PAkMERS' REGISTER- MAKING BUTTER. 



717 



has by tliiit time become os liffht i\.n(\ ns soft ni? a 

 bank of ashes." One hundred grains of the spe- 

 cimen contained eight of carbonate of lime. Ail 

 this prairie land hi Alabama lies on a sidistratum 

 of what is there called "rotten limestone," (speci- 

 nieoR of -which contained seventy-two to eighty- 

 two percent, of lime,) and which rises to the sur- 

 face sometimes, (oriuirig the "bald prairies," a 

 sample of the soil of which (21) contained fifty- 

 nine per cent, of" carbonate of lime. This was 

 described as "comparatively poor — neither trees 

 nor bushes grow there, and only grass and weeds 

 before cultivation — corn does nut grow well — small 

 grain better — and cotton soon becomes subject to 

 the rust." The excessive proportion of calcareous 

 earth is evidently the cause of its barrenness. 



The substratum called limestone is soft enough 

 to be cut easily and smoothly with a knife, and 

 pome of it is in appearance and texture more like 

 the chalk of Europe, than any other earth that I 

 have seen in this country. 



22. A specimen of the very rich "cane brake" 

 lands of Marengo County, Alabama, contained 

 sixteen per cent, of carbonate of lime. This is a 

 kind of prairie, of a wetter nature, from the winter 

 rains not being able to run ofT from the level sur- 

 face, nor to sink through the tenacious clay soil, 

 and the solid stratum of limestone below. 



23. A specimen ti-om the very extensive 

 "Choctaw Prairie" in Mississippi, of celebrated 

 fertility, yielded thirteen per cent, of carbonate 

 of lime. 



From tlie [Britisli] Guarterly Journal of Agriculture. 



ON THE MAKING OF BUTTER AND CHEESE 

 IN THE DAIRY DISTRICT OF SCOTLAND. 



By Mr. William Aiton, Hamilton. 

 On making Butter. 



Milk, as it comes fi-om the cow, is composed of 

 three substances, viz., an oily or butyraceous mat- 

 ter, a lactic or caseous substance, and serum or 

 whey, all in mechanical mixture; and these are 

 separated by the operations of the dairy, and each 

 of them converted to its proper use as human 

 food. It is the oily part only that can be formed 

 into butter; and that is done bj' churning or agita- 

 tion, either of the whole mass of the milk, or of 

 the cream only. As the preparation for churning 

 is different in these, it becomes necessary to de- 

 Bcribe both, so as any person in the least acquaint- 

 ed with the qualities or management of milk, may 

 understand how to extract the butter it contains, 

 by the one process or the other as may best suit 

 his purpose. 



Milk may be churned, and the butyraceous 

 matter in it collected, whenever it is drawn from 

 the cows; but, as that oily matter does not sepa- 

 rate from the lactic matter and serum until the 

 mass has become sour, it is much better to allow 

 the milk to acidify naturally before it is churned, 

 than to force it into that state by protracted agita- 

 tion in the churn. For when butter is forced from 

 Bweet-milk, the churning has to be continued till 

 it becomes sour, by the absorption of oxygen, 

 during the course of churning, and in that case 

 the butter is always very soft. But when the milk 

 has acidified naturally, before it is churned, that 

 operation is as speedily and easily performed on 

 the whole mass ol' milk, as when (he cream has 



been separated from the milk and churned by it- 

 self 



Formerlj' milk and cream were thrown together 

 as they came to luuid, and cither sweet or sour as 

 they happened to bo, and the whole stood over till 

 it was convenient to churn the mass; and that 

 slovenly way of management is still practised by 

 many fitrmers. But wherever sweet-milk and 

 sour-milk are mixed, the former is forced into pre- 

 mature acidity, and the coagulum of the latter 

 beinir broken, the whole mass becomes fermented, 

 throws off its serum, soon becomes rancid, and 

 communicates that taste to the butter; while the 

 butter-milk continues in a state of lermenlaiion, 

 and does not again unite vviili the serum, but 

 forms itself into curds and whey, having a rancid, 

 musty flavor and taste. 



Fortunately a great improvement has been ef- 

 fected in the important process of making butter 

 and butter-milk fiir more palatable and whole- 

 some than was practicable by the ill conducted 

 operations which have been described. And as it 

 has been often termed the "Mearns" plan of ma- 

 kinir butter and sour milk, it is probable it had its 

 origin in that parish, where these articles of food 

 have long been manufactured to a great extent 

 for the Glasgow market. Be that as it may, the 

 mode of making butter and sour milk, all over 

 the dairy district of S«-otland, is nearly the follow- 

 ing: — 



The milk, when drawn IJ-om the cow, is placed 

 from six to twelve hours in coolers, the same as 

 wlien set aside to cast up its cream, but this is 

 merely to let the milk cool. And whenever it is 

 completely divested of its natural heat, the whole 

 meal of milk is emptied from the coolers into a 

 s*and-vai or tub sidhcient to contain the whole. If 

 the vat is large, and a second meal of milk has be- 

 come cold beffjre the former meal has begun to 

 acidify, the second may be turned into the same 

 vat with the first. But if the first has in the least 

 become sour, or is found to be approaching to 

 acidity, the second meal of milk is placed into 

 another vat hy itself, to prevent its being soured 

 otherwise than in its own natural course. A lid or 

 cover is thrown over the vat which contians the 

 milH, and it is allowed to stand undisturbed till 

 the milk has not only acidified, but till it has been 

 formed into a coagulum, (or"lapper" in dairy lan- 

 guage.) Whenever it comes to that state, it is 

 ready to be churned, but it can be allowed to stand 

 over till as much is ready as may be convenient to 

 churn at the same time, and the milk is no way 

 injured by remaining in coagulum for several 

 days, provided that it' is not disturbed, or the lap- 

 per broken; but if that is done before churning 

 can be commenced, the serum separates from the 

 caseous and oily parts, and the whole mass fer- 

 ments. 



When the churning is commenced, the milk 

 that has not soured and coagulated is not churned. 

 If anv milk not fully lappered were to be churned 

 with "the other, the butter would not be hurt by 

 that milk, but the butter-milk would become fer- 

 mented, run into curds and whey, and soon ac- 

 quire a rancid taste and smell. But when the 

 whole milk has lappered before churning is begun, 

 and where every thing is rightly conducted, the 

 sour-milk, if kept in a cool place, and in clean 

 dishes, will have a mild and pleasant acid taste, 

 and the lactic parts will not separate from the se- 



