PREPARING THE BUTTER FOR MARKET 277 



with a concentrated brine, after which these holes are also sol- 

 dered and the package is tested for leakage. It is advisable that 

 the tins be lacquered both on the inside and outside. 



IX. The Danish Firkin. The butter package most popular 

 on the English market is the Danish firkin holding no pounds 

 of butter. The firkin is made of beech wood. These firkins 

 are prepared similar to the American tub and lined with parch- 

 ment paper. The butter is solid packed in the firkin. 



X. Butter Print Boxes. The most common boxes used 

 for prints are of a fifty-pound size made from spruce, poplar, 

 or cottonwood. The inside measure of these boxes is usually 

 13 X 13 X 9 1/2 inches. A flat box of 54 pound size has a dimen- 

 sion of 23 1/4 X 14 1/2 X 5 1/4. The latter box is of a neater 

 appearance, but the principal objection is that a greater surface 

 is exposed to the atmosphere and the butter which is to be 

 shipped without refrigeration during the summer season is 

 more exposed to the heat. For local trade and for short ship- 

 ments a fiber box is very satisfactory and it is cheaper than the 

 wooden box. 



B. PACKING THE BUTTER 



I. Solid Packed Butter. Butter when packed should 

 have enough overweight so it will be of full weight at the time 

 when it reaches the consumer or dealer. A sixty-pound tub of 

 butter, if the butter is of good body, should not shrink to ex- 

 ceed eight ounces in four weeks if kept in a properly cooled re- 

 frigerator. If kept at a comparatively high temperature the 

 loss will be greater. If the manager finds that more than eight 

 ounces are deducted for shrinkage by the dealer then the matter 

 should be investigated and the shrinkage may be found to be 

 due to leaky butter, to overheated refrigerator at the creamery, 

 to being overheated while in transit or at the store of the dealer, 

 or to inaccurate weighing either at the creamery or by the 

 dealer. The prepared empty tub with liners should be weighed 

 on a scale that is sensitive to one-half ounce. The weight of the 

 tub is marked on the hoop of the tub in reasonably small figures 

 written with a pencil. The net weight of the butter should be 



