434 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xxii. 



more laborious. The whole milk, besides, re- 

 quires more time than that of cream to com- 

 plete the process; — from two to three hours 

 being considered by Mr. Alton as necessary 

 to effect it with due deliberation, while that 

 of cream is generally finished within less than 

 an hour and a half. "The operation" — as 

 he states — " should, in warm weather, be very 

 slow ; for if it be done too hastily, the butter 

 will be soft and white ; the churn should, 

 therefore, be cooled by being previously filled 

 with cold water ; but in winter it should, on 

 the contrary, be performed quickly, and the 

 chum should be warmed. The motion of the 

 churn should, however, be, in each case, re- 

 gular, and whatever may be the degree of 

 velocity, the stroke of the fan or piston ought 

 always to be the same, until the butter is 

 formed, or said " to come." The air which 

 is generated in the churn should also be occa- 

 sionally allowed to escape, or it will create 

 froth, which impedes the process; and the 

 whole milk, as well as cream, when churned 

 separately, should become partially sour be- 

 fore it is churned. 



In Holland vast quantities of butter are 



