, the outside of the tub should be sand- 

 papered until it is perfectly smooth and clean. Then the Hd is 

 neatly fastened down to the tub with three to five standard 

 fasteners. 



The twenty pound tub is then dropped into a sixty pound 

 tub and clean paper, clean shavings, excelsior, sawdust or other 

 insulating material, is solidly packed between the inside and 

 outside tub, bottom, sides and top. It is advisable to place the 

 60 pound tub and the packing material into the creamery cold 

 room several days before use, so as to thoroughly chill them. 

 The lid is then fastened to the sixty pound tub, it is tagged with 

 the name and address of the maker and the addressee. Then it 

 is best set into the cold room for twenty-four hours before ship- 

 ping, in order to harden the butter. 



Butter put up as above directed will reach its destination at 

 any reasonable distance in good and attractive condition. The 

 cold packing around the inside tub furnishes a splendid insula- 

 tion, guarding against rapid warming up, which would prove 

 detrimental to the delicate flavor of the butter and disadvan- 

 tageous to the buttermaker's chances of success in the contest. 

 Some buttermakers fill the space between the two tubs with 

 crushed ice. This is unsatisfactory because it detracts from the 

 neatness of the exhibition tub. Also the ice generally melts in 

 transit and if the tub is put in cold storage before scoring, as 

 is usually the case, the water between the two tubs will freeze 

 into a solid mass, converting the entire package into one insep- 

 arable unit. The only means to get the inside tub out in such 

 a case is to chop off the staves of the outside tub with an ax. 

 If the butter judge has to attend to the unpacking himself these 

 difficulties may have an unfavorable, though entirely uncon- 

 scious, effect on the score of the troublesome tub. Aside from 

 these objections melted ice is a good conductor of heat and 

 therefore makes very poor insulation, while sawdust, paper, 

 wood shavings, etc., hold cold very efficiently. 



