THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



Vol. X. 



NOVEMBER SO, 1842. 



No. 11. 



EDMUND RUFFIN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR. 



BUTTER BIAKING. 



From the Cleveland Daily Herald. 



Travelling across the Western Reserve, a year 

 or iwo since, in compbny with a gen;ienian irorn 

 New Yoik; I WHS surprised to hear him stale thai 

 " 111 the eastern markets Ohio butter was a by- 

 word, a term synonymous with dirty butter.^ 



I attempted to delend the character ol the pro- 

 duction ol our dairies, and we compromised matters 

 lor the present, by agreeing to rest the decision up- 

 on the samples we should meet with on the tables 

 ol'the pubhc liouses m the course ol' the journey. 

 In llie end, I liail the mortification to find, in a ma- 

 jority of instances, either an oily, rancid, or a ring 

 eireaked and spotted article was set betore us, ihai 

 came within ihe hmiis ot his descrijjtion. 



Tins should not be. Butter is one oi the sta- 

 ples ol northern Ohio, and that which is well made 

 will, in all instances, command a cash price suffi- 

 cient to compensate the dairyman lor tlie extra la- 

 bor he besiovvs upon it. 



My wile and myselT claim the merit of being 

 adepts, or as political demagogues would say, 

 " real workies^'' in this tjusiness, Ibunded on a 

 practical experience ol near twenty years. 



Our method 1 will detail ; first (jremieiiiig that ii 

 is perhaps no better tlian ihai pur^ued l>y many 

 others, lor there is here and there a lamiiy lliat 

 furnishes a prime article, though a large share ol 

 thai which cumes into njarkei is ol' an opposite 

 character. The publication ol'our nieihod mby in- 

 duce others to Ihrow more light on the suhjeci. In 

 our hands it is invariably euccesslul, but ii is like 

 certain chemical processes, made up of a series ol 

 manipulations, the omission ol any one ot which 

 may derange the wliole and endanger the result. 

 Every part must be carelully carried out. 



1. C/ioice of cuws. — A judicious selection Irom 

 the common stock, i dteni to be equal il not supe- 

 rior to any of the imported. The Devons and 

 Bakewells I have tried, and lound ihem deficient in 

 the quantity olmik they afiord. The Durhams I 

 have not tested. The Gore breed was introduced 

 into Portage couniy some years since, by a genle- 

 man, I think, of the name of Ttioindike, from 

 Massachusetts. A lew of the descendants and 

 crosses are to be met with in Ihe eouih fiari ol 

 Trumbull couniy, and they prove to he the best ol 

 milkers. The quantity and qualiiy of the milk 

 surpass that ol any other breed in our section ol 

 the country. 



2. Change of /.astures. — To insure the produc- 

 tion ol the largest quanliiy of butier, a Irequrnt 

 change of pastures is required. A farm should be 

 60 lienced that the cows can be changed into a dif- 

 ferent lot every four or five days. 



3. Salting. — A constant and full supply of salt 

 should he belore our cows in some secure place. 

 They will eat moderately what ihey require. If 

 only occasionally lurnished, they ofien take it in 

 quantities so large, as to act medicinally to their 

 injury. 



It corrects almost any bad quality of the milk, 

 arising from the eating of aromatic or bitter herbs, 

 Vol. X.-62 



and also much of the nalural animal odor, that 

 Irequenily impairs the sweetness of butter. 



4. Water, — It is perhaps superfluous to add, 

 that vviihout a full and steady supply of this article 

 lor his cows, the hopes of the dairyman will never 

 be realized. Driving them once or twice a day 

 to a watering place will not answer the pur- 

 pose. 



A large and deep excavation can be made in 

 the several |)asture lots, or between two or three 

 ol them, so as to answer the purpose, except in very 

 protracted droughts. Il should be so enclosed that 

 cattle can approach it and drink, without running 

 into it, 



5. Driving— kind treatment. — Many a faithful 

 cow has been seriously impaired by a careless boy 

 driving her luriously to and from the pasture. All 

 harsh treatment ol any kind, as scolding, sinking, 

 kicking, &c., is also detrimenial. 1 have known 

 many cows rendered worthless from these 

 causes. 



The utmost kindness and genilencss of manner 

 must be shown on the part of those who manage 

 our slock. I once dismissed a hired man fir strik- 

 ing my cows. Too much cannot be said on this 

 point. 



6. Milking. — This process should be done sys- 

 tematically at reijular periods of the day. Sunrise 

 and sunset are perhaps the best periods ; for imme- 

 diately alier the one, and before the other, cows in 

 hot weather leed to the best advantage. Tiiey 

 are so much creatures of habit that the milker 

 should be changed as rarely as possible. A stran- 

 ger is always regarded as an unwelcome visiter 

 by a m Ich cow. 



7. Cleanliness with the utensils. — The pane, 

 pails, sirainers, bowls, churn, and every implement 

 employed in butter-makng, must not only be well 

 washed, but they must be thoroughly scalded with 

 boiling hot water, and be perliectly dried after- 

 wards, either in the sun or beibre a fire. This 

 must be repeated every time they are u ed. Mere- 

 ly pouring boiling vvaier upon them when loaded 

 with sour milk or cre^^m, will only serve to scald 

 in the bad flavor, if I may usti the expression. 

 Wash them a: first, and then scald them 

 thoroughly, il" you would have sweet butter. 



There are certain filthy practices which slatterns 

 fdl into, that should be coi reeled — such as wetting 

 the cow's te .ts with milk, and permitting it todrop 

 into the p^ll milking in the morning without 

 washins the hands, &c. 



8. Milk-house and buttery— In hot weather a 

 good eprmghouse is necessary lor the making of 

 butler. It must be consirucled ol either brick or 

 stone, and in no instance ol wood, as that article 

 never tails, in such a situation, to become mouldy, 

 and impair the flivor ol butter. It must be built 

 so that it can be thoroughly ventilated. A window 

 should be placed on the north, east, and west 

 sides, which must be furnished on the outside with 

 wire gauze screens, and on the inside with tight 

 shutters. During the day, the shutters must be 

 closed, and at night must be raised. 



A spring may be dispensed with — and it is even 



