274 MANAGEMENT OF DAIRY PLANTS 



with cold water to remove any sediment which might adhere to 

 it from the water used for soaking. It is now placed over a 

 steam jet for a thorough steaming, immediately after which it 

 is paraffined. For that purpose a paraffiner fitted up with a 

 special steam jet is most convenient. 



The liner is next placed in the tub in such a manner that the 

 top thereof will, when folded over the butter, overlap from 

 one-half to one inch. If the tub is not paraffined it should be 

 soaked from eighteen to twenty-four hours in cold water and 

 then rinsed. A couple of pounds of dry salt should be put into 

 it and the tub rolled for the purpose of having an even layer of 

 salt adhere to the inside. The liner is then placed and the 

 butter should be packed before the tub becomes dry or else 

 the salt will fall to the bottom. The salt is added for the pur- 

 pose of preventing the formation of mold and to facilitate 

 taking the butter from the tub. The surface of the tub after the 

 butter has been packed should be free from holes and should be 

 covered with a cloth circle and with a sprinkle of salt on top. 

 The cover before being placed on the tub should be thoroughly 

 washed and dried. 



The paraffining of the butter tub is of advantage, first because 

 it prevents formation of mold, and second because it reduces 

 shrinkage of butter. Mold may readily be prevented without 

 special treatment of the tub. The main factors to consider are 

 that the tubs and liners are stored in a clean and dry place and 

 that the refrigerator is kept dry and free from mold. If liners 

 have been exposed to mold spores they should be boiled in a 

 concentrated salt solution. Rogers l found the shrinkage from 

 butter packed in tubs, not paraffined, to be .95 of one per cent. 

 This loss was reduced to .17 of one per cent when the tubs had 

 been paraffined. 



II. The Australian Butter Box. The Australian butter 

 box derives its name from the country where it was originally 

 adopted as the standard package. The size of it, inside measure, 

 is I2X 12 X 12 inches and it holds fifty-six pounds of butter. 

 It is usually made of white spruce. The sides, top, and bot- 



1 Circular 130, B. A. I., Department of Agriculture, 1908. 



