350 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



May 26, 182G. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



BOSTON, FRIDAY, MAY 2G, 1826. 



BUTTER. 



The following- method of preparing butter is 

 practised in Holland. When the cows are milked 

 tlie fluid is poured into pans, till it becomes per- 

 i'ectly cold, it is then stirred two or three times in 

 the day, so that the cream and milk may more in- 

 timately combine, and if it be agitated till a spoon 

 will nearly stand upright, the butter thus obtained 

 is held iu high esteem. As soon as tiie milk ac- 

 quires a proper consistence, it is poured into a 

 churn, worked for an hour, and when the butter 

 begins to form, one or two pints of cold water are 

 added, in proportion to the capacity of the vessel, 

 with a view to separate the milk with greater fa- 

 cility. 



After the butter is taken out of the churn, it is 

 repeatedly washed and kneaded, in pure water, 

 till the last atfusion he clear and free from milk. 

 In tliis simple manner, it is sai.l, a largo portion of 

 butter is gained from an equal proportion of milk, 

 and which is not only more firm and sweet, but also 

 remains fresii for a longer time than that, usually 

 niaJe, while the buttermilk is more palateablc. 



TLis mole of making butter is, probably to be 

 prc.Vrred, when buttt-rmilk, as an article of diet is 

 consiciered of conse'.pjeuce. But Willich's Domes- 

 tic Encyclopedia says that" Decisive experiments 

 have been made, in order to ascertain whether 

 it be more profitable to churn the whole milk, or 

 only the cream which the milk produces ; it was 

 found that one days' milk of a particular cow, 

 churned by itself, yielded only 18 oz. of butter ; 

 and the cream of two days' milk produced 3 lbs. 2 

 oz. Hence it appears to be more profitable to col- 

 lect the cream, and churn it, than to churn the 

 whole milk. Cream-butter is, likewise, the richer 

 of the two, though it will not keep so long sweet." 



In warm weather, milk should stand only 24 

 hours before the cream is taken from it. The time 

 for skimming should bo at or before sunrise. In 

 winter, milk may remain unskimmed thirty-si.\ or 

 I'orty-eigiit liours ; or the milk may be frozen as 

 .soon as possible, and the cream scraped oS'with a 

 .spoon, and at the time of churning warmed just 

 I'uoiigii to give it fluidity. [See N. E. F.-.rmer, vol. 

 iv. page 222.] 'Vha cream should be deposited in 

 !i deep pan, kept during summer in a cool place, 

 wlior^^ a free air is a.lmittod. Dairy liouses ought 

 to be erected if possible, near a cold spring, or 

 running wa.ter. Ice houses, or spring houses are 

 aluiost indispensable for making butter of prime 

 (uiality. In Pennsylvania they make use of spring 

 iiouses. which are thus described by Col. Picker- 

 ing in an address delivered to the Massachusetts 

 Agricultural Society [See N. E. Farmer, vol. i. p. 

 217.] "There it seems to have been an early 

 practice in taking up land for a farm, to search for 

 a spring ; and as near to it as the ground would 

 permit, regardless of its situation in respect to the 

 public road — to erect the dwelling house. Here 

 the cattl", as well as tli(? faindy, would at once 

 find good water, without the bbour of digging a 

 well. Over these springs small houses are erect- 

 ed usually of stone. The room of the spring-house 

 may be from ten to twenty feet square, according 

 to the quantity of milk to be provided for. Trench- 

 es are made on the four sides of the floor, and bot^ 

 tomed and lined with flat stones. The residue of 

 the floor is likewise paved with stones. The wa- 

 ter from the spring enters at the side of one trench, 



runs all round, and at the opposite side passes! 

 away at a hole left in the wall. The under side 

 of the hole is at such height above the bottom of 

 the trenches, as to raise the water just enough to 

 keep the milk cool in the pans, which are placed 

 in it. This water runs perpetually from its source 

 and as constantly passes off at the outlet. In one 

 of these trenches are also set the cream pots, and 

 the pots with the butter the night before it is car- 

 ried to market. Perhaps in the vicinity of Boston 

 and other towns in the state, there may be some 

 springs which rnay furnish the same accommoda- 

 tions." 



Dr .Tames Anderson has published some excel- 

 lent observations " On the management of the 

 Dairy" from wdiich we shall e.xtract a few aphor- 

 isms. 1. The first milk drawn from a cow is al- 

 ways tliinner, and of an inferior quality to that 

 which is afterwards obtained ; afld this richness in- 

 creases progressively to the very last drop that 

 can be drawn from the udder. 2. The portion of 

 the cream rising first to the surface is richer in 

 quality and greater in quantity, than what rises in 

 the second equal space of time, and so forth : the 

 cream continually decreasing, and growing worse 

 than the preceding. 3. Thick milk produces a 

 smaller proportion of cream than that which is 

 thinner, though the cream of the former is of a 

 richer quality. If therefore, the thick milk be di- 

 luted with v/ater, it will afford more cream than it 

 would have done in its pure state ; but its quality 

 will at the same time be inferior. 4. Milk carried 

 about in pails, or other vessels, agitated and part- 

 ly cooled, before it be put into the milk pans, nev- 

 er throws up Such a good and plentiful cream as 

 if it had been put into proper vessels immediately 

 after it came from the cow. 



