FARMERS' K E G I S r E R 



643 



receive more than 6. They cost Sd. a piece, and 

 their dtiraliilily may be estimated by the /act, that 

 toencoura;.^e careliiiness,each dairy maid is allow- 

 ed one dollar per annum extra, as pan money, be- 

 ing bound at the same time to pay IQd. lor each 

 one she breaks, yet hitherto no girl has broken to 

 llie extent of her dollar. It is sell-evident that 

 acidity cannot be communicated to glass, and the 

 ease and ra|)idity with which they are cleaned, re- 

 quiring merely lo be first washed with lukewarm 

 water, thfm rinsed in cold water and placed in a 

 rack to dry, etlect such a saving in (uel and labor 

 (diminishing the number of our dairy maids by at 

 least 2,) that the less quantity of butter obtained, 

 supposing (which I by no means concede) that the 

 milk, during a few weeks in summer, do''s sour 

 sooner, and consequently throws up less cream in 

 glass dian in wood, is more than compensaied bj- 

 the lessened ex|)ense of" the establishment, not to 

 mention the great advantage of'attainingtlie indis- 

 jjensable cleanliness and j)urity ol"the vessels, with 

 more certainty, because at a lees expenditure oC 

 lime and trouble. Although it is an ascertained 

 and undeniable liict that the quality of butter de- 

 pends much on the nature of the pasture, the local- 

 ity of the dairy, the universally prevailing cleanli- 

 ness ofihe whole management, and very essential- 

 ly on the purity of the water employed, still I as- 

 cribe mucli ofthe reputation which our butter has 

 of late years enjoyed (and which is verified by our 

 obtaining at all seasons one penny per pound above 

 tiie market price in our neighborhood) to the bene- 

 ficial introduction of glass miik dishes. 



It has already been stated as a rule, that the 

 cream must be removed from the milk before any 

 acidity is perceptible, if butter of first rate quality 

 is looked /or ; and it has been found by experience 

 (hat a cellar temperature of Irom GO'^^^ to G2^ Fah- 

 renheit, is the most favorable ; a complete disse- 

 verment ofthe cream then taking place in 36 hours: 

 whereas a greater degree of warmth, though it 

 quicken the separation, still more hastens the sour- 

 ing process, which operates injuriously not only on 

 the quality but the quantity of butter. la a cold 

 temperature, the separation is effected much more 

 slowly, so that 48 or even 60 hours may be requir- 

 ed ; this, however, is the longest period that may 

 be accorded without incurring the risk of imparting 

 a rank, unpleasant Haver to the butler, which even 

 if not perceptible on its being first churned, mani- 

 Tests itself very shortly aiterwarde. 



The commencement of acidity in milk is indicat- 

 ed by a very slight wrinkling of the cream, and a 

 scarcely perceptible acid taste. So soon as these 

 signs appear, the work of skimming must begin, 

 even though the milk have only stood 24 houis; 

 and tlie cream is poured through a hair sieve 

 (which is kept for this purpose, and must never be 

 used to strain up the neiv milk with) into large bar- 

 rels, containing about 240 quarts each (usually 

 sufficient for one churning,) in which it remains 

 till the necessary sourness is attained, which in 

 summer follows in 24. in winter seldom under 36 

 or 48 hours ; unless when the small quantity of 

 miik admits of it being partly strained »t once into 

 the cream barrel, and the remainder added without 

 skimming from the milk pans when cool. This 

 method, undoubtedly, gives at all seasons thegreat- 

 est return of butter, but aa is generally believed, 

 not of so rich a cjuality as that firoduced from 

 ereanj alone ; and, moreover, in a large dairy, dur- 



ing the time the cows are in full milk, would occa- 

 sion much additional trouble, an almost ceaseless 

 churning, and a total prevention of cheese makino-. 

 The cream having attained its requisite acidity, 

 during the advance to which it must be frequently 

 stirred with a small churn staff to prevent it coa- 

 gulating, technically called becoming chee.^y, the 

 next object of the dairy woman's skill is, the degree 

 of warmth or coolness which must be imparteTl in 

 order to secure good butter. In warm weather 

 the churn is rinsed with the coldest procurable wa- 

 ter, in which a piece of pure ice is often thrown, 

 and sometimes, though more rarely, cold sprint' 

 water is added to the cream about to be churned^ 

 which operation is then always performed either 

 very early in the morning or late in the evening. 

 In cold weather, on the contrary, warm water Ta 

 applied, both to rinsing the churn and to the cream 

 itselt: The churning being completed, the butter 

 IS taken ofi by means of a large wooden ladle, and 

 carried in a tub directly to the butter cellar, where, 

 in a large trough, hollowed out of the trunk of a 

 beech or oak, very smoothly polished off inside, 

 and provided wiih a plug hole at the lower extre- 

 mity, (beneaih which a snrall tub is placed to re- 

 ceive the expressed milk,) the butter is slightly 

 worked, and salted with the purest salt, "thea 

 moulded with the wooden ladle into a mass at the 

 upper end ofthe trough, and left for some hours to 

 soak and drain. In the evening it is thoroughly 

 kneaded and beat, or rather slapped, the dairy 

 nraid repeatedly lifting a piece offrom 3 to 4 pounds, 

 and slapping it with force against the trough, so as 

 to baat out all the milky panicles ; and thus, lump 

 after lump being freed from extraneous matter, the 

 whole mass is spread out, receives its full propor- 

 tion of salt in all about 1|^ oz. per pound,) which 

 is worked with the utmost care equally through it, 

 and again moulded into one compact mass. "The 

 butter in lloldlein is seldom if ever washed, as wa- 

 ter is believed not only to rob it of its richness and 

 flavor, but as being itself susceptible of putrefac- 

 tion, lo be equally inimical as milk, lo its preserv- 

 ation. "When a sufficient quantity is ready to fill 

 a cask, the several churnings are once more knead- 

 ed through, a very little fresh salt added and packed 

 into the barrel, which is made of red beech wood, 

 water tight, and previously carefully washed and 

 rubbed inside with silt. Much attention is paid 

 that no interstice shall remain either between the 

 layers of butter or the sides of the cask. A cask 

 is never begun to be filled until it can be complet- 

 ed, as thus alone the butter can be exactly of the 

 same flavor and color, which is probably one rea- 

 son why small dairies, under whatever manatre- 

 ment, never produce such good butter as large ones 

 as the small churnings must remain long exposed 

 to the air, until the requisite quantity is in readiness. 

 The qualities of first rate butter are considered 

 to be, 1st, a fine, even yellow color, neither pale 

 nor oranse timed; 2d, a close, waxy texture, in 

 which exiromoly minute and perfectly transparent 

 beads of brine are perceptible ; but if these drops 

 be either laPije or in the slightest degree tinged 

 with milk color, it indicates an imperfect worklnw 

 ofthe butter; while an entirely dry, tallowy ap° 

 pcarance, is equally disapproved ; 3d, a fi-esh fra- 

 grant perfume, and a sweet kernelly taste ; 4th, 

 good butter will, above all, be distinguished by 

 keeping for a considerable time, withouTacquirini' 

 an old or rancid fl ivor. * * * ■. " 



