DAIRYING 



For centuries the name of Ireland has been associated with 

 bullocks and butter, and her butter once had a foremost place in 

 the markets of the world. About twenty years ago, when Danish 

 butter began to make headway on the British market, Irish butter 

 gradually fell in public estimation, and ultimately sold at less 

 than that produced in Denmark or Sweden. This continued until 

 quite recently, when Irish butter recovered som.e of its lost 

 ground, principally through an improvement in the quality, 

 brought about by the increase of the number of co-operative 

 creameries. A.t the present time it is increasing in public favour, 

 and it is to be hoped that this improvement will continue in the 

 future. 



Farmhouse Butter 



A large quantity of butter is still made in farmhouses, but the 

 amount is gradually decreasing. This butter is either sold as 

 lumps or is put up in firkins. As a rule, the salt is added dry, 

 but in winter, in a limited area of the south-west, hot brine is 

 worked into the butter. This has the effect of partially melting 

 the butter, while at the same time the water is increased from, 

 say, 12 or 14 per cent, to from 18 to 22 per cent. Butter so 

 treated is said to keep very well, and, after treatment, to have 

 a higher melting point than before, but this is doubtful. The 

 farm-made butter is brought into the provincial market towns, 

 where it is sold to the local merchants, who take delivery on the 

 spot, and redistribute it among their customers in England and 

 Scotland. This butter, as a rule, varies much in flavour, colour, 

 solidity, and percentage of water, and, of course, sells at varied 

 prices. The conditions under which it is made do not admit of 

 much uniformity in quality, and as the quantity made at one time 

 is generally small, the casks often contain several qualities, as it 

 often varies from day to day. The variation in quality has a 

 considerable effect in lowering the price of the whole to near the 

 value of the lowest quality which the cask contains. This is a 

 difficulty which cannot very easily be overcome under farmhouse 

 conditions, and is best guarded against by the manufacture being 

 carried out at a creamery, where skill and machinery can be 

 employed in a manner seldom available in a farmhouse, and never 

 on a small farm of the ordinary Irish type. 



The Introduction of Creameries 



Before the introduction of co-operative creameries a consider- 

 able number of proprietary ones had been established in Ireland, 