" Cows should, therefore, always be milked as 

 near the dairy as possible to prevent the necessity 

 of carrying and cooling the milk before it be put 

 into the dishes and as cows are much hurt by far 

 driving, it must be a great advantage in a dairy 

 farm, to have the principal grass fields as near the 

 dairy or homestead as possible. It is injudicious 

 to put the milk of all the cows of a large dairy into 

 one vessel as it is milked, because it prevents the 

 owner of the dairy from distinguishing the good 

 from the bad cow's milk, so as to enlighten his 

 judgement respecting the profit that he may derive 

 from each. Without this precaution he may have 

 the whole produce of his dairy greatly debased by 

 the milk of the bad cow, for years together. A 

 better practice therefore would be, to have the 

 milk drawn from each cow separately, put into the 

 creaming-pans as soon as tliey are milked, without 

 being mixed with any other : and if these pans 

 were always made of such a si^e as to be able to 

 contain the whole of one cow's milk, each in a 

 L^eparate pan, so that the person who manages the 

 dairy could thus remark the quality and quantity 

 of each cow's milk. If the same cow's milk were 

 always to be placed Oii the same part of the shelf, 

 having the cow's name written beneath, there 

 never could be the smallest difficulty in ascertain- 

 inij which of the cows it would be the owner's in- 

 terest to dispose of and which lie ought to keep 

 and breed from. If it be intended to make but- 

 ter of a verj/Jtne qualiUj, it will be advisable, not 

 only to reject entirely the milk of all those cows 

 which yield cream of a had quality ; but also in 

 every case, to keep the milk that is first drawn 

 .'roin the cow at each milking, entirely separated 

 from that which is drawn last ; as it is obvious, if 

 this be not done, the quality of tlic butter must be 



greatly debased, without much augmenting its 

 quantity. It is also obvious, that the quality of the 

 butter will be improved in proportion to the small- 

 ness of the quantity of the last drawn milk which 

 is used, as if increases in richness to the very last 

 drop that can be drawn from the udder at that 

 time ; so that those who wish to be singularly nice 

 keep for their very best butter a very small propor- 

 tion only of the last drawn milk." 



The same writer directs to force the buttermilk 

 out of the cavities of the butter w-ith a flat wood- 

 en ladle or skimming dish, provided with a short 

 handle, with as little working of the butter as pos- 

 sible ; for if it be too much beaten and turned it 

 will become tough and gluey, which greatly de- 

 bases its quality. To beat it up by the hand is an 

 indelicate practice. When butter is first made, 

 and just taken out of the buttermilk, get out of 

 it as much of the buttermilk as you can ; then 

 spread it over a marble stone, plate of clean iron, 

 or other ".uitable substance, and soak up the mois- 

 ture by patting it with dry towels. This will tend 

 to keep it sweet longer than it would bo other- 

 wise. 



Dr Anderson observes that wooden vessels are 

 most proper for containing salted butter. Oak is 

 said to be the best kind of wood. Iron hoops 

 should not be used, as the rust of them will sink 

 through the wood and injure the butter. It is dif- 

 ficult to season new vessels, and therefore best to 

 use old ones as long as they will last. Un,lackeJ 

 lime, salt and water well boiled, hot water and 

 wood ashes are recommended for scouring them. 

 The vessels having been repeatedly scrubbed with 

 some or all of these, should afterwards be throw'n 

 into cold water to remain three or four days or till 

 wanted. They should then be scrubbed as before 

 and well rinsed with cold water, and before the 

 butter is put in, every part of the inside should be 

 well rubbed with salt. 



Dr Anderson's famous receipt for preserving bet- 

 ter has been often published, but it may not be a- 

 miss to give it again, as things of the greatest util- 

 ity are often a long time in making their way t.i 

 general adoption. — " Best common salt, two parts : 

 saltpetre, one part; sugar, one part — beat them 

 up together, so that they may be completely blend 

 ed. To every pound or Ui ounces of butter, add 

 one ounce of this composition. Mix it well in tht- 

 mass, and close it up for use." Buffer prepared in 

 this manner will keep for years, and cannot he di-- 

 tinguished from that recently salted. It should, 

 however, be remarked, that butter thus cured d.oes 

 not taste well till it ha? stood a fortnight or three 

 weeks. Dr Anderson remarks that he has found 

 by experience, tha* the above mentioned composi- 

 tion not only preserves the butter more efl!ectually 

 from any taint of rancidity, but makes it also look 

 better, t?ste sweeter, richer, and more marrowy, 

 than if it had been cured with common salt alone. 



When buttsr is put into firkins, or other vessels, 

 for preservation, it should be so closely packed 

 and crowded, that no air can come in contact with 

 it. The butter should be carefully covered with a 

 piece of fine cloth, previously dipped in melted 

 sweet butter. Whenn)ore is put into the tub, take 

 up the cloth ; and after that is well crowded in 

 and levelled, put on the cloth again so nicely as to 

 shut out the air. When the tub is filled in this 

 manner, pour a little melted butter over the surface 

 to fill up every vacuity, before the top is put on. 



" Fur .keeping butter sweet that is salted the 

 usual way,',' says the Farmer's Guide, " it should 

 be salted with an ounce and a Iialf more of the 



