396 BUTTER AND CHEESE-MAKING. 



exclude the air. Place it in a cool dry cellar, and do not 

 disturb it until ready to be shipped. In the fall the butter 

 should be packed in pails or tubs and sold as fresh butter. 

 An air-tight butter pail or tub is very desirable for ship- 

 ping spring and fall butter. 



Test of good 'butter. Good butter should have a granular, 

 waxy consistency, and a rich yellow color, except in the 

 winter and spring, when the color is of a pale yellow or 

 nearly white. When cut it should not soil the polished 

 blade of the knife, and the cut surfaces should be free from 

 a dewy appearance. The taste and smell should be entirely 

 free from the slightest trace of rancidity, for if not, however 

 good otherwise, when exposed to the air for a few days it will 

 become almost worthless. The flavor of butter is various, 

 generally depending upon the season, the water, the food 

 of the cows, &c. The preference is merely a matter of 

 choice. If butter upon being cut or repacked is covered 

 with small drops of milky brine, it shows that it has not 

 been sufficiently washed and worked, and although sweet it 

 will not remain so if exposed to the air. When opened 

 for use it should be immediately covered with a strong 

 brine. When it is sticky or greasy, it shows that it was too 

 warm while being churned and worked, or has been over- 

 heated since. Such butter is rancid, or will become so as 

 soon as opened. 



Setting-pan. To insure a perfect separation of the cream 

 from the milk a setting-pan has been successfully used in 



